Whatever Happened To Pricklee After Shark Tank?

Kun Yang and Mohammed Hassoun hope to refresh the industry with their new drink, Pricklee. Acting as an alternative to coconut water, Pricklee uses cactus water as its basis taken from the juice inside of prickly pears that commonly grow on the desert plant. The canned beverage carries significantly less sugar and calories in comparison to coconut water while also being loaded with antioxidants, electrolytes, Vitamin C, and other beneficial ingredients. 

The product was inspired by Hassoun's youth in Lebanon where his grandmother made him and his siblings cactus juice out of the plant's prickly pears. After discovering the fruit in his local supermarket, Hassoun decided to make a batch for himself, Yang, and their friends, Jaanai Babb, Sarwang Shah, and Aakash Dheri. The group, who were all attending pharmacy school at the time, fell in love with the delicious and healthy concoction. In February 2021, they officially launched Pricklee and employed a guerilla marketing tactic of dressing in cactus costumes and allowing strangers to try out the drink. Not long after launching, a "Shark Tank" casting agent reached out, which stunned the team initially. Nevertheless, they took on the challenge, with Yang and Hassoun appearing to represent Pricklee on Season 13 of the series.

Kun Yang and Mohammed Hassoun were seeking $200,000 for a 5% equity stake in Pricklee. Emma Grede wanted to know how much competition was out there. The category was relatively new, but the Pricklee team believed that they were unique enough to stand out from the crowd. 

After Hassoun explained the company's origins, Kevin O'Leary brought up the difficulty that beverage businesses often have in securing distribution and customer acquisition. In the previous month, the company made $55,000 and were projecting $70,000 for the current month. The product was then available at a handful of Northeast locations. Each unit cost $1 to produce, but the team had plans to bring it down to $0.65 once they scale, and prices ranged from $1.67 to $3.49 depending on where it is sold. Mark Cuban believed that coconut water was healthier until Yang informed him of the advantageous ingredients in Pricklee. The team want cactus to become the new coconut, which Cuban didn't think is displayed well enough through their branding. 

He went out, as did Lori Greiner, who felt that it was too early for her to invest. Grede had similar concerns as Cuban, believing the company could do better at delivering its message. Kevin O'Leary, despite hating beverage deals, enjoyed the product enough to make a staunch offer of $200,000 for 20%. The guys didn't see it as a feasible move and countered with their original deal, but with the $200,000 as a line of credit, which O'Leary didn't take. Barbara Corcoan argued with him about his deal-making strategies and, despite having her own negative experiences in the beverage industry, saved the day by accepting the line of credit offer.

Like most companies that appear on "Shark Tank," Pricklee saw a surge of new sales and visitors to its website in the aftermath of its episode, which aired on May 6, 2022. Following their time on the show, the team got to addressing the sharks' concerns, particularly those of Mark Cuban and Emma Grede, who felt that the company wasn't doing enough to advertise the health and sustainability benefits of the drink. They worked extensively on emphasizing these aspects while rebranding, which they felt attracted more eyes to the company as a result.

The deal with Barbara Corcoran successfully closed. Since then, she's remained a constant presence and a huge help overall. "We still talk to the team very regularly," co-founder Kun Yang said in an interview with Tasting Table. "She has a great team that really supports her and her brands ... they support us however they can." 

In promoting the brand further, Pricklee went on to partner with numerous organizations and events, including the Irvine Valley College women's basketball team, the New Jersey's National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival. A major development occurred for Pricklee in 2023 when the product became available at Sprouts Farmers Markets across 23 states.

Pricklee has continued to grow by leaps and bounds since its "Shark Tank" showdown. It's still available on its official website in three flavors and offers cactus-loving fans a monthly subscription service. Not only is it on the company's online store, you can also buy it out on the wild through brick and mortar locations. They have a distribution deal with select branches of the discount chain Five Below, an Amazon storefront, and they're available at all Raley's supermarket locations, as well as Sprouts Farmers Market, Plum Market, Mother's Market, select southwestern Whole Foods locations and HEB, where they recently expanded into over a hundred locations. 

They also take on brand deals and participate in collaborations with other small businesses like Ghost Tequila and Cactus Crunch.  They've worked with some influencers, and even managed a "Good Morning America" spotlight. There's clearly plenty of juice in their cactus, and they have lots of people willing to sip straight from the prickly source.

The sky seems to be the limit for Pricklee. Not only do they have a significant presence outside of the online beverage delivery scope, they're continuing to build on their brand. They have also been consistent about peddling their wares at both local fairs and larger conventions, and have been slowly but surely moving into the supermarket world. That means success, and the current estimated net worth of Pricklee is roughly $6 million. 

There's no word as of this writing as to the company's next move. Perhaps audiences can expect an expanded flavor variety, or to see the brand in more stores. In any event, they keep their 17,000 followers on Instagram well informed with constant collaborative updates. Their Facebook has amassed over 2,000 likes and 3,000 follows, and is also frequently updated. Less frequently updated is their TikTok page, which only has 10 videos and 37,000 followers.