Here's What Happened To Soupergirl After Shark Tank
"Shark Tank" sees a variety of food-centric pitches each season, but not all of these pitches manage to make the sharks' mouths water. This was the case with Soupergirl, a brand that pitched in the show's Season 10, asking for $500,000 in exchange for 10% of the business. Founded by mother-daughter team Marilyn and Sarah Polon, Soupergirl offers healthful, plant-based, small-batch soups, according to Shark Tank Tales, with the soups offered in Whole Foods and Costco locations at the time of pitching.
None of the sharks bit on the team's pitch ... at first. As Washington Business Journal reports, after the 2018 episode filmed, one of the show's guest sharks, Matt Higgins, contacted Soupergirl, hoping to make a new deal. While Higgins didn't give the Polons their requested $500,000, he did come onto their team as an advisor and offered them his connections in the biz. The resulting interest and funding have been impressive.
Soupergirl gets $2 million
In 2020, Soupergirl managed to raise far more than the Polons' initial requested $500,000. After a round of Series A financing, Soupergirl closed with $2 million, welcoming on funders from other, similar healthful food brands, including Seth Goldman of Honest Tea and Beyond Meat, and Glen's Garden Market founder Danielle Vogel, reports Vegconomist. Sara Polon said the funding would help "to accelerate our growth at a critical time when the nation is looking for safe and healthy at-home food options."
Beyond Meat board member Seth Goldman said of the funding, "I've been mentoring Sara for a decade, and admire her passion for high quality and delicious food that helps consumers meet their health goals. My wife Julie and I are proud to support Sara's growth plans and look forward to helping Soupergirl expand its reach."
Plans were also underway to use the funding to provide more COVID-19 testing for Soupergirl staff, which "produces thousands of gallons of soups a week," says WTOP.
Soupergirl started showing up on more store shelves
WTOP separately reported that Goldman hooked Soupergirl up with a partnership opportunity with another of his investments, PLNT Burger, in which the two offer a vegan grilled cheese and tomato soup combo. Soupergirl now boasts an expanded footprint in a range of new retail locations, including Kroger grocery stores, Lidl, Wegmans, Costco, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, and Giant Food.
But despite the brand's success and expansion into some of the largest food retailers in the U.S., the small start-up's goals remain the same: "Our food system is broken. We're trying to fix it," read's Soupergirl's mission statement, which goes on to say that the company's focus on responsible, community-sourced foods, made by well-treated employees aims to "inspire even bigger changes. One spoonful at a time."
You can get Soupergirl delivered, too
If Soupergirl isn't sold in a store near you, you don't have to go without — they launched their new website in 2022 and now offer direct sales, meaning if you live in the eastern United States, you can have their tasty soup shipped right to your door.
If you think their website only offers soup, you'd be soup-er wrong. Aside from a wide variety of soups, they offer gazpacho, soup toppers, grain and vegetable bowls, hearty plates, snacks, and even desserts. Their online menu changes frequently since they're using seasonal ingredients, so if you find something you like, be sure to order it in bulk.
And even though they do their best to ensure food is packaged safely and well-insulated, everything is marked with a FreshTag, designed to change colors according to passing time and temperature changes, ensuring every bite is safe to eat.