Ka-Pop! Ancient Grain Popped Chips Update | Shark Tank Season 11
Dustin Finkel pitched his healthy snack company during
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to Ka-Pop! after
Entrepreneur Dustin Finkel appeared on
| Shark: | Result: |
| Lori Greiner | No offer |
| Kevin O’Leary | $350,000 for 17.5% equity |
| Barbara Corcoran | No offer |
| Mark Cuban | No offer |
| Rohan Oza | No offer |
Shark Tank Ka-Pop! Update
- Entrepreneur: Dustin Finkel
- Business: Ancient grain popped snack chips
- Ask: $350,000 for 5% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
According to Dustin Finkel, a food industry veteran and part-time superhero, he has found a gap in the ancient grains market. Sorghum, which is the base for Ka-Pop! is not only gluten free, but also allergy, and GMO-free.
Sweet Onion delights with the craveable flavor of sweet onions, Dill Pickle packs the perfect punch of pickle tang, and Fiery Hot delivers the perfect blend of habanero pepper, garlic, and onion seasoning. Indulge fearlessly.
In addition to these great features, Ka-Pop! also comes in four flavors. They include the following: Rosemary Garlic, Salt & Vinegar, Vegan Cheddar & Garlic, and Olive Oil & Sea Salt.
When the sharks finally get Ka-Pop! their samples, they are absolutely blown away. The chips are actually really good! Further, Kevin O’Leary even states that these are the best gluten-free snacks he’s ever had.
The good news? Dustin helped launched one of the first gluten-free brands in the nation with General Mills. This certainly impresses the sharks!
However, he already has a lot of other investors, although most of them work on convertible notes rather than equity. The sharks, understandably, get nervous when they hear this.
Additionally, the company only made $150,000 in the previous year, which also isn’t great.
While Barbara Corcoran compliments Dustin’s salesmanship, she doesn’t think she can do anything more for Ka-Pop! She eventually drops out, and Mark Cuban follows out as well.
Then, guest shark Rohan Oza chimes in. He thinks it’s too early, plus the margins and sales aren’t enough for investing, so he is also out.
Meanwhile, Lori Greiner agrees with Barbara, saying she doesn’t really know how she can help. They’re both out, leaving Kevin O’Leary.
It turns out that Kevin doesn’t have an ‘ancient grain’ product in his portfolio, which is actually a huge selling point for him. He makes an offer of $350,000 for 17.5% equity.
Surprisingly, Dustin counters for $500,000 at 10% equity instead. Unfortunately, they can’t agree on a course of action.
Because of this, Ka-Pop! walks out of the
We have great news to share in our Ka-Pop! update! The company eventually went on to be featured in Forbes, Red Tricycle, and VegOut. Further, the product line has expanded to include multiple new flavors.
In addition to the flavors featured on
Our research also found that the company merged with Bubba’s Fine Foods. Together, they created Awakened Foods, a launchpad for new ancient grain food startups.
As of 2023, Ka-Pop! products are available in over 1,700 stores nationwide, including Kroger, King Sooper, City Market, select Whole Foods and more.
You can find additional company updates from Season 11 Episode 12 here:
For even more on companies and products, be sure to stop by our Season 11 products page!
Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!