PhoLicious Net Worth and Shark Tank Update – After Shark Tank

PhoLicious was founded by the husband and wife duo Anh and Joseph Trousdale. Who launched the brand in 2021. During the onset of the 2020 pandemic Anh was working stressful hours as an ER nurse and Joseph was managing a hotel. As a Vietnamese immigrant Anh craved her mother’s authentic pho.

Traditional pho broth requires boiling bones and fresh ingredients for hours. Making it impossible to prepare with their busy schedules. They found that existing pho brands on the market lacked genuine flavor. To solve this problem they spent months experimenting with a family formula until Anh’s mother shared a secret ingredient to finalize their recipe.

The resulting product is an instant Vietnamese pho kit that takes only 5 minutes to prepare in a microwave. Unlike typical instant noodles PhoLicious uses real ingredients. Real beef tallow and a “pho tea bag” packed with whole spices like star anise, cloves and cinnamon.

Appearing on Season 16 of Shark Tank, Anh and Joseph pitched their fast growing business. And initially asked for $500,000 for a 10% equity stake in their company. After an intense bidding war between Daniel Lubetzky and Kevin O’Leary the couple negotiated and accepted an offer from Kevin O’Leary for $500,000 in exchange for 15% equity.

The company expanded from producing 8,000 bowls a day to over 50,000 bowls a day. Backed by Kevin O’Leary’s network PhoLicious expanded its retail footprint from early regional shelves into over 2,000 Walmart locations nationwide.

As well as Kroger, H-E-B and HyVee. Building on their pho success they introduced premium instant ramen and bold new pad Thai stir fry bowls. The brand brought in over $8 million in revenue within just 10 months of closing their deal on national television. Based on their post Shark Tank scaling, retail footprint and millions in recorded sales. PhoLicious is estimated to be worth between $5 million and $6 million today.

PhoLicious Net Worth

Joseph and Anh went on Shark Tank asking for $500,000 for 10% equity in their company, which meant they valued PhoLicious at approximately $5 million. They secured a deal with Kevin O'Leary for $500,000 for 15% equity in their company. After the show aired, PhoLicious saw a significant increase in sales and expanded to over 450 Walmart stores and 150 Sam's Club locations across the United States. The company also won the H-E-B "Quest for Texas Best" competition and sold one million bowls there in just nine months, while growing production from 8 bowls a day to 8,000 bowls a day. The company reported $68,000 in sales in 2021, growing to $438,000 in 2022, $2.1 million in 2023, with projections of $5 to $6 million for 2024. With Kevin O'Leary's distribution backing, rapid retail expansion, and a planned ramen line launch, PhoLicious's current net worth is estimated to be between $6 million and $8 million.

Did The PhoLicious Get a Deal on Shark Tank?

Yes, PhoLicious secured a deal on Shark Tank. They entered the tank seeking $500,000 for a 10% equity stake in their authentic instant pho company. They justified this valuation by highlighting a growth trajectory. Projecting between $5 to $6 million in sales that year. Operating out of their own leased facility and securing placement in retailers like Walmart and Sam’s Club. The Sharks were impressed by the taste. The speed of preparation and the founders’ story.

Their pitch sparked strong interest from multiple Sharks. Kevin O’Leary offered $500,000 for a 20% equity stake focused on retail expansion. Daniel Lubetzky accepted Kevin’s financial offer of $500,000 for 20%. He highlighted his thirty years of food industry experience and offered to help with manufacturing, development and operations. A third unnamed Shark offered $500,000 for 12% equity. Emphasizing strong social media backing and a lack of market competition.

The negotiation process turned into a bidding war. Daniel and Kevin initially competed for the partnership. Forcing the founders to evaluate which investor brought the best resources to scale operations. Due to the expected workload and the heavy lifting required for manufacturing. The founders made a counteroffer to Kevin O’Leary. They offered $500,000 for 15% equity. Kevin accepted this counter closing the deal on the spot.

PhoLicious Shark Tank Deal Table

Sharks name	Offer and Demand	Accepted?
Kevin O’Leary	$500k for 15% equity	Yes
Robert Herjavec	Out	N/A
Lori Greiner	Out	N/A
Mark Cuban	Out	N/A
Daniel Lubetzky	$500k for 20% equity	N/A

Founders’ Backstory 

Anh Trousdale is the co-owner and CEO. She is a Vietnamese immigrant who fled Vietnam with her parents in the late 1980s. Before founding PhoLicious, she worked as an ER nurse. Joseph Trousdale is the co-owner and COO. Before going all in on the business. He spent 17 years as a hotel general manager in the hospitality industry.

During the height of the pandemic in 2020 traditional pho restaurants were shut down. As an ER nurse and a hotel manager working long hours the founders struggled to find the 10+ hours needed to prepare pho from scratch. After trying various quick fix pho options on the market, they felt nothing came close to true Vietnamese authenticity.

They decided to combine their business backgrounds with Anh’s family recipes to create a faster 5 minute bowl that didn’t sacrifice flavor. After developing a stove-top dehydrated version, Anh’s mother provided a secret ingredient and blend of aromatic whole spices which made the product a success.

PhoLicious Shark Tank Pitch

The founders Joseph and Anh entered the Tank wearing bright traditional attire to introduce their company. They stated their goal to bring the comfort of real Vietnamese pho into homes across the nation. To grab the sharks’ attention, they presented their traditional beef, chicken and vegetarian varieties.

They shared a relatable backstory that resonated with the investors. They explained that they had to sell their family home and live in a camper for two years just to fund their business. This sacrifice highlighted their dedication and belief in the viability of their product.

Authentic Vietnamese pho requires hours of simmering fresh beef bones and aromatic whole spices. While traditional pho is flavorful it demands extensive prep time that the average busy consumer lacks. Consumers who crave authentic Asian cuisine are often forced to choose between slow home cooking and dining out.

Standard instant noodles provide fast convenience but sacrifice authentic flavor and quality. Typical instant noodles rely on artificial powders and generic flavorings. There was a massive gap in the market for a convenient noodle soup that maintains family flavors.

The PhoLicious kit includes precision steamed and dried rice noodles. It includes a savory broth made with real beef tallow and rendered chicken fat. The “magic” of the product is a “pho tea bag” included in every bowl. This tea bag is packed with real whole spices including cinnamon, cloves, star anise, fennel and coriander.

To prepare the meal, users add water, mix the ingredients and microwave the bowl for about four minutes. The whole spice tea bag steeps in the broth, extracting the aromatic flavors of pho. Consumers finish the dish by removing the tea bag and stirring in garnishes or sauces.

PhoLicious operates on a Direct to Consumer and wholesale retail distribution model.They sold their premium bowls through their Official PhoLicious Website and Amazon. They achieved massive sales scaling by securing shelf space in major supermarkets.

Their products can be found in retailers like Walmart, Sam’s Club and H-E-B. Customers purchase the bowls either individually or in multi pack bundles such as the popular Shark Tank bundle. They generate revenue through retail profit margins, generating a $1 million in sales in certain regional chains alone.

Shark Questions, Negotiations, Discussion & Reactions

The negotiations became one of the standout moments of their Shark Tank appearance. They asked for a $5 million valuation, $500,000 for 10%. Daniel Coriat offered $500,000 for a 20% stake focusing on his 30 person food safety team and operational resources. Kevin O’Leary also offered $500,000 for 20% equity but negotiated with the founders. The couple countered at 15% which was their maximum acceptable threshold and Kevin matched it.

Fans and food bloggers responded enthusiastically to the authentic flavor profile and the convenience of the product. Many reviewers noted that it is a great travel friendly option. Since the show the product has experienced retail growth finding its way into chains like Walmart and local grocers. A minority of users including some Vietnamese reviewers found the price point on platforms like Amazon to be high with some purists preferring traditional restaurant methods.

Why Some Sharks Said No

Sharks cited concerns over premium pricing, marketing strategy, scalability, and retail margins but a successful deal was struck with Kevin O’Leary for $500,000 at 15% equity. The rejected offers during the pitch were driven by specific concerns from the other Sharks:

Some Sharks felt that marketing a premium instant pho requires significant customer education. Convincing consumers to pay a higher price for restaurant-quality instant noodles versus traditional cheap ramen presents a heavy marketing hurdle. The product was noted by some as being quite pricey compared to standard cup noodles.

The Sharks questioned whether the mass market was willing to sustain the retail price of the gourmet meal. Growing from a family run operation to a national brand caused investor worry. Sharks questioned if the founders had the manufacturing capacity and operational infrastructure to fulfill purchase orders from giant retailers.

The instant noodle and quick service meal space is crowded. Sharks expressed hesitation about taking on established international brands and giant food conglomerates without a defensible edge.

Even though some Sharks dropped out the founders’ existing track record in retailers. An authentic recipe allowed them to secure funding from O’Leary who committed to helping them expand distribution.

Where To Buy PhoLicious Products and Product Features

PhoLicious utilizes steamed and dried rice noodles that are textured to mimic fresh Vietnamese rice noodles. Instead of artificial broth powders the meal relies on proprietary ingredients like rendered chicken fat and real beef tallow to yield a rich base.

Each package comes with a signature seasoning formulation that is influenced by the traditional family recipe of the company’s founders. To capture the exact fragrance of slow simmered pho, the kit includes a sachet containing whole aromatic spices that infuse the broth as it cooks.

The standout feature of the product is its enclosed spice sachet. Unlike standard instant noodles it allows users to steep whole spices into the water. The product allows you to bypass the traditional 7-12 hour broth simmering process. On Shark Tank the founders demonstrated that a complete rich bowl could be crafted from scratch and ready to eat in just five minutes. The pitch highlighted the absence of shortcuts noting that the depth of flavor is drawn from real fats and whole spices rather than synthetic flavorings.

You can purchase various multipacks and combo bundles via the PhoLicious Foods Store. Individual product lines and multipacks are listed on Amazon. Following the brand’s success PhoLicious expanded its retail presence. The product can be found in a variety of grocery and club stores. Most notably Sam’s Club, Walmart and H-E-B locations.

A 4 pack of the Instant Pho Bowls Chicken, Beef, or Vegetarian typically retails for about $22.99. The 4 pack of Premium Ramen bowls sits at around $21.00. The popular Shark Tank Bundle, an 8-pack featuring 4 Beef and 4 Chicken bowls is offered on their site for $45.00.

What Happened To PhoLicious After Shark Tank?

PhoLicious is active in 2026 and experiencing explosive growth generating $8 million in revenue in the 10 months following their Shark Tank appearance and surpassing $12 million in lifetime sales. Their sales skyrocketed and the business scaled up from manufacturing 8,000 bowls daily to over 50,000 per day.

Founders Anh and Joseph Trousdale pitched their Vietnamese pho. Securing a deal of $500,000 for 15% equity with Kevin O’Leary. Sales increased rapidly. Before the show the company had around $4.2 million in lifetime sales. Following the episode, they saw a massive influx of demand. Out of nearly 1,000 applicants PhoLicious was selected for the Hy Vee Opportunity Supplier Impact Summit.

This allowed them to launch in Hy Vee stores across the Midwest. The company expanded beyond traditional pho to offer Spicy Premium Ramen bowls and Instant Pad Thai stir fry bowls. To keep up with scale and demand they integrated automated robotics and expanded into a larger manufacturing facility in Houston Texas. Despite early setbacks such as quitting their corporate jobs, selling their house and living in a camper for two years to fund the business their persistence paid off.

Conclusion

PhoLicious the Vietnamese pho brand transformed from a pandemic born side hustle into a multi million dollar national brand. Founded by husband and wife duo Anh and Joseph Trousdale. The company gained national prominence after securing a deal on Shark Tank.

The concept for PhoLicious was born in 2020 when the founders realized they could no longer get their weekly fix of traditional hours long Vietnamese pho during the pandemic. Anh, an ER nurse and Joseph a hotel industry veteran rallied the family to create a restaurant quality pho that could be made in just five minutes without compromising on authentic flavor.

They sold their home, invested their life savings into the business and began perfecting Mamma Thu’s traditional family recipe. The brand secured early wins like an H-E-B “Quest for Texas Best” grand championship and distribution in Walmart and Sam’s Club. The tipping point arrived in early 2025 when the couple pitched their business on Shark Tank.

They secured a deal of $500,000 for 15% equity from investor Kevin O’Leary who brought both capital and manufacturing distribution experience to the table. The Shark Tank effect proved to be monumental for PhoLicious. Prior to their episode airing the company had around $4.2 million in lifetime sales and was producing 8,000 bowls a day.

Following their television appearance the brand experienced an explosive surge in visibility and retail demand. With O’Leary’s help distribution rapidly expanded. Just ten months after closing their deal, PhoLicious had generated an additional $8 million in revenue and scaled their production to over 50,000 bowls a day.

Building on its overwhelming success in the instant pho market, PhoLicious is diversifying its product lines to capture more shelf space. The company has already rolled out premium spicy beef and chicken instant ramen bowls.

They are expanding into other traditional Southeast Asian street food items, which include gourmet single-serve Pad Thai stir-fry kits. Moving forward, consumers can likely expect to see PhoLicious transition from a niche regional favorite to a mainstream staple available across big supermarkets and global online marketplaces.