Where Is Pili Hunters From Shark Tank Today?
If you're trying to incorporate more nutrition into your diet in any way, you could do a lot worse than eating more nuts. According to The Mayo Clinic, eating walnuts and almonds as a part of a balanced diet has been shown to improve heart health and even lower cholesterol. These properties are due to their high levels of fiber, protein, and healthy unsaturated fats.
Of course, it matters what nut you decide to eat as well. The Mayo Clinic says you're better served by unroasted nuts, especially if you're buying bulk, and unsalted or unsweetened nuts are also better too. Different types of nuts will also have different nutrition profiles. One nut that is rare to find in the United States, but has a great taste and great nutrition profile is the pili nut. Britannica claims that the pili nut is grown in the Philippines where it serves as a common source of protein and healthy fats in a variety of forms.
The entrepreneur Jason Thomas was hoping to be the first to cash in by bringing these nuts to the United States, so he started the company Pili Hunters. To get help expanding his company though, Thomas sought help from the investors of "Shark Tank."
What did the Sharks think of Pili Hunters?
In "Shark Tank" Season 11, Episode 6, all of the Sharks were blown away by their first bites of the pili nut. Upon biting into his sampling of Pili Hunters products, Robert Herjavec remarked, "I've never had a nut this good." Sadly, while the Sharks were extremely impressed by the flavor of the lesser-known nut and the founder of the company, they each struggled to make the economics of any deal make sense to them.
Prior to appearing on "Shark Tank," Jason Thomas had completed $2.5 million in sales over the four years he was in operation. He came to "Shark Tank" seeking a $325,000 investment for 10% equity. In a disheartening turn, the first to drop out of the deal was Guest Shark Daniel Lubetzky. Lubetzky is the founder of the nut and fruit bar maker KIND Bar. Although he commended Thomas for his drive to succeed, he simply had no interest in a deal as a result of the difficulty involved in securing a steady supply of pili nuts from the Philippines.
Other criticisms of the company's economics focused on the wide array of products that Thomas planned to sell from the pili nuts. Instead of only producing a handful of products, Thomas admitted that he had plans for a whole 14 different units, each with its own specifications and requirements. For this reason, Robert Herjavec dropped out, and the rest of the Sharks quickly followed suit due to similar concerns and challenges, and Thomas walked away without a deal.
Where is Pili Hunters today?
While Jason Thomas' time on "Shark Tank" didn't go how he would have hoped, Pili Hunters is still around today. Since he appeared on "Shark Tank," Thomas' attempts to mainstream the pili nut have been featured in a variety of different publications, including Vogue and Paleo Magazine Radio. In fact, the business has become a hit with the paleo, keto, and vegan communities. The full line of Pili Hunters flavors is now available through its website and on Amazon.
During a 2020 interview with My Brand Journey, Thomas said that the company was in a solid place. Like many other contestants in "Shark Tank" history, the mere act of appearing on the show was an immediate benefit to his business. Even though the Sharks passed on the brand, he reported that he was able to attract other investors that have helped him grow in the years after he appeared on the ABC series. He says getting a seal of approval from keto diet influencers was also a "turning point" for the business.