Where Is Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles From Shark Tank Today?

We may have the ultimate guide to pickles, but sadly, we don't have the secret, supposedly ancient recipe for Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles. Inspired by her great grandma "Toots," Lynnae Schneller appeared on Season 5 Episode 1 of "Shark Tank," along with her business partner and sister-in-law Aly Cullinane to pitch their family's high-end wares. Together, they offered the sharks a 20% stake in their startup for $125,000, hoping to get the capital they needed to sustain their company's exponential growth.

Specialty food was a fast-growing industry in 2013, but the sharks were a bit skeptical of the idea. The judges, though, did admit Schneller and Cullinane were good marketers. Still, sweet pickles didn't tickle Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec's pickles, so they both bowed out. Similarly, Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary thought the venture was too risky and didn't want to get themselves into, well, a pickle. Barbara Corcoran was, at least, a tad more complimentary, telling the two entrepreneurs they didn't need her help to succeed. All the sharks went out, but Schneller and Cullinane left feeling motivated to refine their concept further.

"Sometimes, not getting a deal really is what's best!" Schneller reflected later in a brief interview with Smart Hustle. She was grateful for Corcoran's encouragement, explaining, "It was a great confirmation for the direction we are heading, [as] continuing to grow organically and keeping our equity really has been the best route for our business." Ultimately, however, this determination would not last.

A gourmet pickle business had not been Schneller's only professional aspiration. While working on her eponymous startup, Schneller applied to franchise a Chick-fil-A, which got approved by the chain around the same time as her television debut. So, in 2015, roughly two years after Schneller's episode premiered, construction began on a brand-new Chick-fil-A location set to open later that year.

By the time 2016 rolled around, Schneller had handed Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles off to Cullinane, who renamed the company "Mrs. Pickles Gourmet" in honor of its signature flavor. "Lynnae and I have worked hard to create a brand that is both meaningful and wholesome," Cullinane commented in a press release. "Now that she has passed the torch on to me, it is my mission to continue to provide premium quality pickles with the same focus on family traditions that everyone has grown to love throughout the years."

At that time, the venture's products could impressively be found in over 3,000 chain stores — like Costco, Kroger, and Sprouts — plus specialty shops spread across the country. As a result, changing the design of the startup's items was a risky choice, and it doesn't seem to have paid off. The business — by either name — no longer exists, as reflected by its now defunct website and shuttered socials like its Twitter account. Nevertheless, the precise reasons for this are unknown.

Perhaps this shouldn't be surprising. After all, despite praising Schneller and Cullinane as entrepreneurs, the sharks declined to invest in their gourmet pickle venture. Regardless, Schneller and Cullinane continue to make Great Grandma Toots proud by applying business acumen to fresher opportunities.

Schneller's Linkedin confirms she's continued working as a franchise owner for Chick-fil-A since leaving her role as president of Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles years prior. From the very beginning of this adventure, Schneller informed Chick-fil-A that she hoped to be a community leader that recycled sustainably and sourced locally. Her creativity has also come in handy; at the franchise's opening, game prizes were given away to attract new diners. In 2019, according to South Sound Magazine, Schneller opened a second Chick-fil-A franchise. Once again, she applied her ingenuity, giving away a year's worth of free meals to the first 100 patrons in order to fry up some interest.

Cullinane's Linkedin suggests Mrs. Pickles Gourmet closed in early 2018 when her role as president and owner ended. After becoming a director at a preschool, she eventually moved on to being the owner of Let's Doula This, LLC as well as the owner of Renovation Sells South Sound. The latter is a presale renovation company. The former, a service for expecting mothers, allows Cullinane to put her family-business skills to use in a whole other sort of way.

Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles was not a "Shark Tank" success story, but Schneller and Cullinane seem like they've gotten by just fine.