Where Is Bumbling Bee From Shark Tank Today?
Since first opening their vegan food service business, the entrepreneurs behind Bumbling Bee have been on a wild ride. It's a ride that's still going on to this day, though only through its food trucks. When the startup began in 2019, it didn't seem this journey would be so tumultuous. Unfortunately, a few months later, the pandemic hit. Not so long after that, "Shark Tank" called.
Cassandra Ayala had long been in the food truck business before creating the Bumbling Bee. Between her experience and the market's popular vegan trends, it seemed like a good idea to sell vegan "junk" food like burgers, chicken sandwiches, gyros, hot dogs, and milkshakes — all using meat and dairy substitutes. Ayala was so confident that she poured her life savings into two restaurants and quit her job. Ayala's daughters joined this family business, as well. It's not hard to imagine how quarantines threatened their economic potential, though, and Ayala had to go into debt to keep the business afloat.
When "Shark Tank" producers called Ayala in March of 2020, offering to cast her on the show, it was an inspiring lifeline. "It really kind of gave us the energizing fun factor that we really needed to keep us going," Ayala told the Virginian-Pilot. It was a Covid-test-filled, unsuccessful experience, but did Bumbling Bee at least receive the expected boost in popularity from appearing on TV?
Business buzzed for Bumbling Bee
Bumbling Bee was portrayed pretty positively in its edit, which did indeed stir up public interest in the venture. Ayala and India, one of her three daughters, appeared on Season 12 Episode 22 of "Shark Tank," offering the judges 10% company equity at the price of a $150,000 investment. The Sharks loved the food, and they were touched by Ayala's by-the-boot-straps spirit. She had originally gotten into the food truck business after nearly losing everything in the house-market crash. Ayala also came from humble beginnings, growing up in temporary shelters for the unhoused.
Unfortunately, the Sharks felt Bumbling Bee wasn't unique enough to invest in. After all, there are already dozens of vegan restaurants in Los Angeles, and nothing is stopping the rest of the country from following suit and creating competition for Bumbling Bee. The small-scale and economic uncertainty of this enterprise didn't help matters, either, and all the Sharks bowed out.
Thankfully, the pitch's premiere brought Bumbling Bee national attention. As a result, Ayala told WTKR that she still had a wonderful time being on "Shark Tank," and she called the bump in publicity a blessing. But did that surge in popularity last?
The Bumbling Bee restaurants closed
The information publicly available online is a bit contradictory, but it seems to paint a picture of decreasing business for Bumbling Bee. Its company website still lists its Colorado and Virginia locations, but it also states that the "small pop-up food truck is now our sole project." Backing up this claim is the fact that the Yelp pages for both the Colorado and Virginia sites are marked closed. However, in the case of the Virginia location, that's only based on Yelpers' reports — nothing official — so perhaps this is a recent development (as of 2023). On Bumbling Bee's Instagram, it's once again stated that the "Restaurant is Closed permanently," which ambiguously uses the singular instead of the plural. Consequently, it's still somewhat unclear whether just one joint or both have shut down. Fortunately, the venture's Square page currently lists upcoming places where diners can find its food trucks.
Although financially understandable, it's a shame the Sharks thought with their wallets instead of their hearts. They could have been the angel investors needed to champion this queen bee of a startup. Thanks to Ayala's food trucks, at least, there is still hope for this vegan junk food idea yet.