Where Is OA Foods From Shark Tank Today?

While there are alternative liquids to cook pasta in other than water, there aren't as many substitutes that can stand up to the taste and texture of regular ol' noodles. But what if there were a plant-based alternative to starchy pasta?

University of Florida graduate Alfonso Tejada helped run his family business, OA Foods, out of Bolivia, where he eventually found a way to import the company's locally grown quinoa and chia seeds to the United States. In 2017, he developed a pasta alternative, Palmini, which is made exclusively with hearts of palm. Even though he believed in the product, Tejada needed funding for the back end of production. He appeared on Season 9, Episode 24 of "Shark Tank" in 2018, requesting $300,000 in exchange for 10% equity. The Florida-based businessman made a strong impression on the Sharks through his action-packed pitch. 

During the taste test portion of the show, investor Robert Herjavec was disappointed the pasta didn't mirror real pasta; the noodles were just thinly sliced strips of hearts of palm. However, investors Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner believed Palmini was an innovative product. In the end, Tejada received and closed a deal with Cuban and Greiner in the amount of $300,000 for 25% of the business. Today, Palmini is sold at various locations across the country, including Kroger, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Publix. 

Fans may be interested in seeing what other food products Palmini has cooked up since landing a "Shark Tank" investment in 2018. While there is little information on how the OA Foods company has been impacted since Alfonso Tejada introduced Palmini, the pasta alternative has taken off in the mainstream market. Shortly after Palmini appeared on "Shark Tank," OA Foods changed up its packaging, offering its hearts of palm noodles in convenient pouches, as opposed to cans. (The OA Foods brand had already been accustomed to this type of storage, as the business' chia seeds and quinoa are sold in the same type of packaging.)

After the company made the switch to pouches and evolved its nationwide availability, new Palmini products surfaced. In 2021, OA Foods released Palmini rice and began selling Palmini Mashed, which has the look of mashed potatoes but is simply pressed hearts of palm. The Palmini brand also posts recipe inspiration on its Instagram page, such as an easy mashed "potato" recipe.

On the Palmini website's shop page, not only can you buy the brand's original linguini, but you can also buy specific noodle varieties, such as lasagna and angel hair. OA Foods has found its niche in the health food sphere and continues to see success with its Palmini products.

What is it about Palmini pasta that spurred two Sharks to make an investment? If you're on the hunt for a substitute for traditional pasta, you could always learn how to make zoodles. But most of us have seen zucchini noodles before — not to mention butternut squash "pasta." Entrepreneur Alfonso Tejada believed he had a one-of-a-kind product up his sleeve when he attempted to mass-produce hearts of palm to mimic the appearance of linguini. 

If you're unfamiliar, hearts of palm is the viable inner core of the palm plant that has a somewhat crunchy texture and a mild flavor similar to artichoke hearts. During the two years between Palmini becoming a widely available product and Tejada's "Shark Tank" appearance, the entrepreneur worked with his family's company, OA Foods, to patent a machine that would streamline the process of cutting down hearts of palm on a mass scale.

Even though at the time of his ABC debut, Tejada had made less than $100,000 in sales from Palmini, investors Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner saw the long-term potential of the pasta alternative.