Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Bohana After Shark Tank Update 2025 – Where Are They Now

Bohana Before Shark Tank

Founded in 2018, Bohana is a women-led brand aiming to provide people of any age, lifestyle, and body type access to a wholesome snack bar of healthy, seasonal offerings ensuring maximum well-being. Bohana was the first to introduce air-popped water lily seeds to the U.S. food market. Bohana is headquartered in the Boston area.

Founder and chief officer Priyal Bhartia returned to Indian roots and rediscovered her childhood snack, Popped Water Lily seeds. When Priyal introduced this popped super snack to her colleague Nadine Habayeb, she was hooked and made it her favorite too!

Bohana on Shark Tank

THE ENTRANCE AND PRESENTATION

bohana on shark tank1 Nadine introduced herself and her business, Bohana, to the Sharks. She asked for $200,000 in exchange for 10% of their company. Nadine claimed that popcorn was one of her favorite snacks until she invented Bohana. She made the snack from popped waterlily seeds, a giant variety native to Northern India. Nadine gestured to the enormous lilypad she cut out of cardboard and construction paper and elicited a surprised response from Lori. She said the plants produced seeds similar to corn that would pop when exposed to high heat.

Nadine continued, stating that popped water lily seeds contain fewer calories and fat and more plant protein than corn. There was also no kernel, so there was nothing to get stuck in the consumers’ teeth. She was introduced to these seeds by her coworker, Priyal.

Priyal couldn’t be with them today because she was about to “pop” -Nadine gestured to a photo of her pregnant coworker. This pun got some laughs from the Sharks. Priyal grew up eating water lily seeds in India, where this was a centuries-old tradition. Nadine insisted that they were one of the fastest-growing food trends and asked the Sharks who wanted to get involved.

QUESTION AND ANSWER

Mark Cuban said that he wanted to try and grabbed for the snacks that Nadine had already set in front of him. The other Sharks quickly joined in on the fun. Kevin asked her to tell them what they were trying. Nadine said each Shark had three flavors in front of them – the Himalayan pink salt, the mild white cheddar, and the soulful spice. Mild white cheddar was the only non-vegan flavor.

Lori said it was similar to puffed rice, and Nadine agreed it tasted identical. Barbara said it was lighter and tastier than popcorn and airy, and she thought it was delicious. Rohan said that the question was – is the taste profile there? He asked the other Sharks if they would trade the water lily seeds for popcorn, getting mixed answers. Mark Cuban shook his head while Lori and Barbara said they would.

bohana on shark tank 2 Nadine explained that it did have an intrinsic taste to it, and as a water seed, it had a smoky flavor. She explained that it contained all nine amino acids, which was rare in plant-based food. Kevin asked if he would need to worry about a long educational process with the product, and Nadine seemed to mistake his tone and said yes cheerfully.

Kevin looked exasperated at the thought while Rohan laughed at the interaction. Nadine continued, saying that she knew it was something that they were pioneering. Bohana was the first company to bring water lily seeds to the U.S. Nadine noted that people had an AHA moment when they tasted the product. Bohana has done demos, and they have sold out of every single bag that they brought.

Nadine stated that Bohana was more expensive than popcorn, but it would be sold in a different location on the snack aisle than popcorn. Rohan guessed it would be twice the price, and Nadine confirmed he was right. She charged $3.99 for a bag.

Kevin protested that it was too much money, but Nadine insisted that it was the same price as other snacks on the shelf that it lived with. The store would merchandise the product with other gourmet snacks and all-natural good-for-you snacks, and they wouldn’t be near processed potato chips or extruded snacks.

Rohan wanted to know what extruded meant, and she told him that it was when flour was reconstituted and pushed through a shape, like cheese puffs. Rohan and Kevin were impressed with her knowledge and ability to keep up with their barrage of questions. Lori said that she was the one that usually bought all of the good-for-you snacks, and she liked the variety of high protein, low fat, low sodium snacks.

Lori said that the only thing missing in the product was fiber. She wanted to know if Nadine could add it to the process. Nadine told her that the puffs she ate were directly from the seed, but she could play around with extrusions. Nadine said they could play around with the nutrient density and add more protein and fiber.

Barbara wanted to know more about Nadine herself, and Nadine told the Sharks that she had a background in marketing and worked in a French fashion house. Kevin wanted to know which one, and Nadine told him it was Yves St Laurent. Kevin seemed impressed.

Rohan asked how their first full year had gone since they started the business in 2018. He pointed out that they were asking for a $2 million valuation, beating Kevin to the punch. Nadine said that they’d done a revenue of $123,000 over the past 16 months. She elaborated, saying they have only been in retail for nine months of the 16. The first phase of their time in business is working on their online strategy. Bohana is sold on Amazon and their website, as well as in a few specialty stores.

LETS MAKE A DEAL

bohana on shark tank 3 Mark started the negotiations by dropping out of them. He said it was too much of a slog, and Mark saw the following challenges. It was more expensive than its closest competitor, which he saw as popcorn. He would have to get people used to the taste, and it wouldn’t be a straight shot at the profit, and it would be a struggle. He concluded by saying that the product was good, but he couldn’t get excited enough to make an offer.

Barbara said that she was willing to make an offer. Barbara said that she liked the taste of the products, that there is no choking hazard, and it’s more filling than popcorn. She said she had good luck with a similar business called Pipkorn, and they could help Nadine with whatever she needed. Even so, she was concerned because Bohana was a young business.

Barbara offered the $200,000 in exchange for 30% of the company, which prompted Kevin to call her greedy. Barbara said that she was being fair, and Rohan agreed with her. Rohan said that he was very tempted to do the deal because he likes working with other Indian entrepreneurs and enjoyed the snack side of it.

Unfortunately, he needed to see a clear leap into profitability, at least with it, trying to introduce it to the American palette. He went out. Lori said that she liked the taste of it, but she went out because it didn’t have any fiber in it at the moment.

Kevin tried to interrupt Barbara by saying he was the only Lebanese Irish guy on the stage, relating to Nadine’s nationality. Kevin said he liked her and enjoyed the product, but she wasn’t worth her $2 million valuation. He said that he usually would try to outbid Barbara and squeeze her head, but he felt like she was a good partner for Nadine.

Barbara bluntly told him that she didn’t need him as a salesperson for her. Kevin got mad and decided to make a deal out of spite, and Barbara said she didn’t care and was not afraid of him. Asking Nadine if she was ready for something wonderful, playing up on his nickname, Kevin offered her $200,000 as a loan and wanted 8% equity, and it would be a 36-month loan with 9% interest.

Rohan said that he would take up Kevin’s offer in a heartbeat. Kevin said the 30% equity ask was sheer greed, and he hated it. Nadine thanked him for the very generous offer, and Kevin tried telling her that no one else would loan her money like that. Nadine thought out loud about what she wanted to do. She said that they value their equity, and they thought that the company would do very well. She, therefore, believed that the 8% was very attractive.

Rohan reminded her that she was allowed to counter. Nadine asked if there was any chance of them working together, but they both quickly denied that. Barbara said she didn’t even like Kevin and preferred to have an amicable working relationship with her partners.

Nadine contemplated her tough decision but ultimately decided to go with Kevin. She addressed Barbara directly and said she was taking the offer that allowed her to value their equity. Kevin clapped his hands and went up to hug her. The other sharks congratulated her. Kevin was still taunting Barbara back in the tank, and she called him a baby.

Bohana After Shark Tank – 2025 Update

bohana after shark tank Bohana has its products in some health food and specialty stores on the east coast. They are primarily concentrated in N.Y. and New England. They have an insider program called Free Spirit Snackblazers. According to the website, all you have to do is fill out a short application, and you can hear directly about new products, sample them, and even get exclusive discounts and promotions.

Bohana has two new flavors – Zesty Ranch and Hickory BBQ. They ditched their old packaging to make it resealable. In 2020, Bohana experienced an impressive 500% growth rate in 2020, the same year that they got the deal with Kevin on Shark Tank.

They have a store on Amazon, with mixed reviews, and 3.3 stars. Some negative comments mention taste – comparing them to rice cakes or a cardboard box. An aftertaste is mentioned. The positive comments also note the taste but call it delicious and healthy.

Kevin promoted Bohana on Lori’s platform, QVC, during the pandemic. The product is no longer up on the website. On Facebook, Bohana has 3.1K likes on Facebook and almost the same amount of followers. Someone commented on their last post from the summer of 2022 and asked if the company was still in business, and there was no reply.

Before that, they posted about once per month, marketing established products or introducing new flavors. On Instagram, Bohana has an impressive 14K followers. They made almost 1000 posts. They have not updated this social media platform since July 2022. Bohana has yet to concentrate much on Twitter, and they only have 195 followers. They haven’t posted since 2021.

Ariel Leather
Ariel Leather
Ariel is a freelance writer, Etsy seller, and Internet money-making quasi-expert living in New Jersey. She is pursuing her A.A. In Marketing at Brookdale Community College. Ariel enjoys traveling, hiking, unnecessary impulse purchases, and making things with her hands.
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