Coconut Girl Before Shark Tank
Ice cream is a staple summer treat perfect for a hot day. However, ice cream is often high in calories and sugar, making it a not-so-healthy treat for anyone on a diet. Francheska Yamsuan, better known as Frankie, came up with the perfect solution: healthy ice cream made with dairy-free all-natural ingredients. She became Coconut Girl to present her product to the masses.
Coconut Girl’s ice cream is made with healthy natural ingredients such as honey, organic coconut milk, dates, and maple syrup. Coconut Girl’s ice cream is gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo-friendly, and is only 250 calories! These delicious treats are available in three flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, and Maple Syrup.
The company first started by producing ice cream in pints; however, Frankie noticed her customers using the pints to make ice cream cookie sandwiches. She took the concept and implemented it for her products. Coconut Girl now mainly serves ice cream sandwiches in three staple flavors. Customers were happy with the change, and Coconut Girl focused solely on ice cream sandwiches.
Coconut Girl began when Frankie, a culinary graduate, first tried the paleo diet at her gym. She tried making a paleo-friendly smoothie to enjoy on her diet. The smoothie turned out well, so Frankie decided to turn it into ice cream. When she did, she gave each of her friends at the gym a sample; they loved it. As a result, Frankie decided to start Coconut Girl in 2014 to sell her healthy paleo-friendly ice cream.
Coconut Girl’s ice cream sandwiches quickly took on, and soon, major brands and chain stores wanted her product on board. Coconut Girl quickly found its products on shelves in Whole Foods locations along with many other stores around the country. The company doesn’t sell its products Direct To Consumer (DTC) online due to the difficulties of shipping and delivering frozen treats.
Frankie had recently lost her co-packer, so she was forced to pack her products on her own. She decided to go on Shark Tank to find a business partner to help her with operations and production so that she could focus on marketing and sales.
Coconut Girl on Shark Tank
Frankie came into the Shark Tank seeking $180,000 for 18% of Coconut Girl. She stated that Coconut Girl has only been in retail for three years. Coconut Girl made $60,000 in sales during her first year; the following year, she doubled that by making $120,000 in sales; and at the time of filming, she was on track to make $300,000 in sales. She told the sharks she sells her products through retail stores; however, at the time of filming, she was only selling in stores in South California.
Frankie claimed she did have a co-packer who helped produce the cookie part of the ice cream. Unfortunately, the co-packer had been too busy to continue working with her, so she had to produce everything on her own. Frankie told the Sharks how her company started; how she had started by serving pints before switching to ice cream sandwiches.
Frankie told the Sharks her backstory: She had come to the United States when she was only five years old. Her mother had to work two jobs to make a living for her family. Frankie said she had always loved fitness and creating a healthy alternative to tasty food. After starting her brand, Coconut Girl, she rolled her ice cream cart to fitness events and conventions to sell her product. Eventually, a retailer approached her, and Coconut Girl quickly found its way into stores across the US. Frankie had to learn everything from making barcodes to nutrition labels on her own.
She told the sharks that Whole Foods was her biggest account, with 30 locations and more to come. Frankie claimed she had recently gotten picked up by a major food distributor in the US. Each Coconut Girl ice cream sandwich retails for $4.99-$5.49. She claimed that her biggest competitor had recently raised their prices to $5.49 to match her price. Each ice cream sandwich only costs $1 to produce; the Sharks were impressed.
Frankie stated that she came on Shark Tank to get help doing logistics and operations because she was best suited for sales and marketing. Coconut Girl used to directly distribute her products to major stores until she recently contracted with Unify. Frankie stated that Unify covers Hawaii, so she was able to get the green light to scale her operations to that region. Frankie claimed that she also wanted the money to lower the production cost of her products; she was confident she could reduce production costs to $0.50.
Mark Cuban decided he had heard enough and offered Coconut Girl a deal. He offered $180,000 for 25% of the company. However, Mark demanded a quick answer before the other Sharks could make a deal.
Kevin O’Leary swooped in and offered $180,000 for 20%.
Mark Cuban changed his offer to $180,000 for 20% and was eager to make a deal. Frankie accepted, and they struck a deal before the other Sharks could even make their offers.
Coconut Girl Now in 2025 – The After Shark Tank Update
The deal with Mark Cuban successfully closed, and Coconut Girl was ready to scale up her business. However, when the episode aired, Covid-19 restrictions were in place, and the country was in lockdown. Stores and retailers were hesitant to take in new brands and products as the pandemic grew and restrictions tightened. The Covid-19 Pandemic hurt Coconut Girl’s sales, and since the company didn’t sell DTC, customers struggled to get their hands on the product.
In season 13 of Shark Tank, Mark Cuban mentioned Coconut Girl; he stated that the company was doing well and that Frankie sold a part of Coconut Girl. The company didn’t add new products or flavors yet, but Coconut Girl rebranded to prepare to add new products other than ice cream. In 2025, Coconut Girl reported $1.5 million in annual revenue.
Coconut Girl has been steadily growing as a healthy gluten-free, dairy-free, GMO-free, all-natural delicious ice cream alternative. Coconut Girl will likely grow even further as Frankie and Mark Cuban scale up the company to eventually be available in stores nationwide. For more updates and information about the company, visit Coconut Girl’s website here.