Francheska “Frankie” Yamsuan wants a Shark to take a bite out of Coconut Girl, her paleo friendly frozen treats, in Shark tank episode 1106. Frankie graduated with a culinary degree, but didn’t have a big interest in anything other than “freestyle cooking,” much less making desserts. In 2010, she discovered the paleo diet when her crossfit gym did a “paleo challenge.”
Frankie began making a lot of smoothies and eating a lot of dates at that time and one day, she made a date smoothie. While drinking it, she decided to make her smoothie into ice cream. That was the first “prototype” for Coconut Girl. She shared some at her gym and soon people were asking her to make the ice cream to take home.
Fast forward to 2014 and Frankie decided to turn Coconut Girl into a “real business.” She doesn’t sell pints of her ice cream anymore. Now, she sells totally gluten free, paleo friendly ice cream sandwiches. The products are made in small batches at a facility in Los Angeles. The cookies use almond flour and almond butter as the main ingredients and the ice cream is made from coconut milk. The sandwiches, according to her many loyal customers, are delicious.
Right now, Frankie has a regional brand. You can find it at Whole Foods and independent markets in Southern California, Nevada, Hawaii and Arizona. She doesn’t sell online – Frankie wants to build her wholesale business and sell in stores. She likely wants a Shark to help her expand production capacity and retail reach. Will a Shark go nuts over this product?
Company Information
Video
Posts about Coconut Girl on Shark Tank Blog
The Coconut Girl – Paleo Ice Cream Sandwiches
Coconut Girl Shark Tank Recap
Francheska enters seeking $180,000 for 18% of her business. The Sharks love her samples and love that she is already in Whole Foods. She’s projecting $300,000 in sales for the year and says she wants a Shark so she can get a better co-packer and bring her costs down.
Mark likes the taste, Frankie and the fact that the sandwiches fit his own lifestyle. Mark says he’s going to make an offer, but he wants Frankie to commit without hearing any other offers. Frankie decides to hear Mark out and they settle on $180,000 for 20%.
Coconut Girl Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. Since airing in early March, 2020, the nation has been in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This has hurt sales as restocking on newer brands wasn’t a priority for grocery stores. According to the Coconut Girl Facebook page, Frankie is “delighted to be working with Mark Cuban and his team.” The company is listed on Mark’s website and it appears this deal is closed.
As of August, 2021, the products are in Whole Foods, Central Markets, Bristol Foods, Erewhon Markets, Good Earth Natural Foods and many more. She rebranded to Coconut Girl Brands so she can expand beyond ice cream too. Annual revenue is $1 million and likely to grow.
In season 13, episode 1316, (March, 2022) Diana Jarrar of Magic Dates revealed that she helped Frankie formulate the original ice cream for Coconut Girl. Mark said the company was doing well and Frankie “sold part of her business.” As of April, 2023, the company is doing around $2.5 million in annual revenue.
I will update this page as more information becomes available.
