Jicama, also known as Mexican turnip, is a nutritious root vegetable that can be eaten as a tasty snack. Xin and Melissa Colella-Wang fell in love with this tasty vegetable and started a food company based on it. They pitched their product on Shark Tank and landed a deal with Barbara Corcoran. Jica Foods is now valued at $5 million.
Founder
Xin and his partner, Melissa Colella-Wang, live in Rowland Heights, California. He studied illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology and received his MFA in packaging design from Pratt Institute.
Melissa has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wellesley College and was a member of the swim team. As a couple, they both loved snacking but wanted to create a healthier snack so they wouldn’t feel guilty. They also started running marathons to stay in shape.
Founded Jica Foods
In 2015, the couple went on vacation to Mexico. While there, they tasted jicama for the first time and immediately fell in love with it. Later, they learned about its health benefits and got their wish.
When the two returned home, they immediately thought of starting a business to share the delicious taste of jicama with the world. They sold three jicama-based food products: JicaSticks, JicaWraps and Jica de Gallo.
After receiving funding from AccelFoods, Jica Foods was officially launched in 2015. In the early days, the founders drove sales by attending local trade shows.
Appeared on Shark Tank
Xin and Melissa put a lot of effort into educating the public about the benefits of eating jicama. This landed them some distribution deals, and Jica Foods is now sold in over 1,600 stores across the U.S. In 2019, Jica Foods made $1 million in profit, and is on track to hit $6 million in sales in 2022.
The company hopes to expand into new locations and sell directly to consumers. For these reasons, the founders need to raise capital and want to bring in Shark.
After Shark Tank
Jica Foods had been struggling since its launch, but as expected, sales surged after the national TV broadcast. Additionally, Google searches for jicama vegetables spiked 48 hours after the show aired.
Sales figures have not been released recently, but Jica Foods should have annual sales of more than $6 million in 2023. The product range has been expanded to include Jica sticks, salsa, and peripheral products. Profit margins are about 6.6% in 2022, but should improve in the near term.
These healthy snacks can be purchased at select locations like Walmart, Whole Foods, Wegmans, and Sprouts. They have a website, JicaFoods.com, but you can’t order directly from there, but it shows some recipes and store locations.
The company has 9,200 followers on Instagram and has received mostly positive reviews for its products. Jica Foods is currently valued at $5 million, but that could change due to the Shark Tank effect. The company currently has seven full-time employees.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn