Ice cream is a delicious frozen treat, but it’s far from healthy. Coconut Girl’s dairy-free, gluten-free ice cream sandwiches have the same rich flavor but with fewer calories. Founder Francheska Yamsuan pitched the product on Shark Tank and landed a deal with Mark Cuban. As of 2024, Coconut Girl is worth an estimated $4 million.
About the Founder
Francheska “Frankie” Yamsuan is originally from the Philippines and currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Her family later moved to the United States and settled in Los Angeles, California, where she attended the California Institute of the Arts to train as a chef.
Previously, Frankie attended the University of California, but dropped out due to lack of focus, and eventually studied culinary arts in 2011, completing her studies in just one year. The Filipino beauty has no regrets as this ultimately helped her find her way into entrepreneurship.
Founder of Coconut Girl
As an adult, Francesca developed an unhealthy relationship with food. It affected her mental and physical state, so she wanted to change it. Her journey began by making date smoothies and shakes.
Eventually, she created paleo-friendly ice cream and shared it with coworkers, and in early 2016, Frankie began selling it by the pint. She noticed customers were turning them into sandwiches, so she decided to make them the official package.
In her first year, the aspiring entrepreneur achieved $60,000 in sales, and in her second year, she doubled her sales to $120,000. By 2019, Coconut Girl is on track to achieve $300,000 in revenue, having partnered with major retailers.
Shark Tank Appearance
A big part of Frankie Yamsuan’s early success was due to a contract manufacturer, but he left. To keep up with customer demand, she needed funding to hire more help. Yamsuan appeared on Shark Tank Season 11, seeking $180,000 in funding in exchange for 18% equity.
Frankie pulled into the Tank in a cute ice cream truck and confidently introduced herself. She did a great job explaining the ingredients used in the products and the story behind the company. From the beginning, Mark Cuban was interested in her, and her growing sales excited the Sharks.
The billionaire took the lead by offering $180,000 for 25% of the equity. Cuban wanted an immediate response, but the other Sharks wanted in. After an interesting tug-of-war, Mark won the bidding war for 20% of the equity. You could tell Frankie was uncomfortable with accepting the offer and wanted to hear from Lori.
After Shark Tank
The pandemic hit shortly after the show aired, affecting Frankie’s business as it was difficult for him to get into more retail stores.
Coconut Girl is already sold in a few Whole Foods stores in California. But under Mark’s leadership, they’ve expanded their reach into more places across the U.S., such as Bristol Foods, Lazy Acres Market, Lassens, and Erewhon Market. They’re now also selling in stores in Canada, and you can buy them online at Amazon.
Frankie’s has started making other food products, but their main product remains the ice cream sandwich. Their milk vanilla flavor has a 4.2 star rating from 36 Amazon reviews. Coconut Girl has an annual revenue of approximately $2 million and a valuation of $4 million.
Mark Cuban revealed that Frankie has sold her equity and is no longer involved in the company. She is probably a millionaire now! Currently, Frankie is working on an ube ice cream product, which is part of her Filipino heritage.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn