What Happened To P-Nuff Crunch After Shark Tank?

Gone are the days when following a vegan or gluten-free diet meant bland meals that often looked even worse than they tasted. Especially with the creation of foods like P-nuff Crunch, there's no excuse for healthy foods not to be appealing and tasty.

P-nuff Crunch was created in 2015 by Dr. Juan Salinas, founder of Perfect Life Nutrition, LLC. Salinas wanted to create a snack that encouraged healthy eating without losing any of the nutritional benefits of its ingredients. As such, he created a product that was free of GMOs, preservatives, artificial flavors, colors, and sweeteners. 

In 2020, Salinas brought P-nuff Crunch to the "Shark Tank" investors in hopes of striking a deal of $300k in exchange for 10% equity. Although he wasn't able to entice a shark with that particular deal, Salinas eventually agreed on $400k in exchange for 25% equity with Mark Cuban. So, what is it about P-nuff Crunch that had Cuban eager to make a deal, and where is the company today?

During his pitch to the sharks, Dr. Juan Salinas highlighted the health benefits of his snack and, naturally, brought along samples. His P-nuff Crunch snacks look like puffy Cheetos, minus the delightful orange dust that gets everywhere, and are on the sweeter side with flavors like roasted peanut, cinnamon, and cocoa. According to the P-nuff Crunch website, the snacks include ingredients like navy beans, white rice, cane sugar, tapioca starch, and peanut oil, and contain 130 calories per serving (versus 160 calories for a Cheetos serving half the size).

Though there was a little bit of a scramble as the sharks grilled Salinas over his meager sales, Mark Cuban swept in with a lifeline. Cuban explained how he "ate the whole friggin' bag" when his wife had brought a bag of P-nuff Crunch home, obviously giving the snack his personal stamp of approval (via YouTube). Even Kevin O'Leary said he'd never seen Cuban more excited about a snack.

As mentioned previously, Salinas accepted Cuban's deal of $400k in exchange for 25% equity, but it has since been rumored that the deal never actually closed. That being said, in an interview with online distributor Grovara, Salinas noted that Cuban had been helping the company with marketing and rebranding, so regardless of the deal's status, Cuban still seems to be working with P-nuff Crunch in some capacity.

No matter what the case may be with Mark Cuban's involvement, P-nuff Crunch remains strong as of 2023. Since appearing on "Shark Tank," the company has added two new flavors, for a complete collection of roasted peanut, cocoa, cinnamon, BBQ, and vegan jalapeno cheddar snacks. P-nuff Crunch can also be bought in variety packs if you can't choose just one flavor.

Though folks can order through the P-nuff Crunch website, they can also purchase the snacks on Amazon or at Walmart. Regardless of where fans shop, P-nuff Crunch ranges in price from $15 for a 3-pack to $50 for a 15-pack. Sure, these prices may seem a bit expensive, but they are actually comparable to Craize plantain chips, and even more affordable than the likes of RIND snacks and Daily Good shiitake mushroom crisps in packs of the same size.

As of early 2023, P-nuff Crunch is said to be making $1 million in annual sales, which is some major growth from its $104k in 2019. We think it's safe to say that P-nuff Crunch can count itself among the best foods we've seen on "Shark Tank" thus far.