Pho Licious

Pho Licious is a shelf-stable kit that turns restaurant-style Vietnamese pho into a few-minute meal at home, with a rich bone-style broth, rice noodles, and seasonings in one package. The idea came from Joseph and Anh Trousdale, a Texas couple who wanted to capture the slow-simmered flavor of a traditional pho bowl without the hours of cooking it normally takes. Anh grew up around the dish, and the two built the brand to make that comfort food approachable for busy households.

On Shark Tank, the Trousdales asked for $500,000 in exchange for 10 percent of the company, leaning on strong retail traction and a tasting that won the room over. Kevin O'Leary jumped in with an offer, arguing he could widen distribution quickly. The couple pushed back on his terms and countered, and after some back and forth they settled with O'Leary at $500,000 for 15 percent. The flavor and the sales numbers did most of the convincing.

What made the segment memorable was how genuinely the sharks reacted to the broth itself, with a debate breaking out over the food rather than just the spreadsheet. The pitch stood out because Pho Licious already had real momentum in grocery, so the deal felt less like a gamble and more like fuel for a brand that had quietly grown from a kitchen project into a packaged product people were buying again and again.

The episode gave Pho Licious a noticeable sales lift, the kind of bump many founders see when their pitch airs. The brand had already moved beyond direct-to-consumer orders into major retail before the show, and the national exposure helped reinforce that retail story and bring in new shoppers who had never tried a packaged pho kit.

As of 2026 Pho Licious is still operating, with its products carried in large national chains including Walmart and Sam's Club locations alongside its own website. The company has continued to expand its grocery footprint since the show, and the founders have publicly shared their growth as part of retailer mentorship and open-call programs.