Soupergirl: Here's What Happened After Appearing On Shark Tank

Sara Polon's career as a stand-up comedian didn't make much of a splash, but she found her life's passion in soup. Back in 2008, Polon, of Washington, D.C., searched high and low for an all-natural soup that was low in salt, additives, and unpronounceable ingredients while also being kosher certified and, most importantly, delicious. Given her long list of requirements, it's not wholly surprising that she came up empty-handed. It sometimes takes the addition of unexpected ingredients to bring life to lackluster soup, but Polon felt she could do better than doctoring up store bought stuff. She wasn't much of a cook herself, so she recruited her mother, Marilyn Polon, to help her formulate the kinds of recipes she wanted to eat. Thus, Soupergirl was born.

Soupergirl had quite a bit of early success. Ten years after starting the company, the Polon mother-daughter duo had seen their soup empire grow to two retail locations with 35 workers, shelf space in New England and mid-Atlantic Whole Foods and Costco locations, as well as a thriving network of farmer's markets and natural food grocers. However, the needs of a growing business demanded more: more space, more machinery, and, most importantly, more money. In October 2018, the Polons took a dive into the "Shark Tank" on the hunt for an investor.

Sara and Marilyn Polon appeared on Season 10 of "Shark Tank." Things started out on the right foot, with the pair making an energetic pitch to the assembled sharks and demonstrating their range of all-natural soups, which included bottled watermelon gazpacho and west African peanut stew. The sharks praised the Polons for what they deemed to be genuinely delicious products.

Things veered off-course when money entered the discussion. The Soupergirl team asked for a $500,000 investment in exchange for 10% of the company's equity. Right away, Kevin O'Leary cast doubt on the valuation of the company, which the Polons claimed to be $5 million. In the course of a heated discussion, it quickly came out that Soupergirl's margins were incredibly low, that the company was mired in over $600,000 in debt, and that cash reserves were only around $20,000. 

Mark Cuban went so far as to caution Sara Polon that her company was dangerously close to shuttering. The sharks wondered why Sara did not use a co-packer to help increase production, but she argued that she wouldn't be able to maintain high standards and keep the products kosher. Ultimately, the sharks dropped out one by one, meaning the Polon duo left "Shark Tank" without a deal.

For some entrepreneurs, an unsuccessful run on "Shark Tank" might have been an omen of failure, but Sara and Marilyn Polon hit the ground running with the momentum of a nationwide TV appearance behind them. Immediately after the show's airing, Soupergirl saw a 500% increase in sales of its Souper Meals program, a three- or five-day supply of soups meant to function as a sort of dietary cleanse. Sara Polon ferociously defended her stance on "Shark Tank," even though it meant she left without an investor. She told Forward that she was committed to maintaining her adherence to Jewish dietary laws, saying "The whole concept of kashrut is about connecting with you food [...] I take that very seriously. We are about reconnecting with your food." Her ideals also included taking excellent care of her staff, and, above all, making the fantastic soup that was Soupergirl's hallmark.

Shortly after their episode of "Shark Tank" aired, the Polons got a surprising phone call. Matt Higgins, a guest shark on the panel, had second thoughts about Soupergirl and wanted to offer his services as a mentor. It was just the beginning of life-changing good news for Soupergirl. The company started fulfilling nationwide soup orders in 2019, a move that turned out to be amazingly prescient when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and consumers increasingly turned to home food delivery. Before long, Soupergirl raised $2 million in Series A funding, with backers including Seth Goldman of Honest Tea and Beyond Meat, and Danielle Vogel of Glen's Garden Market. Soupergirl was off to the races.

As of the second quarter of 2025, Soupergirl is thriving. Like Bee D'Vine, the honey wine company that took off after a "Shark Tank" appearance despite a similar lack of a deal, Soupergirl proved that there is, in fact, life after a bad trip to the Tank. In 2019, Soupergirl was chosen as the only soup provider for all U.S. Lidl locations. By 2022, its list of retail partners had bloomed to include Kroger, The Fresh Market, and Fresh Direct. In 2023, with growth exploding, Soupergirl moved operations to Lanham, Maryland, where the state MEP program helped the company both scale production and cut back on energy costs by switching cooling systems from a blast chiller to a water-cooling system, as well as obtaining a quarter-million-dollar grant to fund the improvements.

In 2024, Soupergirl rebranded with a new visual identity meant to underline its commitment to Polon's stated values. This also including the debut of a new logo: Just Good Soup. In addition to a seasonally-rotating menu of delicious, hearty vegetarian soups made from whole ingredients, the company now offers flavored nut snack blends, gluten-free cookies, and homemade brownies — all for nationwide shipping. It also offers meal bundles that include soup samplers and snacks, which it markets to new moms, sick friends and family members, and folks needing a '"welcome to the neighborhood" or "thank you" gift.

Nowadays, Soupergirl is maintaining a vibrant and timely social media presence, with its Facebook page blasting seasonal sales and holiday offerings like Passover-ready kosher soup bundles to its 14,000 followers. For Earth Day 2025, Soupergirl reaffirmed its commitments to being certified plastic neutral, composting 100% of its food scraps, and sourcing visually-unappealing (but delicious!) produce to keep it out of landfills. It's perfectly apparent from the current product line-ups and the overwhelming commitment to social responsibility that the Polons never compromised on their strong feelings about what soups they wanted to make and what ethos they wanted to maintain while doing so.

Meanwhile, Soupergirl soups are available at many big-name supermarkets. They've been spotted at Safeway, Acme, and MOM's Organic Market, in addition to all the partners listed previously. If Soupergirl follows its 15-year trajectory, it's safe to assume that the Polons and their employees will continue innovating new flavors of delicious soup and making sure that distribution extends far and wide, so that you can experience Soupergirl at a retailer near you.