Pork Barrel BBQ on Shark Tank

On September 13, 2009 Pork Barrel BBQ made its national television debut on Mark Burnett’s hit ABC television show Shark Tank. Shark Tank is a business-themed reality show that gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to present their products, services and inventions to a panel of Venture Capitalists – The Sharks – in hopes of securing a business deal. The Sharks are Barbara Corcoran (New York Real Estate Mogul), Mark Cuban (Owner and Chairman of AXS TV and the Dallas Mavericks), Robert Herjavec (Technology Innovator), Daymond John (Founder of FUBU), Kevin O’Leary (Venture Capitalist) and Lori Greiner (Inventor and QVC Personality).

During our September 13, 2009 appearance we pitched our Pork Barrel BBQ Original BBQ Sauce and Pork Barrel BBQ All-American Spice Rub to The Sharks. During our pitch we offered The Sharks an opportunity to be partners with an American company that wasn’t owned or operated by the federal government, which proved to be too good of an offer for Shark Barbara Corcoran to turn down. Our deal with Barbara not only gave us needed capital, but it also gave us the exposure that allowed us to move from a local brand to a national brand.

Just a few weeks after our initial episode aired, ABC aired a Pork Barrel BBQ follow-up on October 19, 2009 highlighting our increased retail sales and being picked up by Costco.

On March 8, 2012 ABC aired a second Pork Barrel BBQ follow-up to update Shark Tank fans on the opening of our first Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, VA.

We are often asked by Shark Tank fans and entrepreneurs what we did for our Shark Tank audition video. Like we always do, we followed our motto of “Reward Lives in the House of Risk” and went out on a limb to create a unique audition tape. We’re happy to share our audition tape with you here.

Since our first airing on Shark Tank in 2009 our company has seen amazing growth becoming one of the fastest growing specialty food brands in America. We’ve introduced new products, opened our first restaurant and won countless awards. Over this time we’ve also had the opportunity to visit with the Sharks on a number of occasions and we’re excited to share with you our “Home Videos” with The Sharks.