Also known as the Mexican turnip, Jicama is a nutrient-rich root plant that serves as a delicious snack. Xin and Melissa Colella-Wang, fell in love with the tasty veggie. They pitched the product on Shark Tank and got a deal with Barbara Corcoran. After the show, Jica Foods was worth an estimated $5 million but their valuation has fallen since. Their website is inactive and they appear to have gone out of business.
Xin and Melissa Colella-Wang
Xin and his partner, Melissa Colella-Wang, are based in Rowland Heights, California. He studied illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology and has a master’s degree in package design from Pratt Institute.
Melissa has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wellesley College and was a part of the swimming team. As a couple, the two loved snacking but wanted to create a healthier snack so they would feel less guilty. The pair also started running marathons to keep in shape.
Shutting Down After Shark Tank
JicaFoods appeared on Shark Tank in January 2023, securing a deal with Barbara Corcoran for $300,000 in exchange for equity and advisory shares but it never closed.
Despite the initial boost in visibility from the TV exposure, the company shut down operations after the episode aired. All signs point to it having gone out of business.
Its website now returns an unavailable page, social media accounts have been inactive for years, and its products no longer appear for sale through online marketplaces or major grocers. Retailers that once carried JicaFoods items, such as Whole Foods and Sprouts, do not currently list them for purchase.
There have been no recent sales figures, official updates from the founders, or public announcements about the brand’s performance since 2023, and JicaFoods largely disappears from public view after 2023 online activity tapered off. Ultimately, the cost of shipping fresh produce to customers was too high for a small business.
Jica Foods Background
In 2015, the couple went on a vacation to Mexico. There, they got their first taste of the jicama vegetable and were instantly hooked. They later found out about its health benefits and got what they wished for.
When the two got home, they immediately thought of sharing the flavor of jicama with the world through starting a business. They sold three jicama-based food items: JicaSticks, JicaWraps, and Jica de Gallo.
After getting funding from AccelFoods, Jica Foods officially launched in 2015. The founders attended local trade shows to drive sales in the early years.
Xin and Melissa put a lot of effort into educating the public about the perks of eating jicama. This got them distribution deals and Jica Foods was available in over 1,600 stores in the U.S. In 2019, Jica Foods made $1 million and generated $6 million in sales for 2022.
The business was looking to expand their presence into new locations and sell direct to consumers. For these reasons, the founders needed to raise capital and wanted to bring on a Shark.
