Plant-based meat startups have found a home in Shark Tank. Another addition is Meat the Mushroom, with their flagship product Shroomacon, a mushroom-based bacon alternative. Marvin and Aleah Rae Montague pitched their product on show and got a deal with Kevin O’Leary. After Shark Tank, Meat the Mushroom is worth an estimated $2 million.
Meet the Montague’s
Shroomacon stands out from other plant-based bacon as it’s not made in a mold. No two Shroomacon slices look the same but are free of gluten, soy, and cholesterol.
It’s hard to believe Marvin Montague Jr. made this possible by accident. Since he was a child, he had been plagued by asthma and heart disease. When he turned vegan, it only took a year for his illnesses to disappear.
Because of this, he wanted to share the benefits of veganism through starting a vegan restaurant with his wife. At that time, Aleah was working in the marketing department of several online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
The Montagues wanted the restaurant to be natural, not relying too much on soy as the main source of protein for their menu items. However, they didn’t follow through with the plan after realizing they could help more people taking the retail route.
Founding Meat the Mushroom
Marvin experimented with mushrooms for a year. Eventually, he found the five golden ingredients to make it taste like pork: king oyster mushrooms, olive oil, natural smoke flavor, black pepper, and salt.
There were no unnecessary additives or processing. In 2021, Meat the Mushroom released its first product, the Shroomacon. Marvin and Aleah entered a market that was becoming more condensed, but still made it work.
The husband-and-wife team sold out regularly at farmer’s markets and has caught the attention of celebrities like Tabitha Brown and Keri Hilson. More importantly, the pair got the green light from Shark Tank producers to appear on season 15 after an intense application process.
Shark Tank: Where Things Stand Now
Aleah talked to the founders of Like Air to help them prepare for the boost in sales. The company sold around $60,000 worth of Shroomacon in the 12 hours after the episode aired. Production scaled up in 2024, with the team processing significant quantities of mushrooms monthly to meet demand.
In an interview with BizJournals.com, Marvin Montague Jr. believed Shark Tank could get its products into 1,000 grocery stores by the end of 2024.
New Initiatives
- In 2025 the founders opened a Baltimore-based food truck, Swap Out The Swine, serving items made with Shroomacon and other meatless options. After a brief hiatus for business recalibration, it resumed service as a carry-out location on Sundays
- The business has also tested expanded product ideas, including a pulled pork-style pulled ’shroom and a shelf-stable version of Shroomacon for use in restaurants.
Market Presence & Challenges
Despite progress, Shroomacon remains somewhat niche and isn’t consistently stocked nationwide. Outside of smaller health-food stores and local pop-ups in Baltimore, availability online and in national supermarkets can be intermittent.
The official website and social accounts continue to promote the product and future plans, including partnerships and sustainability messaging, but direct online ordering has periodically been limited or paused while restocks are organised.
It will be quite a challenge as mushrooms are currently on trend in the vegan market. The underrated ingredient is being used as a primary component for meat alternatives by industry behemoths like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. Among Meat the Mushroom’s prospective competitors is Umaro Foods, a startup that closed a $1 million deal with Mark Cuban.
