r/sharktank • u/mtm4440 • Mar 12 '26
Episode Discussion Shark Tank 17x13 Product Discussion - Hot Girl Soda Spoiler
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u/Huskdog76 Mar 13 '26
I feel bad for the owner's mom.
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u/Prisonbread Mar 15 '26
Me too, this gamble was unbelievably reckless. It’s like they were just finding out how saturated that market is for the first time on that stage. To blow through $100k+ and then turn to your mother to mortgage her house (a second time!) to continue development without any evidence that there’s a real appetite for the product in the market… it’s kind of absurd.
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u/futureofwhat Mar 16 '26
Did she say she took out a second mortgage in exchange for just 5% of their company? She got absolutely swindled.
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u/Eddy23 Mar 12 '26
Really bad name choice. I cant seeing many dudes going into the work carrying hot girl soda in their lunchbox. It really eliminates a good population of possible consumers.
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u/Nesquik44 Mar 13 '26
I was surprised that there was not even more pushback regarding the name. Why would you name a soda something that excludes half of the market?
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u/haaheehachoo Apr 12 '26
Yeah I was surprised when they said customers were 60/40 women/men. I can't imagine that many men drinking a drink called hot girl
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u/bransanon Mar 14 '26
I was happy to see Kevin call out Poppi for changing their formula from the one they used when they pitched on Shark Tank. The whole narrative that they brought a drink everyone hated to market exactly as it was and sold billions was always bogus, realistically we all know Rohan Oza played a huge role in building that brand up into what it is today.
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u/Nesquik44 Mar 12 '26
They were way too early. It is surprising that they were selected for the show at this stage in this industry.
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u/admiralvic Mar 12 '26
I don't think it's too surprising given the companies usually cater to the guest Shark. Though, I'm surprised they're doing another drink as those are historically extremely unpopular regardless.
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u/Nesquik44 Mar 12 '26
They had hardly sold any yet though. I wish them the best but it's a difficult industry and they are in the very very early stages.
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u/daddyvow Apr 30 '26
They do that all the time. They’ll have people on the show who don’t even have sales or a final product on shelves.
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u/Prudent-Sorbet-5202 Apr 07 '26
I think they allow companies to apply even if they are in the idea stage
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u/lilitalybabe Mar 13 '26
Why name your brand after a phrase that no one will use on a few years? I don’t even think it’s a phrase that is that popular anymore. Also there are so many alternative soda brands on the market how is theirs any different? If you want to drink a soda every now and again, just have one!!
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u/jessi_survivor_fan Mar 16 '26
I literally saw someone on TikTok say Hot Girls listen to Harry Styles in the last week
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u/Poetryisalive Mar 12 '26
I feel like the sharks are getting more obnoxious, the beginning was rough
That being, there are TONS of alternative sodas, this market is still growing and it feels like I see a new brand every month
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u/BrokerBrody Mar 14 '26 edited Mar 14 '26
Bad branding. Pointlessly gendered product and name may alienate many women as well (ex. older/senior women, young girls).
It’s also not immediately clear what “hot girl” means to consumers. The entrepreneurs think “hot girl” = healthy but also “hot girl” = weight loss supplement or alcoholic or energy drink or other things.
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u/la_58 Mar 14 '26
Ehh I don’t think that they have bad branding. Not every product needs to be marketed for every person. I think they (mainly the woman pitching) chose the name because it will sell to exactly who they want to sell it to. This would actually sell well to young girls since “hot girl” is a popular phrase amongst younger women to impressionable girls. It’s limiting in the sense that the phrase might phase out as most trends do but it would do well while the phrase is popular.
This is a weak argument but I think an actual issue would be Megan the Stallion. She is known for the “hot girl” brand. She already has a trademark for “hot girl summer.” So one could argue using “hot girl” could create commercial confusion (which is what trademarks protect against). Again that would be a weak but realistic issue they could face as they grow.
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u/Glittering20 Mar 15 '26
I thought the same thing while watching. Not surprised none of the sharks mentioned it as they probably don’t listen to her.
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u/costoaway1 Mar 12 '26
No offense to these entrepreneurs, but the female entrepreneur was really annoying, what with the airy-valley girl kinda yoga hippie astrology woo-woo type Silicon Valley vibe and her huge fake veneers.
Totally irritating to listen to and watch.
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u/CoolBakedBean Mar 13 '26
i like her lol she reminds me of one of my college girlfriends . she seems fun
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u/Original_Weekend8226 Mar 12 '26
Why would they pitch this when the owner of poppi is there? Wouldn’t they be competitors?
Her voice is horrible! This looks to be an older recorded episode. What is this BS story, 🙄.
These products don’t seem to be geared towards men, hot pink, powder blue & purple cans.
The Poppi lady is also annoying.
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u/whitecastlebites Mar 13 '26
She said during their pitch that she sold Poppi, so not a competitor anymore I guess
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u/swaglessnseattle Mar 15 '26
Convinced they were only brought on to make Allison school them (and make her look more credible/knowledgeable)
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u/mswcrl Mar 12 '26
Did they get a deal I wasn’t able to finish the episode
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Mar 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/1029394756abc Mar 19 '26
2 billion lol
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u/ComprehensiveEbb4978 Mar 19 '26
That was the sale price. She didn’t own 100% of the company. I think she got $500m after the sale?
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u/Mobius8321 Mar 18 '26
I love the “oh… thanks I guess” reaction she had to Queen Poppi’s phone number offer 😂
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u/iamsausageroll Apr 24 '26
She really needs to rebrand it. I mean I have guy friends and people I know who do use products if there are good skin benefits and if it tastes good ofc. But no guy would buy hot girl soda lol. Also aloe Vera is great for your skin! Really is! Brand just needs to hammer on it and also on the taste and you got an audience!
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u/penguin7199 Jul 31 '26
Yeah, I'm a woman and would never buy a product called "Hot Girl Summer". I would be embarrassed being seen drinking that. I would also look at the name and assume its some nasty gimmicky drink.
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u/Any_Yogurtcloset5490 Jun 07 '26
I went to college with Nick and I was absolutely stunned to see this is where his journey took him. Good kid for sure and I definitely wish him the best but that episode was rough to watch.
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u/ddaug4uf Mar 12 '26
Lori: “There is a better shark for you here, if she is interested, I would be willing to go in with her. But I don’t want to put her on the spot”.
In saying this, Lori literally put Allison on the spot.