Pork Barrel BBQ Shark Tank Update

Pork Barrel BBQ Shark Tank Pitch

Heath Hall and Brett Thompson are hopeful politicians who started a bbq sauce and spice rub company, Pork Barrel BBQ. They want to prove that the American Dream makes success possible even in a poor economy.

When pressed on their valuation, Brett redirects the topic, which Robert hilariously points out is just what a politician would do. Brett feels a conservative estimate is $4 million in revenue in their first year.

Robert, Daymond, Kevin Harrington, and Kevin O'Leary bring up criticisms of too high of evaluation, too risky, too many competitors, and being only a part-time hobby. Perhaps Heath would prefer Barbara go out than say what she does next.

I feel Barbara forces her kids to wear bunny outfits every Christmas like in A Christmas Story. And now, with her investment in Pork Barrel BBQ, they can show mommy how the piggies eat.

Pork Barrel BBQ After Shark Tank

In Season 1, Episode 10, Pork Barrel BBQ announced they had got into Costco and were opening up a restaurant. In season 3, episode 7, the restaurant opened and the BBQ sauce is in over 2000 stores across 40 states. They have done over $1 million in sales.

In season 5, episode 23, Barbara mentioned that Pork Barrel BBQ was doing $2 million in annual revenue.

Their website is porkbarrelbbq.com

In June 2017, Heath gave an extensive interview on youtube here

While working in Washington D.C. together for a political campaign, Brett and Heath's Boss did not get reelected, leaving them with the time and ambition to take a shot at turning their passion into a business. They assembled a "kitchen cabinet" of friends to test their spices. By thanksgiving 2008, they had their first batch of products and sold around $3k worth to friends and family.

Using the same strategies they used for running a political campaign, they became the most followed Twitter account in the barbeque space, @porkbarrelbbq

Brett and Heath were interested and filmed the show in Hollywood, CA, in July 2009, which aired in September 2009. In that time, they went from being in 2 stores to 100 and soon after airing 1000. In 2017, Pork Barrel BBQ was in over 25k stores.

They have also started new skews such as popcorn, beef jerky, and physical stores to help grow revenue streams while helping to balance out the seasonality of fewer people in northern U.S. barbequing in the winter.

They have made several tv appearances over the years, such as Good Morning America and The Today Show, and competed on cooking shows on FoodTV.

Brett and Heath both had kids since the show, but Heath still enjoys going to barbeque events when he can and loves the melting pot of people they attract.

Barbara doesn't get involved with the recipes but has been very available for guidance and helpful for things like getting publicity or signing deals like Costco.

In 2022 Heath and Brett are still very much involved with Pork Barrel BBQ but have also spread into other gigs. Heath works in a Dental practice while Brett is a Lawyer. The jerky was a successful addition and remains on their website, along with their staple spice rubs and barbeque sauce.