Mee-Ma's Louisiana Gumbo Brick Shark Tank Update

Mee-Ma's Louisiana Gumbo Brick Shark Tank Pitch

Carole Foster brought her business, Mee-Ma's Louisiana Gumbo Brick, to the tank from Compton California. Carole was passionate about making gumbo and had her fair share of gumbo as a long-haul truck driver for 13 years. Mee-Ma's Louisiana Gumbo Bricks are frozen, seasoned gumbo bases inspired by Carole's grandmother. From opening the box to eating the Gumbo takes around 45 minutes or less.

In the last two years, Carole got Mee-Ma's Louisiana Gumbo Brick set up sample booths in various local Costcos one by one, which has led to about $500k in sales with about $100k in profit. Carole has a commercial kitchen producing the bricks and wants the money to increase her inventory for expansion into more stores.

The profit has gone toward supporting her, her daughter, and her six siblings. Carole doesn't own a home but manages to get by couch surfing or living in her van with her daughter.

The food business is a competitive space that is difficult to succeed in. Carole rolls her eyes as each shark goes out. After Carole stirs up emotions about her and her daughter being homeless, Kevin, who was out, is moved enough to give Carole a chance and asked Lori to join him. The Sharks took 50% equity, but it gave Carole a fighting chance at success, so she accepted.

Mee-Ma's Louisiana Gumbo Brick After Shark Tank

Carole Foster released an eBook in November 2020 called Shark Pranked: How I Got Jerked Around By That Stupid "Investor" Show

When Courtlyn became ready to start Kindergarten, Carole had to give up her trucker life, and she knew she didn't want to be a secretary again, so she followed her gumbo passion. Carole's mom, Willa Dean, provided money and, most importantly, love and support to motivate Carole.

Carole took Mee Ma's Louisiana Gumbo Brick to Shark Tank's open casting hoping to make it through solely on the merits of her business but realized she had to be entertaining. Carole decided to sing a jingle at open casting to stand out from the 10,000 people in line, which worked.

Carole uses fake names in her book that clearly represent Shark Tank and the Sharks that perhaps make more sense to others, such as little FUBU Dude (Daymond John), L Boogie (Lori Greiner), and Dub C (Kevin O'Leary). Carole likely did this to avoid getting sued. For clarity, I'll use the shark's name Carole's fake name's refer to. Carole uses some colorful language regarding the sharks in expressing her feelings in the book.

Carole sang her jingle when she started her pitch, but it was edited out. Carole said she used shark meat in the shark's gumbo. Carole only wanted to talk about the business because she was embarrassed about her living situation and did not want that broadcast to her friends and family. Lori asked Carole about her living situation, and with four sharks out, Carole decided to talk up the homeless part. Lori and Kevin agreed to the 20% equity that Carole originally asked for, and Carole left the tank happy. Producers told Carole the video didn't shoot well and to go back on stage. On the second take, Kevin and Lori changed the deal to 50% equity, which shocked Carole, but she figured it was still a great deal and accepted.

Days after filming for Shark Tank, Carole found herself crying and questioning her decision. Carole had weekly phone calls with Lori, Kevin, and their assistant, where they talked about business and packaging, which was initially encouraging. Eight months after filming, Shark Tank came out to film the scenes of Carole's living situation and selling gumbo on the street. Carole eventually was only talking to the assistant. Carole tried to play it cool, but after several months without receiving money, she drew up the nerve to ask for the funds to be deposited. Kevin told Carole her business was not investable.

Carole felt the sharks toyed with her for eight months until the episode went through to tell her they weren't acting upon their deal. When she watched the show with Willa Dean, Willa's face lit up. Carole was furious with the show and made Facebook posts about Shark Tank that Kevin's assistant told her she needed to delete or risk getting sued. Carole had called a few attorneys to try and sue Shark Tank, but none would take the case.

A business person contacted Carole out of the blue and helped her improve her business by showing her co-packers, teaching her Microsoft Excel, and other useful tools. Carole suspected this person was sent by Shark Tank.

At one point Carole thought killing herself might be good for business and her daughter and send a message to Shark Tank. In 2015 Willa Dean died. In 2020 Carole was meeting with a therapist. In 2022 the website is gumbobrick.com