Simply Good Jars: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank

Simply Good Jars offers tasty layered salads, complete with fresh ingredients and dressing, all in one convenient container. Great for eating healthy on-the-go, all you have to do is simply shake it all up, remove the lid, and eat everything right out of the jar. It's the creative idea of Jared Cannon, a Philadelphia-based chef who grew up cooking alongside his grandmother, which inspired him to enroll in culinary school. But, after graduating from Temple University's Fox School of Business, Cannon realized much of his hometown lacked quick meals that were also nutritious, which led him to create Simply Good Jars in 2017, starting with a meager $1,000 loan.

Business started picking up right before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Simply Good Jars enjoying placements in refrigerated coolers located in hotels, airports, office buildings, or basically anywhere people would be looking for quick grab-and-go meals. But, once the pandemic did rear its ugly head, Cannon found that roughly 98% of the coolers were removed from previous locations. To survive, he began putting the salads into retail stores, and in a short period of time, he went from having four retail store partners to 230 refrigerated spots. While business was great, profits were not, which is why Cannon decided to take his chances with the billionaire investors on "Shark Tank," appearing in Season 12, Episode 16 in 2021 where he asked for a $500,000 investment for 7% ownership in the business.

After they were provided with samples, all five sharks on the panel were initially impressed with how fresh and tasty the near-gourmet salads were. Shark Lori Greiner even stated, "It really shakes!" after initially assuming the compacted layers would prove difficult to combine. 

Though, when the conversation turned to sales, things became more tenuous. Cannon noted the company garnered $300,000 in sales the previous year and was on track to earn $750,000 in the current year. However, not only were his profits nonexistent, but he was losing money in the venture. While this facet isn't unusual for a new business that's growing, the sharks balked at Simply Good Jars' losses that equaled $900,000 in 2020 with the same expectations in 2021, when the episode aired. The sharks also weren't thrilled that Cannon only owned 51% of the business, with 12 other investors involved.

Shark Daymond John believed the company was in trouble and backed out of negotiations. Fellow panelist Robert Herjavec thought that the only way the business would make any money is if someone bought Cannon out, and he too bowed out of a deal. "Mr. Wonderful" Kevin O'Leary had past experience with another "Shark Tank"-vetted company that was facing similar circumstances and bit on the opportunity to help Simply Good Jars. He offered Cannon the $500,000 asking amount, however as a loan, with a 9.5% interest rate in exchange for a 7% stake of the company. Greiner then considered going in on a deal with O'Leary, and Mark Cuban chimed in as well, offering the same deal as O'Leary but with 3% interest. But negotiations weren't over yet.

Even though Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary had offered lucrative deals, Lori Greiner didn't back down. She promised Simply Good Jars founder Jared Cannon not only the investment but fast returns thanks to her vast expertise in marketing. Cuban then changed his offer, matching exactly what Cannon was asking for, although Cannon, eyeing a better opportunity, tried to counter, asking if Cuban and Greiner would go in on the deal together, giving him the $500,000 as capital rather than a loan, for an evenly split 8% stake of the company.

Cuban (often a sure bet for healthy food pitches on the show) then countered, and asked for a 10% stake instead, with 5% each for himself and Greiner. After some ineffective bartering, Cannon eventually agreed to the deal: $500,000 capital for 10% ownership in the company and two sharks supporting him and his future with Simply Good Jars.

The exposure that Simply Good Jars gained from "Shark Tank" led to sales for the company exploding by 1200%, according to an interview Jared Cannon gave the Philly Voice in 2022. As well, after the appearance, roughly a half-million people visited the company website, requesting that Simply Good Jars be sold in their local towns across the nation as Cannon told the podcast "Catalyst," broadcast from his alma mater, Temple University's Fox School of Business. Cannon explained in the podcast episode that he continued to consult with sharks Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner on a weekly basis since the "Shark Tank" deal was made and added that Simply Good Jars were available in several states by that point with plans to be sold nationwide by 2022.

On "Shark Tank," Cannon shared details about the five different salads the company produced at the time: Rustic Chicken Caesar, Savory Smoked Salmon, Chicken and Bacon Cobb, Ancient Grain Greek, and Basil Pesto Caprese. Though, at some point thereafter, the company expanded its offerings to include All-Day Parfaits, housed in smaller jars intended for breakfast or as snacks. They also contain sweeter ingredients like yogurt, fruit purees, and muesli.

As of 2023, Simply Good Jars brought in almost $3.7 million in annual revenue, according to Kona Equity. Much of it came from securing deals with a number of retailers, including East Coast convenience store chain Wawa, as well as Saxbys cafés and Philadelphia-based meal delivery service GoPuff. According to the company's Facebook page, Simply Good products could even be found in select Costco stores. The company encouraged interested people who couldn't find the products in their region to message local stores and request that they carry Simply Good Jars.

In early 2022, Simply Good Jars opened a production facility in Florida in an effort to increase expansion. Founder Jared Cannon was also working on patenting the company's unique packaging system, called Smart Jar Technology. It allows fresh ingredients to stay fresh for up to nine days in their sealed jars.

From the onset of the business, Simply Good Jars founder Jared Cannon had been passionate about advancing sustainable practices. He encouraged customers to reuse or recycle used containers that once held Simply Good Jar meals. At many of the locations where they were sold, Simply Good Jars-branded recycling containers were placed nearby for consumers to drop in their empty dishes. Even better, every time a used jar was deposited in the receptacle, the company donated a meal to a local food non-profit for someone in need. The meals had the potential to feed a lot of people — and help save the planet at the same time.

Simply Good Jars was once quite active on social media, showcasing new locations where its salads were sold and different ways fans have reused their salad jars (when they were not recycled at one of the in-store containers). While the company had hopes to expand across the United States, Cannon also sought to make the products available internationally in the years to come. However, the company's fate is uncertain as of 2024.

In May 2024, Simply Good Jars announced a new initiative to bring its salads stored in jars directly to consumers. The company partnered with Primal Kitchen (a Kraft Heinz portfolio company) to sell pre-made salads from vending machines, and displayed its new branded vendor refrigerator at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago that month.

In addition, Simply Good Jars revealed eight new salads as part of the collaboration, using avocado oil dressings by Primal Kitchen. The self-cooled vending machines utilized Simply Good Jars' technology to keep perishable products fresh, and were part of an ambitious strategy to license its high-tech advancements to companies in the U.S. and Canada, before expanding into Europe and Latin America.

In the months following the announcement, however, Simply Good Jars went quiet on social media. Its last Instagram post was in early June 2024, as was its latest Facebook update. The latter attracted a comment saying that the company's website was not working — and this is still the case as of November 2024. There has been no official announcement regarding the closure of the business, and its products are still listed as being available in Philadelphia via Uber Eats. The last LinkedIn post from the company stated: "We can't wait to see these new salads and vending machines come to life in the future!" Whether or not most customers have the chance to try them is unclear.