What You Need to Know About Noshi from Shark Tank

Kids and picky-eating go together like peanut butter and jelly — but it doesn’t have to be that way. Founder Tomo Delaney started Noshi, a food brand specifically for kids, as a direct response to his two children continually saying “no” at the dining table. Delaney realized it wasn’t so much about the food choices he was presenting them with as it was about empowering kids to feel included in the meal process. “So I set out to grow a brand that was built around products specifically designed for use by kids,” he shared on Noshi’s website. 

In other words, Delaney said “yes” to the concept of playing with food, which resulted in the first iteration of the Noshi brand. He launched Food Paint — tubes of colorful condiments made with all-natural ingredients in flavors such as strawberry, pear, and blueberry — in 2017. A few years into selling the products, Delaney had already scored branded licensing partnerships with Crayola, Peppa Pig, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and The World of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

And the tubes packaged like art supplies were already featured in Walmart when he brought Noshi to “Shark Tank” in September 2022. But on Season 14, Episode 21 of the show, he expressed needing funding to scale the business and improve margins, as well as for personal reasons such as his wife’s health issues. He asked for $250,000 in return for a 17% share in the edible art product line. The Sharks weren’t easy to win over, but Delaney was determined to get his playful condiments into more kids’ hands. 

When Delaney pitched the Sharks with his business proposition on that fateful autumn day in 2022 (though the episode aired a year later, in 2023), he presented each of them with their own tubes of Food Paint to play with. And he led with what kids want from the get-go. Sure, kids love condiments, such as popular ketchup brands, but what they really desire is agency to get creative with their food. Kevin O’Leary denied the offer based on lack of confidence in the brand’s sales, and a series of “no’s” followed for a variety of reasons. 

That is, until the deal came to Mark Cuban, who, impressed by Delaney’s brand partnership with Crayola and the potential of selling the product online and at lower retail prices, agreed to invest. On the show, Cuban suggested selling individual tubes of Noshi’s Sketchup, Mustart, and Crayonnaise for around $1.99 each, which would allow parents to pick them up and try them with their kids with less of a commitment than buying a whole pack for $5.46. In an act of faith in the brand and its founder, Cuban offered $250,000 for 25% equity in Noshi. Delaney agreed almost immediately. What followed next was an evolution of Food Paint from its artful origins.

After locking in the significant investment on “Shark Tank,” Delaney secured a three-year contract with Walmart to expand the sale of his products at the retail chain. Noshi has apparently been growing steadily, at approximately a 10% year-over-year rate, according to Shark Tank Insights. It’s not clear whether the growth can be attributed to the brand’s increased limelight via the show, or other factors like repeat customers or better product margins. 

However, the current condiments look vastly different from the mock Crayola paint tubes featured on “Shark Tank.” Most notably, Noshi underwent a rebrand from its early days as Noshi Food Paint to a line of savory condiments called Noshi For Kids. Noshi now offers three products for purchase: kid-friendly 10-ounce handheld tubes of Ketchup, Chick’n Dip, and Ranch — all organic and featuring natural ingredients. Each flavorful condiment retails at $5 a pop, and is perfect for adding flavor to frozen chicken nuggets or a veggie plate. 

Though the condiments are no longer art project specific, the beauty is that kids still get to play with their food by squeezing the condiments onto their plates. Following Cuban’s advice, the kids’ condiments are now fully available online, too, which could be helping sales. The products can now be conveniently purchased on the brand’s website, Instagram, and TikTok shop.

As of June 2025, Noshi is certainly still in business. The brand is reportedly valued at around $1.1 million, compared to $1 million after Cuban’s investment. However, like the Sharks told Delaney, he had a lot of work to do to increase profits. Viewers of the show agreed. On a Reddit episode review thread, one user wrote, “I want him to do well but [shudder] at the thought of the needless excess waste,” while others expressed doubts about the brand’s high prices and the squandered opportunity of not appealing to influencers on social media.

Given Noshi’s rebrand after the show, it’s possible that the art tool format didn’t land as well with parents as Delaney initially imagined. The original edible Food Paint box partnership with Crayola got mixed reviews on Amazon, with general feedback that the tubes were fun but impractical. “The paints are more of a sauce consistency, and the bottles do not have a reusable cap so you cannot use and easily save for another day,” one customer wrote, again pointing at the need for a more sustainable product. 

Whatever the case, it’s clear that Delaney’s “Shark Tank” experience gave him necessary advice and resources to make significant changes to the brand. In a recent 2025 interview, Delaney told DeliveryRank that, while it didn’t have the budget or experience to test the original product messaging, Noshi has now “reimagined the product to appeal to both parents and children — preserving the fun, creativity, and empowerment elements for kids while delivering the familiarity and clarity parents need.”

Though Noshi’s products no longer come in colorful mock art kits resembling Crayola products, the brand’s condiments — now more practical, with more servings per tube and a resealable cap — can be added to a variety of kid-friendly dinner party snacks while still empowering young ones to dress up their own food. But even with the reimagined product line, Delaney hasn’t given up on the original concept of edible art. Noshi recently announced plans to launch tubes of healthier frosting in July 2025 under the brand’s original Food Paint name.

With added vitamins and minerals, the naturally-flavored and colored kids’ frosting will come in primary-color flavors of strawberry, blueberry, mango, and lime, which will feature fun, personified fruit characters on the tubes. In an Instagram post on March 26, 2025, the brand wrote in its caption: “Noshi edible Food Paint for kids: These tubes, these colors, these benefits. Draw it on pancakes, waffles, cup cakes, and cookies. Or just suck it straight from the tube! It’s what it was always meant to be.” More playful food experiences for your kids (or inner child)? Say less.