Chirps

Chirps is a line of tortilla-style chips made with cricket flour, sold as a high-protein, sustainable alternative to conventional snack food. Founders Laura D'Asaro and Rose Wang built the company in California around an ingredient most American shoppers had never knowingly eaten, and the pitch leaned on that head on: crickets were framed as a farming and sustainability story rather than something to hide, since cricket protein takes a fraction of the land and water that conventional livestock protein does.

Chirps appeared in Season 8, Episode 14, which aired in January 2017. D'Asaro and Wang asked for 100,000 dollars for 7 percent of the company, which valued the business at roughly 1.43 million dollars. The product itself was easy to demonstrate, but the pitch had to get past the squeamishness factor before any conversation about margins or shelf space could start.

Mark Cuban made the deal, offering the same 100,000 dollars for 15 percent equity, more than double the stake the founders had put on the table. They took it, betting that Cuban's backing and reach were worth the extra ownership. That closed the deal at a valuation of about 667,000 dollars.

Chirps did not stay a one-product company. The founders expanded well past the original chips into cupcake and cookie baking mixes made with cricket flour, whole roasted crickets sold as a standalone snack, and straight cricket protein powder aimed at the fitness and supplement market. That move from snack aisle to nutrition aisle turned out to be the more durable lane.

Distribution grew with the product line. Chirps reported landing shelf space in more than 1,000 stores nationwide, including a chain-wide placement across every Vitamin Shoppe location. Reported annual revenue has been cited in the range of roughly 1 million dollars, though there is no audited financial statement or published net worth figure for the company, so any specific valuation number circulating online should be treated as speculation.