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If you watched Season 11 of Shark Tank, you probably remember Bohana. The energetic founders stepped onto the stage with a totally unique idea: a healthy, crunchy snack made from popped water lily seeds. They promised it was the ultimate, guilt-free replacement for popcorn.
The pitch was a massive success. The founders secured a deal with Kevin O’Leary, and the brand saw a massive explosion in sales shortly after the episode aired. Soon, Bohana was stocked on the shelves of major grocery stores and blowing up on Amazon.
But in the fast-paced world of food startups, things can change overnight. By 2026, fans of the brand have noticed that it is impossible to find a bag of Bohana anywhere.
So, what exactly went wrong? Did the company get sold? Are they still in business today?
In this complete 2026 update, we will break down exactly what Bohana is, how their Shark Tank pitch went, the details of their secret 2022 acquisition, and why this once-thriving brand has completely disappeared from the market.
Bohana Fast Facts
| Company Detail | Information |
| Founders | Nadine Habayeb and Priyal Bhartia |
| Product | Popped water lily seeds (Makhana) |
| Shark Tank Episode | Season 11, Episode 16 (Aired March 2020) |
| Initial Ask | $200,000 for 10% equity |
| Final Deal | $200,000 loan (9% interest) for 8% equity with Kevin O’Leary |
| 2026 Business Status | Defunct / Out of Business |
| 2026 Net Worth | $0 (Brand inactive, parent company collapsed) |
What Is Bohana?
Before diving into the business drama, it helps to understand what made the product so special in the first place.
Bohana was a healthy snack brand that sold popped water lily seeds. In India, these seeds are known as makhana. For thousands of years, makhana has been a staple of Ayurvedic medicine and a highly popular everyday snack in South Asia.
The creators of Bohana took these ancient seeds, roasted them over high heat so they puffed up, and coated them in savory spices. The result was a light, airy puff that had the exact same satisfying crunch as popcorn, but with far better health benefits.
The Health Benefits of Water Lily Seeds
Consumers loved Bohana because it fit perfectly into almost any modern diet. It offered a rare combination of being filling, tasty, and extremely clean.
Here is why health-conscious snackers went crazy for it:
- No Annoying Kernels: Unlike traditional popcorn, water lily seeds do not have hard hulls or kernels that get stuck in your teeth or cause choking.
- High Protein: Bohana packed a major punch of plant-based protein. It offered 50% more protein per serving than standard buttered popcorn.
- Low in Fat and Calories: A whole bag of Bohana contained roughly 110 to 150 calories and had 67% less fat than traditional popcorn.
- Packed with Amino Acids: The seeds naturally contain all nine essential amino acids, which help build muscle and boost your immune system.
- Diet-Friendly: The snacks were 100% vegan, paleo, kosher, non-GMO, gluten-free, and free from the “Big 8” major food allergens.
A Focus on Sustainability
Bohana also won over fans by caring about where their food came from. Instead of using middlemen, the company formed direct partnerships with farmers in the Bihar region of Northern India.
This allowed Bohana to ensure that the farmers were paid fair, living wages. It also ensured that the giant lily pads the seeds were harvested from were protected, making the entire “pick to puff” process completely sustainable for the local environment.
The snacks originally came in three delicious flavors: Himalayan Pink Salt, Wild White Cheddar, and Soulful Sriracha Spice.
Who Founded Bohana?
Bohana was brought to life by two close friends: Nadine Habayeb and Priyal Bhartia.
Priyal Bhartia grew up in India eating makhana. Years later, while living in Dubai, her husband faced a health issue that forced him to go on a very strict diet.
To help him find healthy snacks, Priyal turned back to her roots and started making popped water lily seeds.
She shared the snack with her friend Nadine, an immigrant from Dubai who was studying for her MBA in Boston.
Nadine instantly fell in love with the taste and texture. However, when she returned to the United States, she realized that makhana was practically impossible to find in American grocery stores.
The two friends saw a massive business opportunity. They decided to team up and bring this ancient superfood to the US market. They named their new brand Bohana, which is a clever mashup of the words “botanical” and “makhana”.
Before even appearing on TV, the duo proved they had strong business skills. They got Bohana into 150 regional grocery stores in the Northeast and were chosen for a prestigious PepsiCo mentorship program, which gave them a $20,000 grant to build their business.
However, creating a brand new food category in America is incredibly expensive. To take Bohana national, they needed the help of a Shark.
The Shark Tank Pitch
Bohana was featured on Season 11, Episode 16 of Shark Tank, which aired on March 20, 2020. Because Priyal was pregnant and could not travel, Nadine bravely walked into the Tank alone to pitch the Sharks.
The Ask: Nadine requested a $200,000 investment in exchange for 10% of the company. This meant she valued Bohana at a cool $2 million.
Nadine handed out samples of the three flavors, and the Sharks immediately loved the taste and the crunchy texture.
Shark Lori Greiner even compared them to puffed rice. Nadine also shared strong numbers: in just 16 months of business, the company had already hit $123,000 in sales.
However, the Sharks quickly spotted a major hurdle.
The Market Education Problem
Mark Cuban and Rohan Oza (a guest Shark known for his food and beverage expertise) pointed out a big issue. Americans had no idea what a water lily seed was.
Teaching a whole country to try a brand new, strange-sounding food requires millions of dollars in marketing. Because of this steep uphill battle, both Mark and Rohan decided not to invest.
Lori Greiner also dropped out, noting that while the snack was low-calorie, she wished it had a higher fiber content.
The Bidding War
This left Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary. Both Sharks saw the potential and decided to make offers, but their strategies were very different.
- Barbara Corcoran: Offered the full $200,000, but she wanted a massive 30% chunk of the company.
- Kevin O’Leary (Mr. Wonderful): Offered a creative deal. He offered the $200,000 as a loan with a 9% interest rate (to be paid back over 3 years), and he only wanted an 8% equity stake in the company.
Nadine knew that giving up 30% of her company to Barbara would hurt her down the line. She chose to protect her ownership and gladly accepted Kevin O’Leary’s loan and equity deal.
What Happened To Bohana After Shark Tank?
Usually, when a company airs on Shark Tank, they experience a massive wave of immediate sales. But for Bohana, the timing of their episode was a double-edged sword.
Their episode aired on March 20, 2020, the exact week that the entire United States went into strict COVID-19 lockdowns.
The Pandemic Pivot
Because of the lockdowns, Bohana’s main sales strategy was destroyed. Previously, they relied on setting up tasting booths inside grocery stores so people could try the unfamiliar snack for free. With in-store sampling banned, retail sales slowed to a crawl.
However, Kevin O’Leary had predicted that companies with a strong online presence would survive the pandemic. He was right. Millions of people were stuck at home, shopping online, and panic-buying shelf-stable snacks.
Bohana leaned heavily into online sales. They launched on Amazon and even scored a feature on the QVC shopping network, where they completely sold out of 4,000 units in less than six minutes.
By the end of 2020, Bohana had achieved a mind-blowing 500% increase in sales.
Rapid Expansion
Over the next two years, Bohana seemed unstoppable. They expanded their flavor lineup to include sweet options like Sweet Cinnamon Drizzle and Sea Salt Chocolatey Drizzle, along with savory hits like Zesty Ranch and Hickory BBQ.
By 2022, the brand was reporting a massive $4 million in annual revenue. They had successfully landed shelf space in roughly 250 retail stores, including high-end supermarkets like Wegmans, and continued to dominate on Walmart.com and Amazon.
They were featured in Vogue, The New York Times, and The Today Show. To the outside world, Bohana was a massive, runaway success. But behind the scenes, things were shifting.
The 2022 Acquisition & Founder Exit
Running a fast-growing, multi-million dollar food business is incredibly stressful and expensive. Sourcing seeds from India, shipping them across the world, and fighting for grocery store shelf space requires massive amounts of cash.
Instead of raising more money, the founders decided to sell.
In late 2022, Nadine Habayeb announced on her LinkedIn page that Bohana had been acquired. The buyer was a man named Vimal Kansara, the owner of a Texas-based company called Boon Distribution. Boon Distribution specialized in supplying ethnic and Indian food brands to American markets.
Once the sale was complete, both Nadine and Priyal completely walked away from the company they built. Nadine took a high-level marketing job in Dubai for a luxury hospitality company, and Priyal returned to working as an executive for businesses in India.
With the original founders gone, the future of Bohana was left entirely in the hands of Boon Distribution.
Is Bohana Still In Business in 2026?
No, Bohana is completely out of business in 2026.
Despite hitting $4 million in sales just a few years prior, the brand could not survive the transition to new ownership. When you lose the passionate founders who built the brand from scratch, things often fall apart quickly.
If you try to buy Bohana today, you will hit a brick wall. Here is the reality of the brand’s current status:
- Social Media is Dead: Bohana has not posted a single update to their Instagram or Facebook pages since the summer of 2022, right before the company was sold.
- Website is Broken: If you visit the official Bohana website, you are greeted with a sad message at the top of the screen: “We are temporarily out of stock. Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon!” That message has been stuck there for years.
- Amazon & Walmart: The snacks are completely out of stock on Amazon and Walmart, and product listings have been removed.
The biggest clue to Bohana’s downfall is the parent company. As of 2026, the website for Boon Distribution—the company that bought Bohana—has been taken offline and no longer works. It appears that the entire distribution company collapsed, taking Bohana down with it.
What Is the Net Worth of Bohana in 2026?
When Nadine pitched on Shark Tank in 2020, the company had a clear valuation of $2 million. At their peak in 2021 and 2022, generating $4 million in sales, the company’s net worth was easily estimated to be around $3 million or higher.
However, in 2026, Bohana’s active net worth is $0.
Because the parent company has seemingly folded, manufacturing has permanently stopped, and the products cannot be purchased anywhere, the business generates zero revenue. Unless another company steps in to buy the rights to the Bohana name and recipes, the brand is officially defunct.
The Best Bohana Alternatives in 2026
It is a sad ending for Bohana, but there is a silver lining. Nadine and Priyal achieved their goal: they successfully introduced America to popped water lily seeds. They spent the time and money to educate the public, and while Bohana didn’t survive, the market they created is still alive today.
If you want to try makhana snacks in 2026, you have several great options that have stepped up to fill the void Bohana left behind:
| Brand Name | 2026 Status | What Makes Them Unique |
| AshaPops | Active | The closest alternative to Bohana. They sell clean-ingredient, Ayurvedic water lily seeds in flavors like Himalayan Pink Salt and Vegan Cheese. They are highly rated and easily found on Amazon. |
| Taali | Active | Another major competitor offering organic-verified water lily pops. They offer a huge variety of flavors, though some reviewers note the roasting quality can occasionally vary. |
| Let Me Snack | Active | A newer gourmet brand that specifically markets its water lily seeds as being completely free of unhealthy seed oils, appealing to modern dietary trends. |
Bohana will always be remembered as the trailblazer that brought water lily seeds to Shark Tank and the American mainstream. While their specific bags are no longer on shelves, the delicious, healthy crunch of makhana is here to stay.
