Atlas Monroe: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank

Deborah Torres is known as the entrepreneur who received and then rejected a million dollar offer on "Shark Tank," though she's equally as known for her brand of vegan fried chicken called Atlas Monroe. The plant-based chicken is made from organic wheat gluten and a secret blend of seasonings. It's a recipe so tasty and realistic that, in 2018, Atlas Monroe became the first ever vegan entry in the National Fried Chicken Festival. It was chosen as the best dish by judge and journalist Ryan Grim of Extra Crispy.

The faux-meat product was born out of necessity when Torres' father was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2015. In an interview on the Business For Good podcast, the founder spoke about seeing the documentary "Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days," and then convincing her meat-loving family to try a raw, vegan diet for three months. To keep them motivated, Torres experimented with vegan versions of their favorites, namely Thanksgiving turkey, barbecue ribs, and fried chicken. Not only did they love the food, but after 90 days when her father was tested again, remarkably, he was no longer diabetic.

The food proved so popular that Torres started a catering company to spread her vegan food. She then accepted an invitation for a booth at the 2017 Vegandale Fest in Chicago, which went very well, and word began to spread on social media — Atlas Monroe was suddenly in demand. With the potential to sell much more, she turned to "Shark Tank" to fund what she believed would be exponential growth.

Atlas Monroe appeared on Season 11, Episode 2 of "Shark Tank" in 2019. During the episode, Deborah and Jonathan Torres pitched the "Shark Tank" judges about their company, asking for $500,000 for a 10% stake in the company. The couple then served the panel their food, and all the sharks agreed it was delicious. But, it was only after everyone on the panel had a bite that it was revealed it wasn't chicken at all, but an organic, vegan meat. 

When it came to discussing numbers, the couple revealed that, in 2019, the company had $60,000 in sales, with a net of $73,000 and gross amount of $76,000. Shark Kevin O'Leary questioned the math, but it was explained that the discrepancy was due to the total including shipping income. Furthermore, the price for a six-piece chicken order was $23, and carried a cost of only $2.67. Despite a 60% profit margin, O'Leary thought the valuation was way too high and declined to make an offer. For similar reasons, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, and guest shark Rohan Oza also were out.

With Mark Cuban remaining the only potential investor, it seemed promising since he talked about being vegetarian himself. Cuban eventually made an offer of $500,000 for a 30% claim of the company, but after discussing with Oza, the two sharks teamed up to offer a total buyout of the business for a stunning offer of $1 million, including 10% of profits for the Torres family. However, the couple declined, unwilling to give up ownership of their own company.

After the company's "Shark Tank" episode aired, Atlas Monroe had a massive influx of orders. Within two hours, they had $350,000 in online sales and sold out of stock. An Instagram post shared four days later thanked buyers for the support and offered pre-orders. They also promised bigger production capabilities. By 2020, sales had topped $1 million, which doubled by 2021, with earnings in the ballpark of $2 million.

Founder Deborah Torres expressed to various media outlets that, while she was grateful for the attention that resulted from "Shark Tank," she was not happy with how she was portrayed on the show. Speaking with VegNews, she said the episode had been heavily edited "to make it appear that I wasn't intelligent enough for obvious dramatic effects of the shocking ending." Torres elaborated that she didn't accept the $1 million deal because she knew that her company would eventually make much more than what was offered. She also expressed that the judges knew the true value of the business, considering she was told that it wasn't even worth half (her asking amount of $500,000), but then was offered double.

Walking away without a "Shark Tank" deal was anything but a setback, however. In 2021, Torres purchased a multi-million-dollar manufacturing plant in San Diego, California. The huge facility was capable of producing over 20,000 units weekly, making Atlas Monroe the largest manufacturer of vegan fried chicken in the world — at the time.

Atlas Monroe continued to grow with its founder, Deborah Torres, at the wheel. The company developed retail packaging while still offering purchases from its website, shipping orders across America. Seeing the success Atlas Monroe had with vegan fried chicken, Torres saw an opportunity to expand its product line. From Korean BBQ pork to fajitas, Atlas Monroe was swiftly becoming a major name in all vegan-friendly food, not just chicken.

It even developed a major partnership with vegan fast casual chain, Copper Branch, which once had Atlas Monroe products on menus in 40 locations across Canada, Australia, and Nashville, Tennessee. The vegan fried chicken sandwich was so popular in Nashville, its limited-edition run evolved into a permanent spot on the menu. And for a town so famous for its fried chicken sandwiches, that was no small feat.

However, in 2023, rumors started circulating regarding Atlas Monroe's ability to fulfill orders. Nine people filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and its Yelp page quickly filled up with people complaining about long wait times and a lack of any real communication from the company. Furthermore, some customers started complaining about poor quality, whether from frozen food thawing in transit or Atlas Monroe's restaurant location in San Diego costing far too much for too little. Unfortunately, despite its explosive initial success, this proved to be the beginning of the end for Atlas Monroe.

In a shocking development considering the company's initial success post "Shark Tank," as well as the popularity of Impossible Foods vegan hamburgers and Oscar Mayer meatless hot dogs, Atlas Monroe has ceased operating. Initially, there was speculation about the closure when, around July 2023, customers began questioning why orders weren't being fulfilled or refunded. The company's website had ceased functioning, and its social media channels weren't being updated. Yelp marked the San Diego Atlas Monroe location as closed, with many customers posting complaints about undelivered orders. A Reddit thread from June 2024 was similarly filled with fans of the plant-based chicken brand lamenting that they had not been able to place orders or reach the company.

One Redditor wondered if a controversial post on the company's Instagram from December 2023 had negatively affected the brand and contributed to its silence. The post in question was a religious-tinged and opinionated commentary on the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. It sparked outrage, with some followers saying that the company should stick to food and not politics, and many comments to the effect of it having lost the brand a customer, causing people to unfollow, and say that they would boycott.

While there have been no official statements from the company or Deborah Torres, a bankruptcy filing in July 2024 and a notice in September 2024 of the auctioning off of Atlas Monroe's assets confirm that the company has gone out of business.