Grease Bags: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank
Bringing her compostable grease-absorbing bags to "Shark Tank," entrepreneur LaTangela Newsome appeared on Season 8, Episode 13 of the show, which aired on January 13, 2017. Her product, Grease Bags, an invention still in the prototype stage, was presented as a solution to an environmental problem. Cities across the United States spend significant amounts of money replacing pipelines clogged by improper kitchen grease disposal, and her bags were designed to help alleviate the issue, offering a proper alternative to the common practice of pouring fats, oils, and grease down household drains.
Newsome, a single mother, explained that her son's favorite food was her homemade deep-fried chicken wings. The problem of what to do with residual grease after cooking was the impetus for creating her product. "Some of us just pour it in an old coffee can, which should really be recycled," she said (per TikTok). "Or, even worse, some of us just pour it down the drain." Newsome claimed she was the only person with an eco-friendly product for at-home grease disposal.
Present in the Tank were judges Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, and Mark Cuban. Newsome asked the Sharks for a $75,000 investment in exchange for 25% equity in her company.
What happened to Grease Bags on Shark Tank?
LaTangela Newsome greased the gates with the Sharks — pun intended — by handing out samples of her chicken wings as well as her Grease Bags. After demonstrating her product, Newsome explained that they were multiuse and contained a blend of all-natural ingredients used in large-scale environmental oil spills, both absorbing and encapsulating grease. She confirmed she had a patent pending — not for the absorbent material itself, but for the combination of the bag and absorbent pad — and disclosed that she hadn't commenced sales, though she had secured a manufacturer. The intended retail price was $12.99 for three Grease Bags.
Lori Greiner declined Newsome's deal first, and after learning that the product wasn't heat-tempered and hot grease had to cool before being poured in, Barbara Corcoran also bowed out, explaining that most consumers would want to dispose of hot oil immediately. Newsome clarified that heat-tempering the bags would render them non-compostable, and she didn't want the product contributing to landfill waste. Kevin O'Leary and Robert Herjavec also declined, with Herjavec noting that Newsome's target consumers were environmentally conscious people who are often health-conscious as well, making them less likely to eat fried foods anyway.
As Newsome prepared to leave empty-handed, Corcoran dropped a bombshell. "I went out so fast earlier. Let's pretend it didn't happen," she said. Corcoran then offered Newsome the requested $75,000, but in exchange for 50% of the company, and with the contingency that Newsome reduce the retail price to $6.99. Newsome accepted the deal.
Grease Bags after Shark Tank
Though LaTangela Newsome forged a deal with Barbara Corcoran on the show, the collaboration ultimately didn't come to fruition (per Cosmopolitan). Ongoing negotiations continued between the show's taping and air date, but the deal never closed. Reportedly, the expense of manufacturing the Grease Bags made it impossible for Newsome to meet the retail price cuts Corcoran wanted, leading to the deal's cancellation.
Hoping to prepare for a flood of product orders once her "Shark Tank" episode aired, Newsome purchased manufacturing materials herself to create a stock of Grease Bags ready for shipping. However, she fell short financially, and couldn't deliver the products on time when post-show orders began rolling in. While preorder customers eventually received their Grease Bags, there were some unhappy campers because of the delay.
Despite these setbacks, Newsome appeared to be moving forward. In a 2021 Facebook post, she announced that Grease Bags had become the first company to join Amazon's Black Business Accelerator, signaling promising developments. Early customer reviews of the product on Amazon were overwhelmingly positive, consistently earning five stars. However, by mid-2021, reviews began to plummet. Complaints cited Grease Bags arriving split open or spilling their contents when used. From July 2021 onward, all Amazon reviews rated the product one star, with recurring issues of the bags breaking and leaking.
Is Grease Bags still in business?
As of January 2025, it seems the Grease Bags company is still operating in some capacity, though its presence is minimal. The business maintains a functioning Shopify page with active purchase options, and its website remains live. Prices have significantly increased from those reported on "Shark Tank" — $13.99 for one Grease Bag, $34.99 for a bundle of three, or $450 for a case of 60. Despite this, the company's social media accounts have been inactive for years.
An August 2022 post on the company's Facebook page teased a redesigned Grease Bag designed to decompose even faster, accompanied by an updated logo. However, the company's final post followed shortly thereafter on August 24, 2022, with no further updates. In 2023, a customer commented on the last post, reporting they had ordered a Grease Bag online but never received it. The company did not respond.
While Grease Bags' Facebook page has been silent since 2022, a July 2023 post on LaTangela Newsome's personal account encouraged shoppers to take advantage of Prime Day promotions on Amazon and place bulk orders for Grease Bags, indicating she was still selling the product at that time. However, as of January 2025, the company's Amazon store lists the product as "currently unavailable," and its customer review page shows no activity between December 2021 and spring 2024. Two reviews appeared in April 2024 and June 2024, indicating sales activity, but both customers rated the product one star, citing dissatisfaction with their purchases.
What's next for the founder of Grease Bags?
In spring 2021, LaTangela Newsome began offering her services as a "Shark Tank" consultant, hosting workshops to help other would-be contestants navigate the process of being on the show. However, the domain listed for her consultancy endeavors was defunct as of January 2025.
Prior to her appearance on "Shark Tank," Newsome was pursuing a performance career in acting and music. She appeared in a handful of music videos, including Mariah Carey's "Fantasy," and had a recurring role on the Nickelodeon television show "Taina," along with a few other screen credits. In a 2020 interview with Shoutout Atlanta, she explained that single motherhood had partially disrupted those ambitions, leading her to explore other pursuits, including the creation of Grease Bags and auditioning for "Shark Tank."
In 2023, Newsome added two new acting credits to her repertoire, including a made-for-television movie for the Lifetime network. She also released an R&B holiday single with Angelique Bates, another former Nickelodeon star, in late 2023.
Since ordering a Grease Bag these days might not guarantee receiving the product, those seeking solutions for household cooking grease may need to explore other options. For those willing to repurpose grease, leftover bacon grease can enhance recipes like Southern-style biscuits. If disposal is the goal, common household staples can effectively clean up cooking oil spills.