Here's What Happened To The Pizza Cupcake After Shark Tank

It's hard to find a person who doesn't like pizza. Consumers love pizza so much that you can find it in multiple forms in the grocery freezer section — pizza bagels, pizza rolls, mini pizzas, big pizzas — you name it. But one couple identified a form that pizza wasn't available in, and they were quick to fill the gap. Italian chef Andrea Meggiato took his extensive knowledge of pizza making and combined it with his wife Michelle's background in marketing, and together they created The Pizza Cupcake. It's just what it sounds like: Sourdough brioche dough filled with fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce, and pepperoni, all baked into a cupcake shape.

After two years of successfully selling the product via nationwide shipping and at two New York City outdoor markets, the couple pitched their product on "Shark Tank" in 2021. While all the sharks loved the taste of the pizza cupcakes they got, the founders settled a deal with their "dream shark," investor Lori Greiner.

On the show, Andrea and Michelle Meggiato were well prepared with their pitch, but it was really the product that spoke for itself. Every single shark was blown away by how good the pizza cupcakes were — and even more surprised to learn that they were a frozen food item. There was one investor who was clearly best suited to partner with the company, and that was Lori Greiner. Greiner had invested in Bantam Bagels on "Shark Tank" in 2015 and helped propel the company's rapid growth, even securing a deal with Starbucks. As Bantam Bagels' signature product is frozen stuffed mini bagels, the similarities between it and The Pizza Cupcake were impossible to ignore.

The founders were hopeful that The Pizza Cupcake could follow in the footsteps of Bantam Bagels with Greiner's experience and distribution connections. After some negotiation back and forth, Greiner agreed to invest $125,000 into The Pizza Cupcake for 12.5% of the company and 2.5% in advisory shares.

Just 10 months after its appearance on the show, in November 2021, The Pizza Cupcake was being sold in select grocery stores throughout the Northeast United States. With the help of some celebrity collaborations (namely a Chrissy Teigen collab for her version of the margherita pizza cupcake), the product continued to catch the public eye, and by September 2022, The Pizza Cupcake was available in over 1,600 Walmart stores nationwide.

Drew Barrymore raved about them on "The Drew Barrymore Show," Dave Portnoy reviewed them in one of his viral "One Bite" pizza review videos, and they have been sold in stands at events from Coachella to New York Mets games. The company has had impressive success, considering it has stuck to what it does best — making pizza cupcakes — without expanding its line of products. In November 2024, The Pizza Cupcake added a third flavor to its original two-flavor lineup of Margherita and Pepperoni. The 4-Cheese variety can be found at Whole Foods.

Yes! The Pizza Cupcake is still booming in business. It can be found in the freezer section of major grocery stores, such as Whole Foods, Walmart, Kroger, Target, Albertsons, and Wegmans, as well as in other select markets or smaller stores. You can also order the product online via The Pizza Cupcake website to be shipped to your door.

While there's no doubt that endless time and effort has gone into the success the company has seen, the product does a good job selling itself. It gets rave reviews from most who try it, and it has the novelty and appeal that consumers are quick to latch onto. It makes sense considering the company prides itself on the superior quality of ingredients it uses, calling The Pizza Cupcake a "better-for-you" packaged frozen food. The company has a well-run Instagram presence and frequently posts trendy or humorous reels as well as professional advertisements, and it is active on Facebook as well. It frequently holds giveaways for exclusive Pizza Cupcake merch, and it also continues to post ideas for consuming the pizza cupcakes, from air-frying to topping bars.

If The Pizza Cupcake continues on the track it's on, we can expect potential new flavors and continued expansion into grocery stores. The company has not updated the timeline on its website since November 2023, so it's not clear what plans are in the works, but there's no doubt it will be interesting. Based on the popularity of the product, it seems The Pizza Cupcake will hold its spot on shelves next to Pizza Rolls and Bagel Bites for the foreseeable future. Maybe one day we'll even see a giant one in the form of a Pizza Cake, or the company can capitalize on the play on words that would be a Pizza Pie ... one can dream.

For now, you can head to the website to find a store near you that sells the tasty treats or get in your car and drive to Target or any of the other aforementioned major retailers. There's no saying what secret recipe and techniques make The Pizza Cupcake so delicious, but you can easily use store-bought ingredients to make mini pizzas in a muffin pan, which will do the trick if you don't have access to the frozen product.