Naman Shrestha
With the introduction of PhoLicious in the market, one can get access to Pho noodles instantly from the comfort of their home. The credit for the founding of the brand goes to the husband-and-wife duo of Joseph and Anh Trousdale. They made an appearance in the eighth episode of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ season 16 and presented their instant pho brand, PhoLicious, to the sharks hoping to get a deal and take their company to the next level.
PhoLicious: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
PhoLicious is the brainchild of Joseph and Anh Trousdale, a longtime married couple from Texas. Interestingly, both the founders come from varied backgrounds, and it is sheer passion that motivated them to take their love for Pho to the next level and dabble in entrepreneurship. Joseph has tremendous experience in the hotel industry. The Business Administration (BBA) graduate from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis served as an Assistant General Manager and Task Force General Manager at Pillar Hotels & Resorts for over a year, starting in April 2013. He then joined Texas Western Hospitality as a General Manager in April 2014 and departed in a year. April 2015 saw Joseph return to Pillar Hotels & Resorts, where he worked as General Manager until July 2016. He was serving as the General Manager at Crestline Hotels & Resorts (since Oct 2016) when everything changed.
Joseph quit the post in September 2021 and ultimately decided to open his own Pho business, thus establishing PhoLicious LLC in May 2021 in Houston, Texas. Since then, he has served as Co-Owner/C.O.O. of the business. Aside from that, he also lists himself as the owner of Texas Game Hunters and Rack Rage Deer Attractant, as well as the Brand Ambassador at Tactacam and Burris Optics. His partner in life as well as business, Anh Trousdale, is the Chief Executive Officer and Food Scientist/Product Developer at PhoLicious. She is a Vietnamese immigrant who was just 6 years old when her family found refuge in the US in the late 1980s. Her parents are very proud of the fact that she is the first person in her family to attend college.
Anh met Joseph in 2004 and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Registered Nurse from Saint Louis University in May 2008. From working as an ER RN, BSN at Houston Methodist from August 2014 to January 2017 to exercising the duties of an ER Nurse at Ascension Seton for over four years before ultimately exiting the company in October 2021, she garnered extensive experience in the nursing industry over the years. Anh is quite fond of her Vietnamese roots and has grown up relishing bowls of lip-smacking Pho made by her mother, AKA Mamma Thu. While Joseph and Anh were busy building their careers in Texas, they found a restaurant in their area that made Pho reminiscent of Mamma Thu’s creation. It was the shutting down of their weekly Pho spot due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic that transformed Joseph and Anh’s approach toward life.
After failing to find an authentic Pho in the stores in St. Louis, Missouri, where they reportedly resided at the time, they decided to make it at home. However, the preparations consumed a lot of their time, making it difficult for Joseph and Anh to strike a balance between that and their work. Thus, under the guidance of Mamma Thu, Anh fueled her innate passion for cooking, and after a lot of trial and error, they came up with a Pho recipe that would be ready to eat in just 15 minutes over the stove. However, they weren’t that happy with the creation, so to add authenticity and the ultimate flavor kick, Mamma Thu granted them a magical ingredient, which elevated the dish to another level. And just like that, in May 2021, they began selling their PhoLicious Kits that would get ready in just a few minutes in the microwave.
To their surprise, their authentic instant Pho became a hit on Amazon. That was when Joseph and Anh realized that they could actually do that full-time. In October 2021, the two not only quit their jobs but also sold their house and moved into a camper to take PhoLicious to great heights. “When this first started, my main purpose was to make this amazing product available to pretty much everybody who was in our situation — somebody who’s busy, a family that wants authentic, high quality, and quick pho. That was my target,” Anh said about her vision.
PhoLicious: Where Are They Now?
Since they didn’t really have solid financial backing, Anh and Joseph put all their time, focus, determination, and hard work into furthering their passion project. Their efforts yielded results when they bagged the Big Ticket at the QVC THE BIG FIND contest in 2021. In June of the subsequent year, PhoLicious secured a chance to showcase their product at the Walmart Open Call. One pitch led to another, and their product was chosen to be launched in Sam’s Clubs and Walmart stores.
The collaboration with Walmart meant an even larger space to produce their instant Pho, and the pair grabbed the opportunity with both hands by deciding to move to Houston. What was introduced into the market through 50 Sam’s Clubs and over 240 Walmart stores has now scored a place in over 150 Sam’s Clubs and around 450 Walmart stops. In February 2023, Joseph and Anh put in their application for the H-E-B 10th annual Quest for Texas Best competition. Their pitch and product impressed the judges, leading to PhoLicious being crowned the Grand Champion and the pair taking home $35,000, free groceries for 12 months, and a deal to find their product in all Texas-based H-E-B stores! It made a sale of over a million dollars at H-E-B stores in just 9 months and was handed the belt buckle award.
From 8 bowls per day to over 8,000 bowls, PhoLicious has come a long way! As of writing, PhoLicious has 3 variants — Vegetarian, Chicken and Beef. You can purchase the bundle of four of any of the three flavors (vegetarian, chicken, and beef) for $25. Meanwhile, the single packets of the Pho noodles are available at H-E-B stores for $4.28 each. What’s next for the fans of the Pho? Well, they plan to introduce another comfort food – ramen – into the market in March 2025 across 323 H-E-B locations in Texas and Mexico! Aside from delivering delicious soups, PhoLicious also believes in giving back to the community. Therefore, they have collaborated with Fire Department Coffee and donated 2 pallets comprising more than 2,000 bowls of Pho to the YMCA & the Louisiana Cajun Navy to help the people at the frontlines of the Southern California Wildfires 2025.
Read More: Fysh Foods Shark Tank Update: Serving Delicious Plant-Based Fish
