Here's What Went Down With Sock Candy After Shark Tank

Fashion aficionados know how much socks can impact an outfit; just take a look at the number of people asking where to find cute patterned socks on various Reddit forums! That's where a company like Sock Candy comes in. In a 2024 interview with Female Founder World, Mary Yashan Gui, the founder of the whimsical embroidered sock brand, said the idea of selling fun, unique, and intricately patterned socks grew out of her longtime habit of "styling socks with sandals and heels" (which was one of the heel trends hot for fall 2025). She added, "I just felt like there weren't elegant yet affordable socks on the market."

Gui, who was a fashion blogger and influencer at the time, took matters into her own hands, which led her to create Sock Candy in the fall of 2020. Thanks to Gui's established Instagram presence, advertising background, and persistence of participating in pop-up markets to show people the quality of her socks, Sock Candy had a strong first year in business and managed to generate around $80,000 in sales.

Most of Sock Candy's early exposure was through Gui's personal Instagram account, where she regularly styled and wore socks with coordinated outfits for an audience that already trusted in her fashion sense. The founder's passion for fashion and a clear vision for her product started to pay off. In early 2024, Chrissy Teigen discovered the brand and then posted a photo of herself in her very own pair on Instagram. The moment marked a notable shift in the brand's visibility.

In April 2025, Sock Candy appeared on Episode 19 of Season 16 of "Shark Tank." Founder Mary Yashan Gui offered 5% of the company in exchange for $150,000. During Gui's pitch, she gifted each of the Sharks some Sock Candy socks, and this is where her advertising savviness really shined. Each pair was carefully chosen to match the recipient's personality or needs, with Barbara Corcoran getting "colorful and floral" socks, while the male Sharks received two different styles that are offered in extended sizes.

That attention to detail alone set Gui's pitch apart, but it was clear the Sharks were just as impressed with her background story. Gui then informed the Sharks that the socks "retail for $18, wholesale for $9" with a "landed cost" sitting between $2.50 to $3. Robert Herjavec was surprised, as he expected the price to be a lot higher than $18, and even Mark Cuban agreed. The company's reported $826,000 year-to-date sales and the projection to close the year at an estimated $1.4 million only strengthened the pitch.

Although Gui and Sock Candy's story and numbers had the undivided attention of all of the Sharks, not everyone was interested in buying a stake of the company. It ultimately came down to two Sharks: Kevin O'Leary and Barbara Corcoran. O'Leary offered the full $150,000, but wanted 12.5% stake in the company; Corcoran also offered the asked amount in exchange for 15%. Gui came back with a 10% counter offer for Corcoran, and the Shark gladly accepted.

In an April 2025 interview with CNBC, Mary Yashan Gui said the deal had not yet officially closed on paper. As of February 2026, it remains unclear whether the deal between Barbara Corcoran and Gui ever closed. Despite the fact that Sock Candy is heavily active on social media, the brand has yet to publicly announce a finalized partnership with the Shark.

However, as always, the "Shark Tank" exposure alone can prove just as valuable as a done deal. Regardless of the outcome, not only has the "Shark Tank" episode raised the brand's profile, but it was also a personal yet significant milestone for Gui and her brand. Getting two offers on "Shark Tank" marked a turning point for Sock Candy, and it underscored how far Gui had come.

"Shark Tank" wasn't the founder's first go at a competition reality TV series. In fact, in 2021, Gui tried her luck on HBO Max's "The Big Shot with Bethenny," where she was eliminated the very first night. After the airing of the "Shark Tank" episode featuring Sock Candy, Gui reflected in an Instagram post that the early setback motivated her to focus on building Sock Candy, and gave her the courage to give a reality TV competition series one more shot.

Deal or no deal, Sock Candy used its "Shark Tank" exposure to fuel continued growth across social media and sales. Similar to Lynda Truong and Paul Tran of Love & Pebble Skincare, Mary Yashan Gui leaned into what she does best and what had worked for the brand, and continued to maintain a heavily active social media presence, mainly on Instagram and Facebook.

In the weeks following the episode's airing, the Sock Candy Instagram's comment section was filled with new fans. Comments like, "Just watched you on Shark Tank and now I'm obsessed," "Your socks are GORGEOUS!! You gained another customer," and "You did fantastic!! I couldn't want to come to IG and order some of your socks" reflected just how effective the "Shark Tank" exposure really was for the brand.

Sock Candy also used this opportunity to fine-tune its offering based on customer feedback. Rather than shifting its approach after "Shark Tank," the brand stayed focused on the same community-driven mindset it always had. Quick replies to comments and interacting with customers and fans became a defining part of that strategy. When there was repeated requests for things like extended sizing and knee high socks, Sock Candy made it happen. This kind of responsiveness always helps strengthen loyalty and trust between a brand and its customers.

While many businesses may appear on "Shark Tank" as a one-off opportunity, the show was only the beginning of Sock Candy's journey. In May 2025, shortly after the "Shark Tank" episode aired, Sock Candy was on ABC's "The View" via a special segment, "View Your Deal." Sock Candy made sure to include its community in this opportunity, as well by taking viewers behind-the-scenes on a short vlog via Instagram. In the following month, founder Mary Yashan Gui carried on the media momentum by appearing on Shopify's "Shopify Masters" podcast. In the episode, she went into detail about the marketing tips and tricks she learned and used throughout the journey of growing and expanding her business.

Together, these appearances showed just how intentional Sock Candy approached media exposure. It's evident that Gui, who graduated with a bachelor's in marketing and business communications from Emory University, knew to prioritize media appearances that deepened audience understanding and engagement, strengthened the brand's identity, and of course, extended its overall reach.

Alongside media appearances, Sock Candy continued participating in markets and trade shows. Despite the brand's growing success, Gui likely remained committed to in-person selling due to how much she prioritized the importance of letting people see and feel the socks in person, something she had briefly mentioned in her 2024 interview with Female Founder World.

By June 2025, it was clear Sock Candy was really making strides and growing, as the brand shared via Instagram that after five years of operating out of founder Mary Yashan Gui's home, it was moving into an office space that would serve as its headquarters. The milestones didn't stop there; in fact, it was just the start.

If anything signals how far a fashion brand like Sock Candy has come, it's the brand's growing involvement in pop culture. What began as a fashion-forward sock label has steadily involved into a company collaborating with some major entertainment franchises. Perhaps the sock company's biggest collaboration to date is its absolutely stunning "Wicked" collection, which was released in celebration of "Wicked: For Good" in October 2025.

This led the brand to even more collaborations, with its most recent being in January 2026 with DreamWorks Animation, creating the most adorable "Kung Fu Panda"-themed socks. Around the same time, the socks began appearing on more celebrities, including Chappell Roan, who used Sock Candy socks to style Mary Janes to not feel overly buttoned-up. While it would surely be a plus if the deal with Barbara Corcoran was finalized, Sock Candy seems to have moved beyond its "Shark Tank" moment and into a phase of strategic growth.