Shark Tank Food Products First Impressions: Protein Cookies, Brown Rice Noodles, and Ginger Drink

Introduction

Healthier takes on everyday snacks and drinks are everywhere right now, and several Indian brands that appeared on Shark Tank are leading that push. We tried three of them in one sitting: Gladful Choco Chip Protein Cookies, Wicked Gud Brown Rice Noodles in masala flavor, and Malaki Ginger Drink. Expectations were high going in, but the results were a mixed bag, which is exactly why honest first impressions are useful. Here is how each one scored.

Gladful Choco Chip Protein Cookies

Gladful’s choco chip protein cookies come ten to a pack, priced at around 150 rupees, and the brand has backing from three Shark Tank investors, so expectations were naturally high. The packaging looks understated, and each individual pack contains two cookies that are quite thin, with chocolate chips concentrated mostly on top. Despite the modest look, the cookies are soft.

The problem is the taste. There is a noticeable sweetener aftertaste and no real sugar sweetness, which hurts a cookie that is supposed to deliver a choco chip experience. With plenty of other protein snack options available, it is hard to see a reason to reach for these specifically. We scored them a 4 out of 10: the taste did not win us over, and there are better ways to get extra protein.

Wicked Gud Brown Rice Noodles Masala

Wicked Gud’s masala brown rice noodles are aimed squarely at health-conscious buyers, and this was one of the more enjoyable products of the day. Inside the packet you get the brown rice noodles and a separate masala spice sachet. The texture is very different from the refined-flour instant noodles most of us grew up on, and that is the point: this is a genuinely gluten-free alternative.

The instructions suggest adding vegetables, which would round it out into a fuller meal, but even tested plain the masala flavor works well. For anyone trying to move away from regular instant noodles without giving up the format entirely, this makes a lot of sense. We rated it an 8 out of 10.

Malaki Ginger Drink

Malaki’s ginger drink is built on 60-year-old family recipes, and we were curious to see whether it could stand out in a market full of Indian beverage brands with very polished packaging. Honestly, the packaging here is the weak point: it looks small and unremarkable rather than premium, and the slightly odd bottle shape does not help.

The taste, however, is the surprise. The spice level is enjoyable, and the ginger flavor genuinely works, which was unexpected given the packaging impressions. We initially scored it an 8 out of 10, then revised that up to a 9 out of 10, with the single mark lost on packaging alone. If the bottle looked as good as the drink tastes, this would be an easy full score.

Overall Buying Advice

Out of these three, the brown rice noodles and the ginger drink are the standouts. Wicked Gud’s masala noodles are the best pick if you want a gluten-free swap for regular instant noodles, while Malaki’s ginger drink is worth trying purely for its flavor, provided you can look past plain packaging. The Gladful protein cookies are the hardest to recommend, since the sweetener aftertaste undercuts the choco chip promise and there are many competing protein snacks on the market.

It is worth remembering that all of these are Indian brands built from scratch, and first impressions from a single tasting are only one data point. If anything here sounds interesting to you, it is worth trying for yourself and seeing where your own taste lands.

Conclusion

This tasting was a good reminder that healthier alternatives to everyday staples vary wildly in execution. The brown rice noodles earned an 8 out of 10, the ginger drink a 9 out of 10 despite plain packaging, and the protein cookies a 4 out of 10. Match the product to your actual need, and the two winners here earn their place in a regular snack rotation.