S12.E16: Simply Good Jars; Pinch Me Therapy Dough; Muff Waders; BusyBaby Mat

[JTMacc99]

Quote

 

Sharks: Mark, Daymond, Kevin, Lori, Robert

On the go jars of healthy foods; ASMR putty to be pinched to stimulate stress relief; Overall with pop-out drink carrier holders in them; Mat for babies with little ticks and switches to keep them occupied and distracted so you don’t experience the hassle

 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Simply Good Jars- It looks like a good product, but is it commercially viable?  Salads in a jar sounds interesting, but can it last on the shelf?  If this ever freezes, you'll be buying a jar of mush.    I can't believe that the seller actually made a deal with Lori and Mark after admitting he has lost so much money.

Pinch Me Therapy Dough-Relieves stress by taking a putty out of a jar, and gripping, and squeezing it.  It's non toxic, and tastes bad, so no one will eat it.  Daymond just proved it tastes terrible.    She has a good profit history, even during Covid.    They make those stress balls that you squeeze, and they're often give aways for advertising.   Makes a deal with Robert.

Muff Waders-small town Iowa guys pitching outdoor work bibs with an insulated pocket on bib, and legs to hold six bottle of beer, and has a built-in bottle opener.    Their other product is a pair of suspenders with pockets and a bottle opener on them.    No deal, but great publicity coming on the show.   That name is hideous.   

Busy Baby Mat-It's a place mat for babies, 100% food grade silicone, with ties to attach baby's favorite toys on it.  It sticks very firmly to table tops too.    I'm thinking the seller wanted publicity, and maybe a deal.   She turns down Lori for 20%, seller wants 15%, no deal even after Lori goes down to 17% (I think, could be wrong).  

(Update on the Twist It Up comb.   The inventor found people were ripping his idea off, he fought back, and won a six figure settlement.   I love that). 

(Next week Daniel Lubetsky is the guest shark, I hoped I spelled that right.   I really like him).  

Edited March 7, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[KaveDweller]

The salad in a jar thing looked decent, I think I would try it if I saw it in stores near me. It's not really something that can be shipped though

I am pretty sure I have seen the stress-relief pinching thing before. If not, I have seen a very similar product.

Beer holders and baby products are not really things I have use for, but they seemed like decent products. I liked that the woman with the bib didn't go lower than her threshold, although Lori would have been a great partner for her.

Also good tip for if you want to get on Shark Tank. Make a video of yourself working on your business while watching Shark Tank in the background. I bet the producers loved that.

[Vermicious Knid]

Beer bib overalls, complete with bottle opener. Got to be one of the most 'bro' products I've ever seen. And I can't believe a bidding war broke out over stress ball play dough.

[mjc570]

"muff Wader"  worst name ever

I really liked the salad jars, and would buy them if available here.  I don't see how distribution works, it has a pretty short self life.  There's a LOT of interest in Mediterranean diets now, and this could tie in very well.

I liked the Pinch Me (and the name), although there are a lot of various types of stress relievers out there.  I would totally buy then as gifts, my life is pretty stress-free right now.  Can't believe she really wanted Robert, does he really have any kind of success except for the Christmas sweaters?

[dogdays2]

Here’s what I don’t understand: folks like the baby mat lady who quibble about giving up 15% vs. 20% of their company for a deal. They theoretically come on ST to become the next Scrub Daddy - turn their 5- or 6-figure company into a multi-million dollar Blockbuster.  Ending up with 80% of $5 million is a heck of a lot better than 85% of $500,000.  

if you think you can do $5M on your own, there’s no reason to come on ST.  Just do it on your own. Thus, I think some of these people are primarily there just for the publicity.  

Now I do get 10% Vs. 50%. And I have no issues with countering to get more.  But in the end, giving up the potential huge upside for 5% seems short-sighted.  

Maybe I’m missing something. I welcome contrary views.  

 

[Spunkygal]

27 minutes ago, dogdays2 said:

Here’s what I don’t understand: folks like the baby mat lady who quibble about giving up 15% vs. 20% of their company for a deal. They theoretically come on ST to become the next Scrub Daddy - turn their 5- or 6-figure company into a multi-million dollar Blockbuster.  Ending up with 80% of $5 million is a heck of a lot better than 85% of $500,000.  

if you think you can do $5M on your own, there’s no reason to come on ST.  Just do it on your own. Thus, I think some of these people are primarily there just for the publicity.  

Now I do get 10% Vs. 50%. And I have no issues with countering to get more.  But in the end, giving up the potential huge upside for 5% seems short-sighted.  

Maybe I’m missing something. I welcome contrary views.  

 

I could be wrong, but didn’t Lori eventually counter at 18%? The lady was quibbling over 3% difference! Ridiculous!

[theatremouse]

In some cases, the quibbling over 5% may be related to having other investors. Either they agreed with partners before coming on the show not to give up more than X%, and so they can't make a deal for more, or they're negotiating out of their own. So someone may be fighting for that 5% in order to maintain a controlling interest.

[jcbrown]

1 hour ago, theatremouse said:

In some cases, the quibbling over 5% may be related to having other investors. Either they agreed with partners before coming on the show not to give up more than X%, and so they can't make a deal for more, or they're negotiating out of their own. So someone may be fighting for that 5% in order to maintain a controlling interest.

True, but in this case she said she owned 100%.. I think she just wanted the commercial.

And WTF, "muff waders"? Terrible name for a completely redneck product.

[jabRI]

1 hour ago, theatremouse said:

In some cases, the quibbling over 5% may be related to having other investors. Either they agreed with partners before coming on the show not to give up more than X%, and so they can't make a deal for more, or they're negotiating out of their own. So someone may be fighting for that 5% in order to maintain a controlling interest.

I agree, but she said she owned 100%, so agree with was either short sighted or just in it for the publicity.  Regarding the 'therapy dough' my son has ADHD and I bought him some of this at REI or Eastern Mountain Sports YEARS ago, so this is definitely not something new or unique.

[theatremouse]

Oh totally. I didn't mean about her, just that in general there can be good reasons to quibble over 5% on Shark Tank.

[basiltherat]

Couldn't you do the same "therapy" with Silly Putty or Play-Doh?  And a lot cheaper.

[DrSpaceman73]

I can see the muff waders having a market. But probably more the suspenders than the one expensive waders.  However while they are promoting to store beer, you could store other things in the waders too.  I can see people finding a use for it

I like the idea of the baby placemats but for one they look rather bland and boring.  Second I know others like it exist.  Not with the ability to attach things, that's new.   It has a market though

Stress dough....sure. A decent idea. Not great. I can see it selling in the right stores

 

Salad on a jar. Healthier than a lot of food out there.  The challenge I think as others mentioned would be keeping it all fresh.  Would have to be constant sales and turnover to keep up.   

All these were decent ideas but none blew me away. 

 

[DEL901]

I think they said the salad in a jar had a 9 day shelf life.   If you did a weekly shopping trip and checked the expiry date, you should be fine. 

And yeah, muff waders is a terrible name, although it probable has a modest market.  

[LittleIggy]

4 hours ago, jabRI said:

I agree, but she said she owned 100%, so agree with was either short sighted or just in it for the publicity.  Regarding the 'therapy dough' my son has ADHD and I bought him some of this at REI or Eastern Mountain Sports YEARS ago, so this is definitely not something new or unique.

Can’t you do the same with Play-Doh or Silly Putty?

3 hours ago, basiltherat said:

Couldn't you do the same "therapy" with Silly Putty or Play-Doh?  And a lot cheaper.

I posted the same idea before I read yours! 👍🏻

[bilgistic]

"Muff Waders" is an obnoxious name, and if it's not an in-joke about those two dudes having supposedly been "ladies' men" in high school or college, I'll eat my proverbial hat. And they weren't waders, they were overalls.

And Kevin...SHUT UP about a baby product having a "limited market" when you didn't say that about those stupid beer-cooler overalls and suspenders for the "blue-collar man". As if men who need to get blitzed while chopping firewood isn't a limited market. FOH.

I hate babies and baby products in the Tank, but that mat was a great idea. The inventor was an idiot for not taking the 18% deal, though.

All I could think about with the "stress clay" was how fast it would get cat hair, dirt and general griminess in it.

I actually liked the salad in a cup, but McDonald's did it years ago, and for a hell of a lot cheaper. (I know their ingredients were far lower quality.) The price of these cups was way too high. I could see buying them when I worked downtown, but not for $9-11. I could get a big, fresh, gourmet made-to-order salad for about $8 back then (2014–2017). The price needs to come down to about $7. And speaking from experience, people in offices won't recycle even if the bin is immediately beside the trash and there are instructions for what goes in what receptacle. I hope I never have to work inside an office again. Remote work forever.

[DrSpaceman73]

1 hour ago, DEL901 said:

I think they said the salad in a jar had a 9 day shelf life.   If you did a weekly shopping trip and checked the expiry date, you should be fine. 

And yeah, muff waders is a terrible name, although it probable has a modest market.  

They may last for 9 days from a shelf life standpiint but a 9 day old salad in a bottle I can't imagine being that appetizing 

[DEL901]

20 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

They may last for 9 days from a shelf life standpiint but a 9 day old salad in a bottle I can't imagine being that appetizing 

Agree.  Their original marketing was setting up those vending machines where there weren’t many alternatives for people to buy lunch, particularly a healthy one, but with all the remote working I can understand the pivot. 

[Popservatory]

I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one wondering how the stress pinch dough is not just a Play-Doh substitute. Though, I will say it kind of looked more like Gak to me in its consistency. (Does anyone else remember Gak?) Honestly, there are so many DIY activities for teens out there that provide cheaper alternatives than what the lady presented. I still kept waiting for the Sharks to bring up all these points, but alas. 

Muff Waders would do very well where I’m from, and that’s not necessarily a compliment.

I am 0% of the target audience for anything related to salads, but I wish Simply Good Jars the best. 

BusyBaby Mat seems to be more versatile than other similar products I’ve seen. However, I don’t have kids, so I doubt I’ve seen the full market. The add-on/upsell offerings seem like a smart idea. Like others, though, I could not figure out why she wouldn’t budge on 3% for Lori. There may be deeper reasons, but none of them were disclosed last night.  

[rhys]

Drinking while hunting? Great idea! As if hunters don't already have a bad reputation.

[Diana Berry]

Any physical therapist use that type of dough for hand therapy injuries. Not a new idea.

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Pinch Me Therapy Dough - love it as a gift idea and for corporate clients (when more workers are back in the office). Yes, you can do the same thing with Play-Doh, but I wouldn't want to give an adult a tub of Play-Doh.

[Moose135]

On 3/6/2021 at 10:27 AM, dogdays2 said:

Here’s what I don’t understand: folks like the baby mat lady who quibble about giving up 15% vs. 20% of their company for a deal.

When it comes to something like that, and one of the sharks will say "5% isn't worth fighting over" I think, well, OK, if it's not a big deal, then why are you pushing for that extra 5%?

[aemom]

On 3/5/2021 at 9:00 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

(Next week Daniel Lubetsky is the guest shark, I hoped I spelled that right.   I really like him).  

I used to like him too until he made that offer to the woman with that special screw on-thing and he wanted 100% of that part of the deal.  He was totally going to throw her and her diaper cream under the bus.  My liking of him went way down after that.  At least you know when Kevin is offering you a sharky deal  - he flat out tells you - but I've never seen him try to actually steal something like that.

 

On 3/6/2021 at 1:49 PM, basiltherat said:

Couldn't you do the same "therapy" with Silly Putty or Play-Doh?  And a lot cheaper.

I said that many times to myself and can't believe that one of the sharks didn't bring that up or say "there is nothing proprietary about this."

 

There was that whole "bro" champagne thing not too long ago - so the sharks do invest in this type of stuff.  I'm actually surprised that nobody went for a $25K deal - that's really petty cash for these guys.  The overalls are too expensive, but the suspenders are the way to go.  Says me who would never in a million years buy such a product or be seen in public with my hubby should he choose to buy them.

 

As someone who eat 1-2 salads every day, I was intrigued by the product, but I think it's too expensive.  I would not pay that much for a salad in a jar. 

 

The place mat thing is cool, but you need way more than two tethers to have enough different stuff to keep toddlers occupied for a meal out or a flight somewhere.  And there is still no way to stop them from throwing the infernal crayons on the floor a thousand times with this.

Edited March 9, 2021 by aemom
Typo

[eel21788]

On 3/6/2021 at 4:01 PM, bilgistic said:

All I could think about with the "stress clay" was how fast it would get cat hair, dirt and general griminess in it.

That is probably what she counts on in order to get repeat sales.

[DEL901]

3 hours ago, aemom said:

I used to like him too until he made that offer to the woman with that special screw on-thing and he wanted 100% of that part of the deal.  He was totally going to throw her and her diaper cream under the bus.  My liking of him went way down after that.  At least you know when Kevin is offering you a sharky deal  - he flat out tells you - but I've never seen him try to actually steal something like that.

And Kevin doesn’t pretend to be Mr Niceguy.   I even found myself rethinking buying Kind bars after the stunt Daniel pulled.  

[Cotypubby]

“Muff Waders.” 🙄🙄🙄

I strongly suspect they only called it that so after they finished filming they could snicker to themselves “Heh heh we got the Sharks to say “muff” on national TV! They didn’t even realize! Hilarious bro!” 

[LittleIggy]

Yeah, Daniel left a bad taste in my mouth after what he tried to pull last time. I posted then that what he tried to do wasn’t very KIND.

[Eolivet]

All I could think of with the salad in a jar was all the lettuce recalls for E. coli. And having the lettuce touching all the other ingredients in a confined space. So, E. coli in a jar.

[Vermicious Knid]

Article about Busy Baby. They had huge sales from appearing on the show. She had more reasons for turning down the deal than just the percentage.

Quote

Some commenters on social media criticized Fynbo for not taking the deal. But she feels good about her decision because Greiner ultimately wanted to try to license her mats to another company, Munchkin, leaving little room for others plans and ideas she has to grow the company herself.

"We would have had to hand it over and let somebody else take complete control,"

 

[LuvMyShows]

 

On 3/8/2021 at 12:48 PM, MoreCoffeePlease said:

Yes, you can do the same thing with Play-Doh, but I wouldn't want to give an adult a tub of Play-Doh.

Actually, Play-Doh and Silly Putty do not appear to do quite the same thing as hers.  Unless Play-Doh has changed a lot, it is good for shaping but not stretching, and does not hold together like hers appears to.  (Plus I remember Play Doh getting crusty and hard.)  And Silly Putty is not something you can dig into like you can with hers, and it's not as malleable as hers appears to be.  There definitely seems to be a tactile difference, even if it is perhaps subtle.

[TVbitch]

The Pinch Me Dough also released essential oil scent as it was manipulated which helps with stress relief. 

Salad in a jar is a hassle for retailers, who have to handle the bottle returns. I buy milk in glass and have to go to a separate counter to return the bottles. It's a pain. Don't know if I'd go through that for salad. 

[Spunkygal]

1 hour ago, TVbitch said:

The Pinch Me Dough also released essential oil scent as it was manipulated which helps with stress relief. 

Salad in a jar is a hassle for retailers, who have to handle the bottle returns. I buy milk in glass and have to go to a separate counter to return the bottles. It's a pain. Don't know if I'd go through that for salad. 

My @TVbitch friend, I think I would go to the effort to either return the bottles to the retailer or just recycle with my city. I just made a personal commitment to do the Mediterranean diet but am someone who needs to have her hand held along the way. Buying the bottled salads would be a slam dunk for me! 

[TVbitch]

@Spunkygal, hey girl! With my milk they charge $2 for the jar, and if you don't take it back to the store, you don't get your $2 back! And you have to clean out the jar to take it back!  (PS. Did you know the new season Masterchef UK has started!)