S13.E15: Curie; Noggin Boss Hats; Behave Bras; Ade + Ayo

[JTMacc99]

Quote

First into the Tank is an entrepreneur from Los Angeles, California, who presents her all-natural personal care product line made for men and women. Sports enthusiasts from Phoenix, Arizona, pitch their customizable fashion design that provides fans with a way to engage and promote something that they love; while an entrepreneur from Boston, Massachusetts, introduces her support system exclusively designed for women. Nigerian immigrants from Oakland, California, celebrate their African heritage by bringing their children's fashion clothing line to the Tank and hope to walk away with a deal.

Quote

 

In a Shark Tank update, father and son Carson and Jason Grill from Cincinnati, Ohio, update their investor, Blake Mycoskie, on Touch Up Cup, their innovative solution to paint storage problems.

The Sharks in this episode are Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner and Daymond John.

 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Sharks Daymond, Lori, Barbara, Kevin, Mark. 

1. Curie-for armpits, but it's all natural, no aluminum,  seller makes a deal for money, and advisor shares.  It's apparently a deodorant, not antiperspirant.   Her numbers with debt aren't great, but I think she'll do very well.  Seller was hiking in the mountains two hours ago, and came right to the show, no shower, Barbara smells the seller's armpit.    I'm so glad I'm not eating dinner.  Mark and Barbara make the deal. 

2. Noggin Boss Hats-Giant sports fan ball caps- The sellers took Daymond's deal, and didn't even talk to Barbara, or Kevin.   I'm shocked Mark didn't make the deal, but Mark will get the sellers into the merchandise show for the Mavs.  Daymond makes the deal.

3. Behave Bras-bras for well behaved breasts, supportive bras for large breasted women-the fit DD to I cup, but only have band sizes 30 to 40 (they just went up to 40, and say they're looking at adding addition sizes).  Only sold on their website, and have 80% margins.   Right now they have a pending patent, the stays in the bra can be used for bras, sports bras, swimwear.   Kevin is the first offer.   Kevin makes the deal.  

4. Ade + Ayo-kid's clothes that celebrate an African heritage-organic cotton, and affordable.   Lori says they're very soft. I like the prints, they're not the usual kid's prints.   They are direct to consumer.   The sellers both left great paying jobs, to go all-in on this company.    Barbara makes the deal. 

Update on Touch-Up Cups.  They're doing very well now.   

Edited March 13, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Diana Berry]

Really liked the Behave lady.  Hope that Kevin helps her sales. 

[hifihifi]

So I'm supposed to believe this woman was called to be on Shark Tank with no advance warning 2 hours beforehand & in that time she changed clothes, managed to get to the City Shark Tank is filmed in and had her products all on hand and fully assembled for her presentation? Yeah sure. 

PS Was this the first Shark Tank that no one told their SOB story and cried- I fast forwarded the last presentation because the product did not interest me so maybe they had a SOB story. It looks like this was one of the rare episodes where everyone got a deal as well.

Edited March 12, 2022 by hifihifi

[Shellie]

1 hour ago, hifihifi said:

So I'm supposed to believe this woman was called to be on Shark Tank with no advance warning 2 hours beforehand & in that time she changed clothes, managed to get to the City Shark Tank is filmed in and had her products all on hand and fully assembled for her presentation? Yeah sure. 

 

I was really confused by this and why all of a sudden two sharks who had gone out were intent on getting a deal.  I wondered if I had missed something.  I texted a friend who normally watches the show to ask, but alas, he was watching basketball.  

[KaveDweller]

2 hours ago, hifihifi said:

So I'm supposed to believe this woman was called to be on Shark Tank with no advance warning 2 hours beforehand & in that time she changed clothes, managed to get to the City Shark Tank is filmed in and had her products all on hand and fully assembled for her presentation? Yeah sure. 

Is Shark Tank filmed in LA? She said she was hiking by Griffith Observatory, which is in LA. Maybe she lives there or was there in hopes of getting on the show.

I assume she had applied and was on some kind of waitlist but just didn't know when when she would be able to present. And that the "2 hours" weren't necessarily between the call and when they started shooting, but just that on the call they told her she had two hours to get there.

But even if her deodorant is awesome and masked her sweaty smell, her hair looked amazing for someone who had just been hiking.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Apparently, they only filmed in Las Vegas during the pandemic episodes.    They moved back to L.A. for this season.

I think they moved back to L.A. as soon as they didn't have to be in the bubble, and quarantine.     It seemed so strange for handshaking, and hugs to come back.   

I'm sure they have makeup, and hair people for the show, even for the sellers.    I thought Barbara sniffing the woman's armpit was bizarre.      I believe a few sellers have said they actually are on camera for a long time, and it gets cut way down.    

[Whimsy]

I thought those Noggin Boss hats are just about one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe they got a deal. All the (supposed) requests for pictures are probably people laughing at how dumb they look. Sure, some people will buy them, but this will fizzle fast, if they even get all the way through the vetting process. 
 

There are tons of other natural deodorants out there.  Surprised that wasn’t mentioned. 
 

I don’t really have an opinion on the other two products as I’m not their demographic. 

[DEL901]

55 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

I thought those Noggin Boss hats are just about one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe they got a deal. All the (supposed) requests for pictures are probably people laughing at how dumb they look. Sure, some people will buy them, but this will fizzle fast, if they even get all the way through the vetting process. 
 

There are tons of other natural deodorants out there.  Surprised that wasn’t mentioned. 
 

I don’t really have an opinion on the other two products as I’m not their demographic. 

Even Mark, although he said he’d try a dozen at his stadium, is anticipating they will cause problems in stands because they will block the view of other attendees.

[Shellie]

1 hour ago, Whimsy said:

There are tons of other natural deodorants out there.  Surprised that wasn’t mentioned. 

I wondered about this too.  I haven't used an aluminum-based deodorant in decades. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

There's a difference between deodorants and anti-perspirants, although people usually don't understand the distinction.  Deodorants, many of which are "natural," don't prevent you from sweating but do prevent the sweat from stinking (and may mask the smell with another scent).  Anti-perspirants actually prevent the sweating and therefore the stinking, and all anti-perspirants I know of have aluminum as the mechanism for preventing sweating, and also have anti-smell properties that deodorants have because sometimes there's too much sweat to completely prevent it.  The label on those will say "anti-perspirant/deodorant."

It's confusing because people don't distinguish between the two, even though they're very different products.  And they see "aluminum-free" and don't notice that the product is called "deodorant" and not "anti-perspirant/deodorant."  Take a look at the labels.  It's clear if you know what you're looking at.

At one point in the pitch, she said her product prevents sweating, which of course made my ears perk up because it's touted as being aluminum-free and "natural."  And sure enough, her website says nothing about any anti-perspirant properties of the product, and the product is called "deodorant," just like every other underarm product out there that controls smell but not sweat--many of them calling themselves "natural."

If her product prevents sweating, like she said on the show, why wouldn't the website even mention that?  In fact, on the website there's a quiz you can take on which product is best for you, and many of the questions are about how much you sweat (I answered all of them with the sweatiest option), and the result was:  "Congrats on making the switch to aluminum-free deodorant! You're making a great choice for your body, and our goal is to keep you smelling your best."

Hmm...smelling your best.  Not a peep about controlling sweat, even though it asked me how much I sweated. 

I hate how hard it is to be an informed consumer.  If you don't care about the amount of sweat and just don't want to stink, then a deodorant is perfect for you.  But if you want to prevent sweat, you need to know that a "deodorant" won't do that, and you need an "anti-perspirant/deodorant" and good luck realizing that without applying the skills you learned in law school to read the labels.

Edited March 13, 2022 by StatisticalOutlier

[StatisticalOutlier]

So now I'm looking at the bras.  Something that I hadn't realized is that they pull over your head.  Oh, hell no.  I have a Champion sports bra from like 20 years ago that I'm tenaciously hanging on to because it has a back clasp like a regular bra.  Those over-the-head things roll up on me when I put them on, and never feel quite right once they're on because they ride up on my small ribcage, and getting them off over my head is a nightmare.

But something else is the way these Behave bras look.  I'm definitely a function over form person when it comes to bras, so I want them easy to put on (see above) and it's vastly more important for them to fit right than to look good.  That said, I think this looks particularly bad.

There's a part of the website that says you might be able to tuck the stayz into the bra, depending on the shape of your breast.  But surely you would lose part of the purpose of the stayz if you did that, and from looking at this, could you make it completely invisible, since the stayz is a straight edge that would be being tucked into an L-shape?  Maybe for a photo, but for running around all day?  I'd think it would work its way back out.

[ETA: I'm on the lower end of their size range, and have been able to find a bra (note--a bra, as in one particular manufacturer and style number) that works for me, and I have a fleet of them.  But they have wire that I hate, so I was really interested in the Behave bra as a possible alternative.  It is not to be, but for women who are on the other end of the size range, it's possible Behave is a game changer.]

I don't care about giant hats, so no comment on that.  Except to say I think they're dumb.  So maybe I do care.

But on the kid's clothes line, Barbara was remarking on how inexpensive they were, like $20 for the dress, and they should be in every Target.  But isn't the $20 possible because they're direct-to-consumer?  They wouldn't be $20 if there were a middleman involved, would they?  My impression is that retailers double the wholesale price.

Also, Kevin (I think) is always pointing out products that are for only certain segments of a market (like only for tall women or something like that), and yet it seems to me these African-inspired prints might have issues with cultural appropriation depending on who's wearing them.  Personally, I think they're cute, and they're not blazingly kente print or anything, but they do smack heavily of Africa to me.

Edited March 13, 2022 by StatisticalOutlier

[hifihifi]

Seriously who is going to buy that stupid hat at that price?

[bilgistic]

This show. Kevin said he "doesn't invest in clothing" in the presentation immediately after the deal he made with the bra company.

Those hats were even stupider than the infamous wedding bouquet flasks, and that's my low bar of garbage hawked on this show.

[hula-la]

6 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Also, Kevin (I think) is always pointing out products that are for only certain segments of a market (like only for tall women or something like that), and yet it seems to me these African-inspired prints might have issues with cultural appropriation depending on who's wearing them.  Personally, I think they're cute, and they're not blazingly kente print or anything, but they do smack heavily of Africa to me.

It’s not cultural appropriation if a non-African person (or non-Black person) wears them. It’s cultural appreciation. They are both from Nigeria, and understand the significance and meaning behind the prints. Their website explains each print, it’s history, and how it is traditionally used. Unless they use a print that is only supposed to be used by a certain group, or in a certain way (e.g. at a funeral), what they are doing is normalizing African prints and making them just as normal a fashion choice as, say, plaid.  

[Welshman in Ca]

16 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Also, Kevin (I think) is always pointing out products that are for only certain segments of a market (like only for tall women or something like that), and yet it seems to me these African-inspired prints might have issues with cultural appropriation depending on who's wearing them.  Personally, I think they're cute, and they're not blazingly kente print or anything, but they do smack heavily of Africa to me.

 

 

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who doesn't understand where appropriation ends & appreciation starts.

[DEL901]

27 minutes ago, Welshman in Ca said:

 

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who doesn't understand where appropriation ends & appreciation starts.

I struggle too, but a couple of things I think are true…

1) Does the clothing, jewellery, hair style etc. have a deeper sacred, cultural or religious meaning to a group of which you are not a member?  If so, don’t wear it, use the term (think Kim Kardashian originally naming her shapewear line Kimono) or profit from it without permission. 

2) If you really like something from another culture and you know it would not be offensive for a non member to wear, e.g. dream catcher earrings…if you buy from the community who are responsible, then it is cultural appreciation.   If you buy from someone outside the culture who is appropriating another culture to make a buck, you are both guilty of cultural appropriation. 
 

Just my opinion.  

Edited March 14, 2022 by DEL901

[aemom]

22 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

So now I'm looking at the bras.  Something that I hadn't realized is that they pull over your head.  Oh, hell no.  I have a Champion sports bra from like 20 years ago that I'm tenaciously hanging on to because it has a back clasp like a regular bra.  Those over-the-head things roll up on me when I put them on, and never feel quite right once they're on because they ride up on my small ribcage, and getting them off over my head is a nightmare.

But something else is the way these Behave bras look.  I'm definitely a function over form person when it comes to bras, so I want them easy to put on (see above) and it's vastly more important for them to fit right than to look good.  That said, I think this looks particularly bad.

They DO look bad.  The problem with these Stayz (IMHO) is they have to be the same color and fabric as the bra, or it just looks like some stupid layered thing. They have another bra on the website - teal colored bra and Stayz - but the fabric on the Stayz was different than the bra part, so it didn't look as bad, but still didn't look good.  Why wouldn't you make them match?  I lost a lot of weight a few years ago, and my boobs went along with it, so I am not their target market, but that would really make me pause about buying one, even if I was desperate to get a good fitting bra.  Full points for not having any underwire, and the price tag is reasonable for a bra in this category.

The hats were SO, SO, DUMB.

The deodorant is not of interest to me because I only buy anti-perspirants and read the containers like a hawk to be sure that I don't buy the wrong one by accident.

The children's clothing was beautiful and I checked out their website.  They ship to Canada, and the prices are higher - about $30-$40.  So not insane, but not Walmart prices for sure.  I am no longer their target market since my kids are grown, but I might consider something as a gift for someone that I really liked depending on how much shipping would ding me.

[bilgistic]

Ade + Ayo's clothing is gorgeous. When my niece was young, I struggled with trying to find her clothing that wasn't pink and frilly because my sister wasn't interested in dressing her like a "little princess," which was so refreshing. I often shopped in the "boys' section" to find fun prints with dinosaurs or animals. I would've loved to have been able to buy clothing from Ade + Ayo.

[needschocolate]

If the hats sell, they will only be a fad.  They came out saying something about being part of some big sporting event (I don't remember which one) which made it sound like they had sold them at that event, but it turns out that they just brought a bunch of hats in a garbage bag to the event.  I get the feeling they only started this company so they could write-off tickets to games as promotion.  

On 3/13/2022 at 3:41 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

Also, Kevin (I think) is always pointing out products that are for only certain segments of a market (like only for tall women or something like that)

Yes he does point that out quite often, yet he invested in bras for women who need a very large cup and no mention of how it wouldn't appeal to a wide market.  

That segment was just odd, and not just because he didn't talk about the size of the market and he doesn't usually invest in clothing.  The bra lady didn't try to get an offer from anyone else.  She seemed to really believe that the best/only shark for her was the man who doesn't usually invest in clothing.

[Vermicious Knid]

I am in the Behave target but have no interest in this product. I'm ok with underwires, almost all my bras are VS bought only through the Semi-Annual Clearance Sale. I stopped trying to find my size in the stores long ago. And as you get older it's more important to have a better made bra with good support. Don't like the way the Behave looks, don't understand why they're two different colors. As I live in the southwest I couldn't wear that under any summer tanks. I also switched to a clinical strength deodorant/antiperspirant because the regular ones just couldn't cope with 110 degrees. I've known for years mass market antiperspirants use aluminum and I don't care as long as it works.

Oversized hats are just stupid.

[Vanderboom]

On 3/13/2022 at 11:13 PM, bilgistic said:

Those hats were even stupider than the infamous wedding bouquet flasks, and that's my low bar of garbage hawked on this show.

Mine is wine for cats. Did the Noggin Boss people have a patent? I can see someone knocking off their oversized hats easily.

Edited March 20, 2022 by Vanderboom

[DEL901]

55 minutes ago, Vanderboom said:

Mine is wine for cats. Did the Noggin Boss people have a patent? I can see someone knocking off their oversized hats easily.

Who is going to knock those hats off is the person sitting behind them at a game. 

[LittleIggy]

What are “stayz”? From the picture it looks as if the women is wearing two bras. When I watched the episode, I thought they were talking about “stays” like the kind corsets had. It confused me then! 

[theatremouse]

It's the trademarked name of her attachmenty thingy for those bras that makes them "behave". It's not two bras. It's her special patented design that makes them as effective as she claims, blah blah blah. I assume she chose the name riffing on corsets, but of course had to spell it differently to differentiate from that AND for trademarkability.

[lh25]

On 3/14/2022 at 7:11 PM, needschocolate said:

Yes he does point that out quite often, yet he invested in bras for women who need a very large cup and no mention of how it wouldn't appeal to a wide market.  

Not only is is marketed for those who need large cups, but they have a really small range of band sizes, further limiting their market.  I get tons of ads when browsing online for bras with large cups, and they almost never have band sizes large enough for me.

The oversize hat wasn't appealing to me.  Looked like it would be awkward to wear and annoying to those around the wearer.

[dogdays2]

I'm the BeHave demographic, but they didn't appeal to me at all.  I don't want something HUGE . . . I look for minimalist bras that still provide great support.  I definitely don't want something that I have to pull over my head.  I don't mind a wire -- with the right size bra, it shouldn't be uncomfortable.  The above said, I went to the BeHave website and they're completely sold out, so some folks are obviously sold.  

[DEL901]

5 hours ago, dogdays2 said:

I'm the BeHave demographic, but they didn't appeal to me at all.  I don't want something HUGE . . . I look for minimalist bras that still provide great support.  I definitely don't want something that I have to pull over my head.  I don't mind a wire -- with the right size bra, it shouldn't be uncomfortable.  The above said, I went to the BeHave website and they're completely sold out, so some folks are obviously sold.  

Almost every product gets a post show bump.   The big question is sustainability.   Will people keep buying. 

[jabRI]

On 3/14/2022 at 5:26 PM, aemom said:

The children's clothing was beautiful and I checked out their website.  They ship to Canada, and the prices are higher - about $30-$40.  So not insane, but not Walmart prices for sure.  I am no longer their target market since my kids are grown, but I might consider something as a gift for someone that I really liked depending on how much shipping would ding me.

I think the sharks as usual were out of touch. I'd never spend more than that on a growing kid who can likely wear an outfit for one season.  So I don't know why they were so 'shocked' at the low-ish price.    On the other hand, my kid was a typical boy and pretty rough, so we did end up buying more on Lands End where the clothes actually withstood his antics, as opposed to Walmart clothes that started falling apart pretty quickly.  That said, I loved the designs, hope they do fantastically well.  

On 3/21/2022 at 1:00 PM, dogdays2 said:

I'm the BeHave demographic, but they didn't appeal to me at all.  I don't want something HUGE . . . I look for minimalist bras that still provide great support.  I definitely don't want something that I have to pull over my head.

I like front-closure, almost impossible to find these days.

[aemom]

1 hour ago, jabRI said:

I think the sharks as usual were out of touch. I'd never spend more than that on a growing kid who can likely wear an outfit for one season.  So I don't know why they were so 'shocked' at the low-ish price.    On the other hand, my kid was a typical boy and pretty rough, so we did end up buying more on Lands End where the clothes actually withstood his antics, as opposed to Walmart clothes that started falling apart pretty quickly.  That said, I loved the designs, hope they do fantastically well.  

I like front-closure, almost impossible to find these days.

I hear you.  I found that I could do Walmart for shirts, but not for pants - I needed better quality because my sons would just go through the knees so quickly otherwise.  The same with shoes - I had to go a step up or they would they would be trashed very quickly, but Walmart billy boots were fine.

[eel21788]

On 3/13/2022 at 8:42 PM, hifihifi said:

Seriously who is going to buy that stupid hat at that price?

According to the statistics he gave us, 461 people.

I hardly think people were as anxious to get their hands on them as he claims. I hope he gets some help for his delusions of grandeur.

Those hats are only going to sell to people who love to go out of their way to be the center of attention. He might want to stick to the people in the stadium who are shirtless with letters painted on their chests. 

On 3/14/2022 at 8:11 PM, needschocolate said:

If the hats sell, they will only be a fad.

Something that serves no useful purpose become obsolete very quickly.

[eel21788]

On 3/21/2022 at 8:26 AM, lh25 said:

Not only is is marketed for those who need large cups, but they have a really small range of band sizes, further limiting their market.  I get tons of ads when browsing online for bras with large cups, and they almost never have band sizes large enough for me.

My impression was that her target market is skinny girls who got huge breast implants (thus her claim that the average cup size in the US being a D). You're not supposed to wear an underwire with implants, and the better they are supported, the longer it takes before they sag to the point of needing to be replaced.

[eel21788]

On 3/12/2022 at 3:11 PM, hifihifi said:

So I'm supposed to believe this woman was called to be on Shark Tank with no advance warning 2 hours beforehand & in that time she changed clothes, managed to get to the City Shark Tank is filmed in and had her products all on hand and fully assembled for her presentation? Yeah sure. 

I also would have like to know why she decided to name her product after a woman who was killed by her own science experiment.