Shark Tank Update: Lori Greiner Gets In On Bottle Bright For $75k

The Story of Bottle Bright

Justin Koehneke and Seth Friedman would like the Shark Tank team to invest in Bottle Bright, which they say is a cleaning product for portable drinking containers.

They describe how difficult it can be to clean thermoses, bottles, and other reusable, portable drinking containers: dishwashers are not effective for the containers, and many can’t be put in a dishwasher at all.

Washing them by hand is tedious, and getting all of the residue of the cleaner out can be difficult.

They’ve designed Bottle Bright.

It’s an effervescent tablet with a safe, effective cleaning solution. Fill your container with water, drop in the tablet, and let it do the work. Afterward, discard the solution and rinse the container, and it’s ready for use.

The Sharks React to Bottle Bright’s Pitch

They’d like $75,000 for 15% of the company.

Last year, they made $110,000 in sales, and this year, it’s been $85,000. They’ve been making the product for two large companies to sell under their own brand, but they’d like an investment from the Shark Tank to make their own brand name a household name.

It’s costing them 79 cents to make a 10-use package, which they then wholesale for $2.99, and is retailed for $5.99.

The investors weren’t incredibly impressed. Kevin O’Leary told the inventors, “I’m gonna bet you have very little sales, because nobody gives a d**n.”

O’Leary went on to tell the team that he, too, is a cleaner — one who cleans the really bad ideas right out of the Shark Tank — “And this falls under that category.” He further told them, “I’m going to give you an offer to think it through, leave here, and shoot it. By the way, I’m out.”

Robert Herjavec followed him, saying that he couldn’t see the market — “Anyone who really cares has already found an option.”

Barbara Corcoran bowed out next, saying that the team’s $100k loss in year three (when they invested in packaging that turned out to let moisture through, and they had to recall a massive amount of product) lost her trust.

Mark Cuban was the fourth out, saying that the product might be good, but the company wasn’t solid, and that he felt the two had a sense of desperation that turned him away.

Lori Greiner made an offer, though. She’d give the asked amount, for 35% of the company instead of 15%, only with a promise that the money would go toward the product, not to administration, and she’d work to get the product into Bed, Bath, and Beyond and on QVC.

Justin and Seth had a counter-offer: would Lori go for 25%? She countered with 33 1/3%, declaring that her final offer, and the agreement was made.

Final deal: Lori Greiner invested $75,000 in Bottle Bright for 33 1/3% of the company.