Whatever Happened To Stasher After Shark Tank?
Plenty of business owners have pitched eco-friendly products on "Shark Tank," the reality TV show where entrepreneurs present their ideas to "sharks" in the hopes that one of them will want a stake in their company. Sustainable businesses like Eco Flower and Misfit Foods have even walked away with sizable investments.
In a Season 9 episode of "Shark Tank," Kat Nouri entered the studio hoping to reduce the environmental impact of plastics with her resealable silicone bag business, Stasher. The result was one of the more animated pitches in "Shark Tank" history. "Some of the judges are not that nice," Nouri later told NPR. "If you don't know your business inside out, they're going to eat you alive." Nouri ended up sparring with Mark Cuban over numbers and pitching practices after all of the other judges bowed out. Ultimately, Cuban agreed to invest $400,000 for 15% equity in Stasher.
Here's how Stasher has fared since the episode aired in 2018.
S. C. Johnson acquired Stasher in 2019
Kat Nouri was already a successful entrepreneur when she launched Stasher in 2016. She had previously founded modern-twist, a company that makes silicone lifestyle products. With Stasher, Nouri was looking to replace expensive, landfill-bound plastic bags with a reusable product that was oven, microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safe. "I didn't start this company for profit," Nouri said in an episode of NPR's "How I Built This." "I started this company so that it would support the change that I wanted to see in the world."
Nouri's "Shark Tank" deal with Mark Cuban ultimately didn't come to fruition, but the business owner calls the failed pitch a blessing in disguise. "We started utilizing [our 'Shark Tank' appearance] as a marketing tool," she said. The increased visibility led to $500,000 from an outside investor.
In 2019, Stasher was acquired by S. C. Johnson. Now, the company has an extensive lineup of products, received b corp certification, and has been written about in New York Magazine, Bon Appétit, and CNN.