Whatever Happened To The Human Dog Bed After Shark Tank?
Gazing over at a sleeping dog curled up on a dog bed elicits more emotions than you would think. Sure, there's the obvious cute factor of it all. But what is that strange, second feeling? Is it ... jealousy?
That response was the unlikely seed for Plufl, or as it's also known, the first dog bed for humans. As a student at the University of British Columbia, Noah Silverman worked as a barista, where the owner's Great Dane would constantly nap near the counter. "I'm in the middle of finals. I'm working a lot. I'm studying," Silverman recalled to Fast Company. "And this dog is just out here sleeping and napping all the time [in] the giant plush comfy bed." He envisioned the human-sized dog bed as a whimsical nap station for people, not to mention a major outlet for anxiety relief. For this, he enlisted his friend Yuki Kinoshita as a co-founder of Plufl.
The oblong bed is 68 inches long and 33 inches wide, with a removable, washable cover and an orthopedic memory foam interior that provides more support than a pooch equivalent.
Ahead of their Season 14 "Shark Tank" appearance, Silverman and Kinoshita launched a Kickstarter campaign in the Spring of 2022 that made $290,657 despite a comparatively meager goal of $25,000. The "Shark Tank" producers reached out to the Plufl team about appearing on the show, and by the time they taped the episode in July of 2022, the pair hadn't even delivered the beds to their backers.
Plufl was backed by two sleep business professionals
Yuki Kinoshita and Noah Silverman entered "Shark Tank" in Season 14 seeking $200,000 for 10% equity in Plufl. During their appearance, the sharks are equal parts incredulous and curious, with Robert Herjavec and Mark Cuban quickly snuggling up in some sample beds. Some sharks flinch, however, upon hearing the numbers. Each unit retails for $399 and costs $140 to make. It doesn't help that they hadn't shipped any product yet and that the beds had a lengthy turnaround of two months to make and two months to ship. For guest judge Emma Grede, Plufl doesn't make any sense, and she doesn't understand who the beds were for. Herjavec also can't wrap his head around the concept. "It's a dog bed for humans!" he yells repeatedly.
Still, Silverman and Kinoshita were convincing. They cited Plufl's early response among the mothers of children with sensory issues and touted the beds' ability to provide restful sleep and comfort to those with physical trauma, anxiety, and sleep disorders. Kevin O'Leary promptly offered $200,000 for 30% of the company, even if he thinks it is "crazy."
It is Cuban and Lori Greiner, however, who express the most interest, citing their previous co-investment in Hug Sleep, which had netted $15 million in sales in just two years. "We're in the sleep business," Greiner quips. After huddling on the sidelines, Greiner and Cuban offer a joint deal of $200,000 for 20%, which Silverman and Kinoshita accept.
Plufl is thriving, with the help of Shark Tank and TikTok
Like most "Shark Tank" alumni, Yuki Kinoshita and Noah Silverman have acknowledged the impact that their television appearance has had on Plufl. But even before their TV debut, the Plufl co-founders had been making waves on TikTok, which is where "Shark Tank" producers learned about the nascent company.
"Where things really took off is when we went on TikTok," Kinoshita said in the same Fast Company interview. "Our fifth video went absolutely viral in March. We got like three million views in a week. And that led to 10,000 email subscribers and it just got so much momentum when all we had was still just a prototype that we had made."
The combination of their TikTok virality (Plufl has 276.7 million followers and over 50 million views) and "Shark Tank" investment has allowed the Plufl team to thrive and ramp up production. Within five months of their "Shark Tank" appearance, Plufl had delivered to over 3,000 customers. Crucially, they're also out of Silverman's parents' basement and in a proper warehouse. The product has also been featured on "The Tonight Show" and "Good Morning America."
Customers are raving over Plufl
Yuki Kinoshita and Noah Silverman both turned down cushy gigs as economic consultants to start Plufl, but their business acumen has gone to good use. The dog bed for humans boasts over 11,000 customers despite the hefty price tag, which has jumped up to $499 since "Shark Tank" (as of this writing, the Plufl is on sale for $349). Of the 284 reviews on their website, an impressive 267 of them are five stars.
Beyond the curated space of the Plufl website, reviews are just as ecstatic. I almost felt unworthy of sitting in such a soft space," wrote Marissa Miller for CNN Underscored. Over at Forbes, Lindsey Vickers called the bed "fantastic," adding, "I've had mine for a month now, and I love it more each day." She touched on the kid-friendly design, the ultrasoft material, and considerate design details like a pouch for your phone. The headline for the Apartment Therapy review reads, "I Tried That TikTok-Viral Human Dog Bed, and I Like It More Than My Actual Bed."
It helps that Silverman and Kinoshita regularly engage with customers on social media. On their preferred site, TikTok, the co-founders make plenty of videos that directly answer consumers' questions.
What's next for Plufl?
The Plufl co-founders may be in the napping industry, but they've been staying busy since their "Shark Tank" appearance in 2022. "Our focus is really just taking every dollar we make back to growing and scaling inventory," Yuki Kinoshita told Sleepopolis.
That includes expanding their manufacturing. As of this year, Kinoshita and Noah Silverman have two manufacturers in Asia and are looking to expand their operations. They also spent three weeks in China in pursuit of that goal.
Kinoshita and Silverman are also looking to expand to new products. "A human dog bed isn't crazy enough," Kinoshita continued. "We're going to have more crazy ideas." Their next one, Hugl, already has its own Kickstarter campaign, which launched in July 2023. It raised over $213,000 with a $15,000 goal. Hugl is a giant U-shaped body pillow that uses Tencel, a cooling fabric that wicks away heat. It will retail for $199, begin mass production in September 2023, and get shipped out by December.
"We launched Plufl right here on Kickstarter and were deeply moved by the wave of positive feedback," the Hugl Kickstarter bio reads. "Hearing how our product made a difference in people's lives was incredibly inspiring, and we knew we wanted to create more solutions for better sleep and rest."