Whatever Happened To Curie After Shark Tank?
One day in September 2021, Sarah Moret was hiking near the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles when she got a call from the producers of "Shark Tank." Two hours later, she was on set, pitching her company, Curie, to the panel of sharks.
Moret had previously applied to appear on "Shark Tank" and was rejected, with the caveat that, as a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur, she would be on standby to take another contestant's spot. For Moret, arriving in a post-hike sweaty glow actually served to bolster her pitch for Curie, her natural deodorant brand. Moret started her business in 2018 when she found herself dissatisfied with the natural deodorant market. She wanted an aluminum and paraben-free product that actually worked, especially for an active consumer like herself who ran marathons and hiked regularly. Curie also produces a range of other skin-care products.
"I started Curie as a bit of a side hustle," Moret told Bostonia, the Boston University alumni magazine. "I wasn't seeking an idea; it really just came to me. It wasn't my goal or plan to start a company."
Indeed, when Moret started Curie, she still had a full-time job in an investment role at a venture capital fund. Her CPA training helped equip her with the financial savvy necessary to start a small business, and in Moret's first year of business, Curie made $125,000 in sales. When the pandemic hit, Moret kept her business afloat by pivoting to hand sanitizer, and Curie netted $700,000 in 2020.
Sarah Moret won over the Sharks with her hustle
Sarah Moret enters the Shark Tank in Season 13, Episode 15 of the show to pitch her flagship natural deodorant, but she also comes equipped with a full line of products in the signature scents of white tea, grapefruit cassis, and orange neroli, including hand sanitizer, spray deodorant, body wash, body oil, and candles. She also explains the three groups of ingredients and their functions: sage oil and probiotics "to beat the stink," arrowroot powder to absorb moisture, and chamomile and aloe to soothe skin.
Moret seeks $300,000 for 5% equity in Curie. That's a $6 million valuation – an eye-popping number given that her company wasn't profitable yet, though Moret does confirm that the company was on track to do $2 million in sales by the end of 2021. Certain deals, she explains, had been postponed due to the pandemic, including a partnership with SoulCycle.
The sharks' main issue, however, is that Moret was building too fast and in too many directions, having already raised $1 million in funding. "It scares me how quickly you're moving," Barbara Corcoran says.
Upon hearing about Moret's "Shark Tank" journey, and how she dropped everything to rush to set, Corcoran and Mark Cuban change their tune and go in on a deal together. They settle on $300,000 for a 10% stake in the company, plus 4% ownership in advisory shares.
"I've been a solo entrepreneur through a pandemic, and it's been lonely and hard," Moret says, teary-eyed. "Having people like them to help me get the business to the next level is amazing."
Curie and Corcoran is a partnership made in heaven
Sarah Moret immediately felt the "Shark Tank" effect when her episode aired in March 2022. Within 12 hours, Curie received thousands of orders and sold out of its entire inventory. The company did more business in one night than in its entire first year of business. Within a year, the company had sold over 1 million sticks of deodorant.
"It paid off for us," Moret told Glossy. "It really was a 10-minute commercial. And it's helped us acquire customers — not only the day we aired, but also — 'Shark Tank' re-airs again and again, and again. We got a 'Shark Tank' update. 'Shark Tank' truly has been the gift that keeps on giving."
It helps that Moret maintained a positive relationship with Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran, who finalized their deal behind the scenes. She's especially close with Corcoran, who is a regular presence on Curie's Instagram account, appearing in short videos and continuing to endorse the product.
"Working together has been an incredible journey and I'm so proud of Sarah and her entire team," Corcoran wrote on her own Instagram. "What's Sarah's secret sauce? She knows how to get sh*t done, she's a natural-born saleswoman, a fabulous delegator and she's always willing to learn something new."
Curie is thriving, thanks in part to its business partnerships
In an interview with ModernRetail, Sarah Moret pointed to a few major inflection points that have tipped Curie in the right direction. The biggest, she said, was "Shark Tank," which "will change your business essentially overnight." Another huge sales boost came from QVC. "We aired on QVC for the first time in 2021," Moret continued. As of April 2023, the business owner has been on QVC between 15 and 20 times. "That's really changed my business," she said, noting how the network has shaped her as a salesperson. "I think the coolest thing that I've taken away from QVC is it's taught me how to talk about our products."
Indeed, Moret has come to approach sales and marketing as two sides of the same coin. In her "Shark Tank" appearance, Moret mentioned that she had just struck a deal with SoulCycle to feature her sprayable deodorants – which, unlike the stick deodorants, can be shared by strangers. In the summer of 2022, Curie announced a partnership with Equinox Clubs, as well as a corresponding new scent — juniper eucalyptus — that would be available to its members in over 100 locations.
"The goal is exposure," Moret said in a separate piece for ModernRetail. "We're providing these gyms with a really great quality, clean product, and the gyms that we're working with also give us the opportunity to associate ourselves with these amazing established brands."
What's next for Curie?
In addition to direct-to-consumer purchases and business partnerships, sales are booming for Curie in hundreds of retail locations, including Anthropologie, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale's. Curie has also been able to expand its team, add new products like dry shampoo and mini deodorant sticks to the lineup, and introduce new scents.
In August, Curie announced that it would be partnering with retail giant Walmart in all 4,300 locations. There, consumers can find the deodorant stick, spray, and armpit detox mask in the three best-selling scents: white tea, orange neroli, and coconut nectar. As Moret gleefully wrote on Instagram, "We've come a long way since packing and shipping orders from the floor of my sister's apartment!"
Curie is celebrating the launch with an out-of-home marketing campaign that began on September 4. Until November 27, six mobile billboards will advertise Curie in Atlanta, Georgia, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Bentonville, Arkansas. The company is also working with influencers to boost the brand. "It's essentially like a driving billboard," Moret told ModernRetail in August. "It's an opportunity for us to do a fun, splashy campaign to promote the fact that we're going to be in Walmart."
As of Summer 2023, Curie is an eight-figure, profitable company, and Moret is still eyeing more growth. "Potentially in 2024, we would want to look to expand into more retail doors," she continued. "But in 2023, we're really focusing on being great partners for Walmart and making this launch a success."