NC company took eco-friendly laundry sheets to ‘Shark Tank.’ Here’s what happened next.
The Mooresville makers of a line of eco-friendly laundry products landed an investment deal on ABC’s “Shark Tank” on Friday night.
Guest “shark” Daniel Lubetzky said in a video on Twitter that he’d “just closed a deal with Chris and Chris from Sheets Laundry Club.”
Lubetzky was referring to Chris Videau and Chris Campbell, who, according to the Sheets Laundry Club website, founded the venture in 2019.
“The only problem is how I pronounce this word, because it always sounds like something else,” Lubetzky quipped in the video.
“But I’m really excited because I’m here to help overcome the problems with micro-plastics in the oceans, and I think this company’s got great traction ... and I’m excited to support it,” he said.
Lubetzky is a Mexican-American billionaire and philanthropist who founded KIND Snacks and SOMOS Foods.
Videau and Campbell appeared at the start of Friday’s episode.
Videau, Sheets CEO, explained how the idea for the detergent sheets sprung from his military service overseas, including piloting Black Hawk helicopters in Iraq.
“My lungs are really bad,” Videau said. “The lungs got destroyed over in Iraq in 2007 and 2008, and that’s kind of where my plastic journey started.
“It was a war-torn country,” he said. “They didn’t have any type of trash service established. They were burning it, and everything obviously rises to the skies, and I spent every single day of the week for the most part flying those skies that had toxins.”
Videau was 33 when he returned from Iraq with “a lot of wheezing and coughing issues,” he told the “sharks.” A doctor told him he had the lungs of a 7-year-old, Videau said.
He and his wife “decided to rip plastic from our home.”
The mission of Sheets, the owners told the “sharks,” is likewise to remove plastic from laundry. The company did about $2 million in sales in 2020, the year they launched to the public, they said. They anticipate sales of $7 million this year with a profit margin of 24%, they said.
Sheets makes biodegradable detergent sheets that dissolve as they clean your clothes in the washing machine. The sheets are made with plant-based ingredients and include “no optical brighteners or dyes,” according to SheetsLaundryClub.com.
Exclusivity agreement
Videau and Campbell also revealed to the sharks that they signed an exclusivity agreement through October 2024 with consumer products giant Kimberly-Clark Corp., which they said owns the patent on the dissolvable laundry detergent sheets. That’s also when the patent expires, they said — news that discouraged some of the sharks.
While shark Barbara Corcoran praised the founders, she said their sales pitch didn’t persuade her.
“Clever!” she posted on Twitter. “I love a clear and easy demo.”
In a separate post on Twitter, Corcoran said: “Great entrepreneurs are salespeople at heart. You’ve got to walk the walk AND talk the talk!”
The show also posted a quote from her on Twitter that said, “You’re not persuasive, I’m sorry.”
Videau and Campbell, who’s the CEO of investment firm Capital Management Investments, easily persuaded Lubetzky, though, and many viewers, including a New York mom whose praise on Twitter was retweeted by the show.
“I like this @sheetslaundry business,” the woman posted. “And I’m the one that does the laundry in my home.”
Sheets has expanded its offerings to include in-wash scent boosters, fabric-softening dryer sheets, floor cleaner sheets, soaps and EcoBoost Stain Fighter whitening pouches, according to the company website.
When Lubetzky requested 10% equity for $500,000 during the show. Videau and Campbell offered 8% equity. Lubetzky then offered 8% equity and 2% in advisory shares, which the owners accepted.
“The @sheetslaundry products smell amazing, are better for our planet and are effective,” Lubetzky tweeted. “What a great example of avoiding false compromises and delivering multiple benefits to your consumer.”
Sheets Laundry Club posted its reaction to the deal on Twitter with a group photo of smiling staff and their families.
“Everyone at Sheets is so excited to partner with @DanielLubetzky and help turn the tide on plastics!” the company posted.
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 2:25 PM with the headline "NC company took eco-friendly laundry sheets to ‘Shark Tank.’ Here’s what happened next.."