Bottle Bright

Seth Friedman and Justin Koehneke, two mountain biking entrepreneurs from Vermont, pitch Bottle Bright in episode 607. Bottle Bright is an effervescent tablet that cleans and sanitizes water bottles (or any other drinking vessel) without chlorine or other chemicals.

The pair, who have backgrounds in renewable fuel production, invented BottleBright when they got fed up with dirty, slimy water bottles and travel mugs. They do a lot of mountain biking and hiking, so they were often without a convenient way to clean their water bottles. Neither one of them was crazy about using harsh chemicals, so after thousands of hours in the lab, they came up with a natural, non-toxic way to clean out their bottles.

Friedman and Koehneke have a business with a social conscience; for each packet they sell, they donate one packet to people in developing countries who have to tote their water in jugs. Dirty, slime filled water jugs pose a health risk, so the guys are doing their part to provide a clean vessel for water anywhere in the world.

A ten tablet pack of Bottle Bright is just $6-$7. They’re currently only available online, but with a Shark’s help, that could change. They are likely looking for a Shark to help them with retail distribution and cash for production.

Will Bottle Bright clean up and net a Shark in the Tank?

Bottle Bright Shark Tank Recap

Seth and Justin enter seeking $75,000 for 15% of their business. After demonstrating and explaining the product, they say they want to make Bottle Bright a household name and they hand out samples. Lori says it’s like Efferdent for bottles. They did $110K in sales in 2013 and are at $85K so far in 2014. They also private label for other companies.

2013 was a rough year for Bottle Bright; they lost $110,000. They sent some private label product to a customer and had to recall all their stock. Kevin thinks the idea is a loser – he’s out. Robert thinks they haven’t proven demand – he’s out too. Barbara doesn’t trust that they lost money – she’s out. Mark thinks the product is OK, but the guys appear too desperate -he’s out too. Lori offers $75K for 35% on the condition the cash is used for fulfilling purchase orders and she’ll help getting it into retail. They guys counter with 25%, Lori goes to 33% and the guys accept.

RESULT: DEAL with Lori for $75K for 33%

Bottle Bright Shark Tank Update

The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. Lori really helped with retail. They got their product in stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Amazon. In 2016, the business was acquired by Hydrapak for an undisclosed amount.