Bibbitec Bib Update | Season 4
Moms are always on the hunt for a good bib! Husband and wife Susie and Steve Taylor, have created a bib that they believe moms everywhere will love! Will it earn them a deal on
Shark Tank Bibbitec Update
- Entrepreneurs: Susie and Steve Taylor
- Business: Full body bib
- Ask: $40,000 for 14% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
Susie and Steve brought their product and company, Bibbitec, to the tank. They proclaimed to be a “better bib” than everything on the market. Made from non-toxic poly-nylon material, that doesn’t stain or smell.
Kevin O’Leary was skeptical, to say the least, and it didn’t help to learn that it cost the Taylors $15 to produce one bib, only to retail it for $24.99 on their website. He said it made more sense for a parent to purchase a bunch of bibs cheaply, instead of breaking the bank on Bibbitec. Susie disagreed.
Robert Herjavec jumped in to find out more, asking about sales. The Taylors told the sharks they sold 2,000 units over a four year period, $17,000 of which was sold within the past twelve months. While Susie and Steve seemed proud, Robert couldn’t believe that was all. The Taylors went on to explain that the biggest obstacle they were faced with was customer education.
They felt Bibbitec required educating the customer prior to purchase. Robert asked if the couple had considered licensing the idea to a bib manufacturer with distribution channels. This would help get it to market much faster and at a much larger scale. Susie said that she could not pursue that route “morally” because of the toxins used in Chinese factories overseas.
When Susie said she wanted to prove that America could produce great quality products domestically, Kevin went on the offensive again. He said that America can make great products, but they can’t afford Bibbitec because the price was outrageous.
Steve tried to build excitement talking about the response Bibbitec received at tradeshows, but the sharks remained unconvinced. Daymond John tried tossing a lifeline to this failing pitch, asking if the Taylors truly believed they could get the cost down. The Taylors said that, with a large enough order, they should get the cost lower.
By now, Susie was losing her cool and began acting defensively to the sharks’ criticism. Robert addressed the talk of lowering costs and said it was a good plan, but he didn’t understand the Taylors’ plan to sell thousands of Bibbitec bibs to the mass market.
Mark Cuban said he liked the bib and was not deterred by the price point but he personally found the Taylors very much unequipped to run the business. He advised they find a college kid to launch an Internet marketing campaign on the cheap and get the word out. Mark said there were solutions out there to their problems, but the solution was not him, so he was out.
Barbara Corcoran spoke next, stating that Mark’s advice was very good. She also told the Taylors that there was likely an equally passionate salesforce available– other moms. With that, she was out. Kevin was not at all interested in investing, so he too went out.
Daymond John went out next, as he felt he could offer no value to the Taylors. Robert went out last, telling the Taylors that their pitch included a number of confusing strategies, and that he personally felt they had no clear plan for success. With that, they were forced to leave without a deal. What happened next? Keep reading our Bibbitec update to find out!
As with many pitches, exposure from the show led to a spike in sales, and they sold nearly $40,000 in one weekend! Despite this, after some time sales became stagnant to the point where the product was no longer available. In 2019, the business closed down, so this will be our final Bibbitec update.
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Jennifer is an avid Shark Tank fan that has been watching the show for years. She serves as Senior Editor at Shark Tank Recap and ensures that all our information is accurate and that our posts are up to date. Her favorite Shark Tank products are Le-Glue and Ring!