Genius Litter Update | Shark Tank Season 15
Dutch entrepreneur Ramon Van Meer appeared on Shark Tank (Season 15) with an ask of $250,000 in exchange for a 4% stake in his pet care business. Genius Litter is a smart, health-indicating cat litter that changes color if your cat is sick.
The Sharks appreciated the innovative technology of Genius Litter in monitoring feline health. However, there are competitors of Genius Litter selling similar products in the market.
Will any of the Sharks consider Genius Litter to be investment-worthy, and what happened after Shark Tank? Let’s find out in the Genius Litter Shark Tank update.
If you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to read the whole story, here’s a brief overview of what happened to Genius Litter after Shark Tank.
Genius Litter founder Ramon Van Meer pitched for $250,000 for 4% equity. After a few minutes of negotiations and counter offerings, Ramon accepted a $250,000 investment for 8% equity and 2% advisory shares from Robert, Mark, and Lori.
Along with the investment, Genius Litter gained immense popularity globally after airing on the ABC network. The company has recorded a dramatic boost in sales, and its website has been featured on many popular business websites. We are hoping that Roman will utilize this popularity and will make Genius Litter a successful pet-care brand.
| Company Name | Genius Litter |
|---|---|
| Founders | Ramon Van Meer |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Products | Cat health-indicating litter |
| Ask | $250,000 for 4% equity |
| Deal | $250,000 for 8% equity + 2% advisory shares |
| Sharks | Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Mark Cuban |
About the Company
Genius Litter is initiated by sequential and successful entrepreneur Ramon Van Meer.
Ramon’s cat Quinsel was nearly dying due to a severe urinary tract infection that was discovered at the last minute. This incident inspired Ramon to develop a solution that could promptly identify health issues in felines.
Genius Litter was founded in 2017 and has its headquarters in Los Angeles, California. As of 2020, the company had quickly generated over $4 million in revenue.
The lightweight Genius Litter contains non-poisonous mineral silica gel crystals, which are exceptionally absorbent and trap all the bad odors.
Color-based health indicators can detect blood and abnormal levels of albumin, pH, and alkalinity. Yellow indicates a healthy pH level, blue denotes abnormal alkaline levels, green denotes abnormal levels of pH, orange denotes albumin, and red denotes blood disease.
The cat owner will have time to consult a veterinarian once they recognize these symptoms.
Genius Litter offers other products in addition to the original formula, such as a topper with built-in health detectors, a similar health-indicating doggy pee pad, and Cat L-Lysine to support immune function in cats.
The litter costs $4.71 per bag to make and retails for $24.99 per bag. In terms of investment, Ramon has invested $1 million and raised $1 million for this business.
The estimated net worth of Genius Litter is $3 million. Their sales increased from $500,000 in 2017 to $4.6 million in 2020.
Their sales have hit $3.1 million, year to date (YTD). The organization also earns profit, acquiring $465,000 YTD. In the previous year, Ramon did $3.6 million in sales and profited $145,000.
The majority of sales come online, a total of 70% combining Amazon, Chewy, and Walmart. Ramon’s other sales are roughly split between 24% retail, and the rest is from direct-to-consumer sales.
The products of Genius Litter are available for purchase on the brand’s own website as well as on Amazon.
Genius Litter Shark Tank Pitch
Wearing a veterinary doctor costume, Ramon introduced his brand Genius Litter along with his puppet cat, Kevin O’Perry, and demanded $250,000 for a 4% stake at a $6.2 million valuation.
Ramon introduced Genius Litter, his product, a health detector for cats that can assist owners in recognizing health issues. When there’s an abnormality in the cat’s litter, Genius litter changes color.
Ramon said, “It’s like having a health monitor right in your cat litter box.”
Emma Grede asked, “Do you have any competition?” as she saw an ad for a company selling similar products.
Robert Herjavec then asked, “What’s different about yours?”
Ramon acknowledged that although they have a competitor, Genius Litter uses safer and smaller crystals of silica, has better odor control, produces less dust and most importantly it’s cheaper than the competitor’s.
Emma appreciated Ramon’s accomplishment but said, “This is not just a space I understand enough about,” and didn’t invest.
Mark Cuban stated the same and went out.
Kevin O’Leary and Lori Greiner jointly offered $250,000 for 10% equity and a royalty of $2 per unit until it’s $1 million.
Ramon preferred equity rather than a royalty deal. So, Kevin and Lori countered with $250,000 for 20% equity without any royalty.
Robert then offered $250,000 for 10% equity. Ramon requested the three sharks to assemble. Altogether, Kevin, Lori, and Robert counter-offered $250,000 for 15% equity.
Ramon negotiated for 13% equity. However, Lori again offered 13% equity and 2% advisory shares.
Mark then returned to offer $250,000 for 8% equity.
Lori and Robert came forward to match Mark’s offer and added 2% advisory shares. They attempted to get Kevin in on the new deal, yet he declined. Then Mark joined Robert and Lori after Kevin left.
At last, Ramon locked the deal with Robert, Mark, and Lori for $250,000 for 8% equity along with 2% advisory shares.
Genius Litter Shark Tank Update
Genius Litter gained significant visibility and witnessed an increase in customers and orders as a result of its Shark Tank appearance.
There are many individuals in the US who own pets. As per the Forbes report, felines are kept in 46.5 million families and that definitely indicates the requirement and expansion of Genius Litter.
Ramon Van Meer is the CEO and founder of the brand Genius Litter, a cat litter that can detect potential health issues in cats.
Genius Litter is the best litter on the market that checks your cat’s urine for abnormal levels of acidity and alkalinity. It makes use of the naturally occurring mineral silica gel, which is good for the environment and safe for your cat.
Each bag of Genius Litter is designed to last a month in a standard litter box for a medium-sized cat.
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Conclusion
In the pet care industry, Genius Litter provides pet owners with an easy way to monitor their cat’s health without invasive testing.
The extraordinary capability of Genius Litter in determining the cat’s health definitely impressed the Sharks, and so the Sharks made multiple offers. Ultimately, Ramon could onboard Lori, Robert, and Mark for his brand and grab a great deal.
Alongside the expertise of three sharks, Genius Litter intends to advance its mission of reshaping pet care under the direction of founders Ramon Van Meer.
