Big Bee Little Bee is a company run by a mother-and-daughter duo, Amy and Marlo Leinbach. They sell eco-friendly products for kids and adults. So far, their bestselling items are innovative organizers, pipes, and scrubbers. Amy and Marlo pitched their business on season 14 of Shark Tank but didn’t get a deal. Big Bee Little Bee is worth $500,000.
The Founders
Amy Leinbach is originally from New York City but moved to Huntington Beach, California to attend Pepperdine University. She studied to become a teacher, focusing on special needs education.
She always dreamed of owning a business and operated many imaginary businesses as a kid. But when Amy got older, she concentrated more on voice acting, even getting cast in Nickelodeon’s Winx Club.
The New York native saw a lot of herself in her young daughter, Marlo, who is also an inventor at heart. And like her mom, Marlo was hired as a voice-over artist at a young age.
Founding Big Bee Little Bee
Apart from teaching and voice acting, Amy has co-founded a few businesses in the education space. One day, she was inspired to start another company but this time wanted to include her daughter.
They launched Big Bee Little Bee in 2016, with Amy being the “big bee” and Marlo the “little bee.” The company’s goal is to make innovative products while reducing the need for single-use plastic. One of their first inventions was the Marker Parker, a honeycomb-shaped marker organizer.
The Leinbachs also created the Original ScrubBEE, a silicone scrubber, and interchangeable straws called Build-a-Straw. In 2019, they won the National Parenting Product Awards.
Shark Tank Pitch
Amy and Marlo were seeking to raise $100,000 for 20%. Amy proudly revealed that the company made $230,000 in revenue for 2021 with 80% of sales coming from ScrubBEE. Although this year they faced supply chain issues and lost $77,000 year-to-date.
The Sharks believed the business lacked focus and were concerned about the recent loss. It appeared Amy was hoping her adorable daughter would improve their chances of getting a deal. Sadly none of the Sharks were interested. Robert’s stone cold comment at the end was brutal. “I was going to make you an offer until you started showing us more products.”
After Shark Tank
Although the pitch didn’t go as planned, the publicity from the show didn’t hurt them. Sadly not everyone enjoyed the pitch. According to intheknow.com, Amy Leinbach claimed people were cyber bullying her young daughter.
Everyone who wants to try out their products can visit BigBeeLittleBee.com. The products are loved by over 50,000 families and carried in over 500+ stores including Bed, Bath & Beyond, Uncommon Goods and buybuy BABY.
In addition, some of its items are available on Amazon and they donate 1% of sales to non-profit organizations working to protect the Earth’s environment. The Original ScrubBEE is their most popular product on Amazon and is rated 4.7 stars by 1,167 customers.
The reviews are positive but they sell too many products and will need to focus on one product at one time. Hopefully, Big Bee Little Bee will be able to break even from the spike in orders from appearing on the show. Currently, Big Bee Little Bee is valued at $500,000.
