Urinary problems in cats can be difficult to detect. Sometimes, we don’t find out until it’s too late. Genius Litter can prevent this with its litter solution that changes colors when it catches urine irregularities. Ramon van Meer pitched his product dressed as Albert Einstein and secured a deal with Lori, Mark and Robert. Genius Litter is now worth $5 million and has done over $14 million in lifetime sales.
Ramon van Meer
Apart from early disease prevention, Genius Litter was made to address the shortcomings of traditional litter. It barely smells, doesn’t clump or stick to your kitty’s precious paws, and only needs to be refilled once per month.
The serial entrepreneur began buying and selling content websites on Flippa. One of those was SoapHub.com, an entertainment blog he sold for $8.75 million. He used the cash to buy Alpha Paw for $300,000 and sold over $35 million in dog ramps according to the My First Million Podcast.
The Birth of Genius Litter
Mr. van Meer has always been a pet lover. The idea for Genius Litter came to him when his cat, Quincel, almost died after noticing the cat’s urinary tract infection (UTI) a little late. Thankfully, he made it to the vet on time.
After this, he looked into illness-detection solutions for cats. He discovered dog pee pads that spot health issues in advance. and created a similar product in the form of cat litter.
In 2020, Ramon launched Genius Litter and teamed up with seasoned chemical engineers and vets. In three years, the startup’s annual revenue went from $500,000 to $4.6 million.
Update After Shark Tank
After a memorable pitch, Genius Litter got a surge in orders. At the time of the pitch, the brand had $3.1 million in sales for the year with a profit of $456,000.
Six months after airing, sales topped $4 million, with Van Meer setting sights on $10 million for 2024. The deal officially closed in mid-2024. By July 2024 all the paperwork was signed and the funds were disbursed.
Their products are available in more than 1,500 stores such as Target and PetSmart. You can buy online on Amazon and the Alpha Paw website. However, their post-Shark Tank discount is only available on their website, GeniusLitter.com.
A litter package costs $25 for one without the discount, but you will save more with bulk orders. On Amazon, the health monitoring cat litter has an average rating of 4 stars from over 7,780 customer reviews. Although Genius Litter has already accomplished a lot in terms of revenue, as lifetime sales have exceeded $14 million.
To deepen its health-monitoring niche, the brand added:
- Genius Topper: a pH-reactive litter-box liner
- Pup Pads: dog pads with the same chemistry
- Health Mix: a powdered supplement for cats
Ramon’s biggest competitor is Pretty Litter. They also sell odor-trapping and health-monitoring elements, but Pretty Litter is more established with higher sales and over 30,000 online reviews. Given Ramon’s track record in scaling businesses, Genius Litter will be a huge success story.
