A baby can’t blow their nose and when they’re stuffed up, it’s hard for them to eat and breathe. To help parents, Nina and Sina Farzin designed the baby booger picker, OogieBear. They pitched it on Shark Tank and got a deal with Robert Herjavec and Barbara Corcoran. As of 2023, OogieBear is worth $8 million.
About the Founders
Nina and Sina Farzin are a married couple hailing from Potomac, Maryland. Both are registered healthcare practitioners, but they are in different fields. Sina specializes in periodontics, and Nina was a pharmacist.
Nina was a pharmacist for over 20 years and is a long-time fan of Shark Tank. She claims to have learned all her business knowledge from watching the show. The business is a family affair as their kids are involved with everything from shipping to social media.
Founding the Company
While raising their first child, Ariana, the Farzins were worried as their daughter kept waking up at night with breathing problems caused by boogers. There were products for wet mucus but wouldn’t solve the problem.
She launched the Oogiebear in 2015, the scoop and loop tackle all types of boogers and ear wax. A crucial aspect of the product is the signature bear head design, which helps prevent the tip from going in too far.
The venture became very successful and later created other baby products including chest rubs, nose balms, and teething toothbrushes. Since 2015, the company has sold over one million units and done over $15 million in lifetime sales.
Shark Tank Appearance
Oogiebear was already a successful business. They were on track to make $5.4 million in annual revenue for the upcoming year with a $1 million in profit. The crowd was cheering widely as Nina revealed her impressive sales.
They appeared on the premiere episode of season 14, seeking $400,000 for 5%. Kevin O’Leary joked he doesn’t have a nose picker in his portfolio and offered $400,000 for 10% with no royalty. Lori asked the audience if baby boogers were a real problem, and the majority answered yes. She offered $400,000 for 12% and teamed up with Cuban.
Barbara proposed $400,000 for 10% but would give back half the equity if they didn’t reach $400 million in two years. Robert shrewdly joined her deal. The live audience spurred on the chaos with every Shark apart from Daymond screaming for a deal. Eventually, they went with Barbara and Robert’s deal of $600,000 for 10%.
After Shark Tank
The audience and Sharks loved the product which indicates the product’s sales likely surged after the episode aired. The deal with Barbara and Robert closed after the show and is helping them to drive more sales through their website.
All of their products are available to buy on Oogiebear.com, Amazon, Buy Buy Baby, Target, Walmart, and Nordstrom. Oogiebear partnered with Walmart and Sam’s Club in 2020 and has been available in some Target locations since early 2021.
The founders are working on diversifying their revenue sources as Amazon drove 76% of sales at the time of the pitch. Due to their success, Oogiebear is having issues with other companies creating knock-off versions. The company has never had any issues attracting PR and has been featured in publications such as BuzzFeed and People.com.
Their baby care products have a 4.7-star rating from over 30,000 reviews on Amazon. Oogiebear is on track to make $5.4 million in revenue for 2022 and forecast sales of $6.5 million for 2023. Currently, Oogiebear is worth an estimated $8 million.
