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A $80M Bootstrapped Poop Empire š©
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Finlay Williams
August 12, 2024
2 minute wacky businesses, you can tell your buddies about š§
Poo~Pourri is the unexpected conqueror of the bathroom air freshener market. With annual revenue that now nears $100 million and over 60 million bottles sold, Poo~Pourri is doing for toilets what Red Bull did for energy drinksācreating a category and owning it. If Dollar Shave Club is the subscription king of grooming, PooPourri is the quirkier, self-aware sibling ruling the āthroneā. Hereās how they did itā¦
Source: Google Trends
Girls donāt poopā¦ š§
Founded in 2007 by Suzy Batiz, Poo~Pourriās goal Is to solve an age-old problem, how to make your bathroom smell like anything but what it actually smells like. Suzy has a few battle scares, she is a two-time bankruptcy survivor who bet her last few dollars on a hunch. The companyās mission solve/bring joy to a topic no one wants to talk about, using a proprietary formula that ātraps odorsā before they can escape the toilet bowl.
The reason Poo~Pourri caught my eye, is because they donāt just sell a product, itās a brand with personalityāhilarious, irreverent, and unapologetically honest. From their viral ads to the quirky names of their sprays like "Trap-A-Crap". My favourite being āGirls donāt poopā, a viral ad with 45m views on YouTube (I highly recommend you give it a watch).
What are the nuggets? š
š© Origin: In 2007, Suzy Batiz founded the company after spending nine months experimenting with sprays and investing $25,000 of her own money to start production. For the first six years, the company grew purely through word-of-mouth. By the end of the first year in business, Poo-Pourri had sold 260,000 bottles, generating $1 million in revenue.
š© Pivotal Moment: In 2013 they launched their āGirls Donāt Poopā ad, and it went viral. Clocking 45 million views on YouTube and putting Poo~Pourri on the map overnight. The video, generated $4 million worth of back orders in less than a week. Mind blowing.
š© Big Moves: Poo-Pourri has expanded beyond toilet sprays into personal care. And yes, theyāve got a few patents to keep the competition at bay.
š© Funding: Surprisingly, Poo-Pourri is 100% bootstrapped. Suzy Batiz refused outside funding, building the company from the ground up. After her two bankruptcies, she vowed not only to never take on debt or investors again, but also to never start another business. For many yearsāwhat she calls her āspiritual sabbaticalāāshe kept her promise.
š© MOAT & Growth: From trademarks on scent formulas to expanding into new product lines like Trap-A-Crap (yes, that's real), PooPourri is constantly innovating. Theyāve even launched āShoePourriā and āPet~Pourriā, if it stinks theyāve got a product. In 2016, Batiz even filed a lawsuit against Reckitt Benckiser, which owns AirWick. The company had created a product called VIPoo (now called V.I.P. Pre-Poop Spray) that not only did the same thing but also had similar packaging and marketing. The suit was settled for an undisclosed amount later that year, showcasing Batizās relentless protection of the brand and marketing angles theyāve developed.
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