The archive · Small Business & Money · Product decision · 2011–2019
Squatty Potty: a family-made toilet stool hits $164M sales after a pooping-unicorn ad
A footstool built for a mother's constipation became a $164M product after Shark Tank and a unicorn ad that made squatting okay to talk about.
Squatty Potty
What it had to solve
Bobby Edwards invented the stool in 2011 after nothing on the market helped his mother's constipation. In November 2014 the family pitched it on ABC's Shark Tank, where Lori Greiner offered $350,000 for a 10% stake.
How it works
Squatty Potty began as family problem-solving: Bobby Edwards' mother had chronic constipation, nothing on the market helped, so in 2011 the family built a small footstool that raises your feet on a western toilet and mimics a squatting posture.
The product stayed niche until November 2014, when Bobby and Judy Edwards pitched it on Shark Tank. Lori Greiner invested $350,000 for a 10% stake, and national retail followed. The real unlock came a year later with the Harmon Brothers' ad 'This Unicorn Changed the Way I Poop' — a fairy tale in which a prince and a unicorn serve rainbow soft-serve instead of feces, explaining the health case for squatting.
The gamble worked: the film was viewed over 100 million times on Facebook and YouTube, online sales rose 600% and retail 400%. By September 2019, Squatty Potty had generated $164 million in cumulative sales since 2011.
Why it lands
- The idea attacked a real, universal problem nobody talked about, so the product itself was the proof — people recognised their own bathroom habits.
- The unicorn reframed a disgusting topic as delightful, making the educational message shareable instead of awkward.
- Shark Tank provided distribution and credibility while the viral ad provided demand — two different machines feeding one small family company.
What it did
The ad was viewed more than 100 million times on Facebook and YouTube, lifting online sales by 600% and retail sales by 400%. By September 2019 the stool had generated $164 million in cumulative sales since 2011.
What you can take
A category nobody wants to discuss can be won by reframing disgust as delight: the unicorn made the biomechanics of pooping shareable, and the education itself sold the product.
Since then
The unicorn returned in 2016 in a sequel ad for Unicorn Gold, a toilet-spray line, confirming the character as the brand's engine. Squatty Potty stayed a family-led business, and a 2019 CNBC/USA Today ranking of best-selling Shark Tank products put it at $164 million in lifetime sales.
Sources
- Top 10 best-selling 'Shark Tank' products
- Are you ready for No. 2? Squatty Potty is back with a sequel
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card