Wacky World of Rubber: 'Why didn't I think of that?'

I'm dedicating this installment of Wacky World of Rubber to all of those who have said, "Why didn't I think of that?"

This is the success story of a family-owned company out of Saint George, Utah, named Squatty Potty L.L.C., which has gained a cult-like following for its signature product and now wracks up tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue. It even has branched out to ancillary goods like T-shirts, toilet sprays and, most recently the Poop Emoji toilet plunger, an all-rubber plunger with a plastic handle.

And it all started when founder and CEO Robert Edwards tried to come up with a product to help his mother, Judy Edwards, deal with a lifelong problem with constipation. It was suggested by a medical professional that she put her feet up on a footstool while on the toilet. The reasoning was this helps resemble a squatting position that enables the colon to relax and keep potential problems with constipation at bay.

The footstool worked OK, but wasn't quite right, so Robert Edwards looked to refine the idea and develop a product like nothing available on the market. The first incarnation was wooden, but cost concerns led them to change the design to a plastic version that fits around the base of the toilet and includes rubber foot grips to avoid sliding during use.

Squatty Potty was formed in 2011 and first-year sales totaled just $17,000. But the company took to online marketing of the original product, which helped lead to an appearance on the Dr. Oz show. Howard Stern, Sirius-XM talk show host, started plugging it on his show, as the company also advertised on his program.

But the big turning point came in 2014 when Squatty Potty was featured on the ABC show "Shark Tank." They asked for $350,000 to help boost production in exchange for a 5-percent share in the company.

On the program, they told the sharks that they had $1 million in sales during its first full year, and during the first half of year 2—when they went on the show—they had posted $2 million in revenues, all online with no retail presence.

Two of the sharks said they'd pony up the $350,000, but both wanted a 10-percent stake. They decided to team up with Lori Grenier for those terms. While the Shark Tank episode included more than its share of poop jokes, it also generated some serious buzz. The Edwards said the night the show aired more than 150,000 people visited the firm's website, and within two days they'd posted $1 million in sales. Their faith in Grenier was well-placed, as she helped set up a deal several months later for the Squatty Potty to be sold in all 1,100 Bed, Bath & Beyond locations.

The Utah-based company, which said its main product line is manufactured in the U.S., also has taken its online marketing to new heights, which featured YouTube videos that are at the same time both strange and wildly successful.

The 2015 three-episode viral marketing campaign centered on the "Award-wining Adventures of the Prince of Poop featuring Dookie the Unicorn and Goldi the Dragon." To date it has enjoyed more than 150 million views and won a 2016 Webby Award. The firm also boasts nearly 295,000 followers on Facebook.

And the success story continues. According to a story last month on CNBC (and its "Strange Success" podcast), sales for the company spiked to $19 million in 2016 and nearly $33 million last year. The founders project revenues could reach $100 million in the coming years. Squatty Potty also has risen far about the "As Seen on TV" crowd of products, and now its goods are sold in more than 6,000 retail locations, including Costco, Walmart and Target, in addition to Bed, Bath & Beyond. The firm in the past year has expanded operations in Utah and added a new plant in Canada to focus on international sales (it lists websites in more than 20 countries for global sales).

For its Poop Emoji plunger, the firm launched a KickStarter campaign last July in an effort, it said, to raise $70,000 to gauge interest for the new product. Apparently crowdfunding has grown to not only launch new companies or products, but also to test the waters, so to speak. The firm must have gotten what it needed, as it canceled the campaign five days later, and announced that it began shipments in late September to all Bed, Bath & Beyond locations. The plungers then were put up for sale on Amazon and its own website in mid-November.

Not everything has been rosy. In December it did a voluntary recall on its SquattyPottymus children's toilet stool because of a fall risk. Also, Amazon reviews for the Poop Emoji plunger were mixed, with many giving high marks for ingenuity, but several saying that on a practical level, it was not designed well enough to handle the task.

On a personal note, a close family member bought the original Classic-model Squatty Potty a couple of years ago and still swears by it. We then purchased one for our home, and found it helped a bit, but not enough to keep us from putting it away and foregoing use several months later.

While the company officials said on the CNBC report that it was difficult to find a balance between its off-beat marketing techniques and promoting the products for its medical benefits, it's nice to see they haven't lost their sense of humor. In recent weeks the firm's been running Valentine's Day sales on its website. You may be too late to cash in on those holiday deals, but don't worry, the next holiday will come along any time now.

Bruce Meyer has been on the staff of Rubber & Plastics News since 1988. Baseball will forever be his sport of choice and he's looking forward to the Indians winning a World Series title in his lifetime (but he's also a lifelong Dodgers fan). He knows that wherever he goes, rubber- and tire-related stories are sure to follow. Follow him on Twitter at @bmeyerRPN.