Curie Before Shark Tank
When it comes to deodorants, it’s not always one size fits all. Some prefer scented, over unscented, or vice-versa. And sometimes, even the well-known brands of deodorant don’t seem to work as well as they should. Not to mention, most of them consist of chemicals and aluminum, which many consumers aren’t a fan of. Due to this, it can be a struggle to find the perfect deodorant that’s healthy, safe for life, and actually works. Fortunately, an entrepreneur, Sarah Moret, understood these challenges and too on to create her own approach in creating an alternative to these brands. Her brand is known as Curie.
Curie is a company that makes a healthier, safer deodorant as an alternative to standard deodorants. They have other products in their line as well. Ultimately, they sell spray-on deodorant, stick deodorant, and whipped body wash, among other products. This brand is geared towards only offering chemical-free products that are safe on the skin and the environment. That said, Curie’s deodorants do not contain any aluminum, parabens, or any ingredients known to cause cancer. In addition to that, this company does not have their products tested on animals, while some standard brands do.
Sarah Moret started her career path by attending the Questrom School of Business, Boston University. In 2011, the entrepreneur graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. From there, she started working as a Senior Associate with PwC. Her responsibilities were in Transaction Services. In September of 2014, Sarah transitioned to a company called Formation 8, where she became the Finance and Operations Manager; this job ended in 2016, just before her two-year mark hit. Shortly after her job with Formation 8 had concluded, the founder went on to work as an Investment Associate for Crosscut Ventures. Her final job before creating Curie was with Ukko, a food tech startup company in which she has the responsibility of being the Head of Strategy. Nonetheless, while Sarah was working in these jobs, she had always had a passion for entrepreneurism, and she wanted to launch a company of her own. It was while she was working at Ukko that she finally decided to pursue this dream by launching Curie. 
Curie was officially launched in December of 2018 in Santa Monica, California. The brand was born from a single realization that Sarah had had while searching for a deodorant that really works. The founder was becoming seemingly frustrated with the standard deodorant brands due to their ingredients, the fact that the brands test them on animals, and, sometimes, the fact that they didn’t seem to work well. Sarah liked the idea behind a natural deodorant; however, the ones she tried weren’t fitting her needs. Due to the lack of trusty deodorants on the market, Sarah decided it was time to start that business venture she’d been dreaming about. Thus, creating Curie. It wasn’t long before consumers were increasing the popularity of the brand; content creators on TikTok even started sharing their thoughts on the brand and encouraging their followers to check it out as well! Now, Sarah thinks she needs the help of a shark to help grow and manage the Curie business.
Curie on Shark Tank
Sarah Moret made her appearance on Shark Tank for their season 13-episode 15 show. She is hoping to land a $300,000 deal with a shark in exchange for a 5% stake in her aluminum-free deodorant company, Curie. She begins her pitch with an introduction of herself, before proceeding to explain that not many people worry about the ingredients used in their deodorants. For a demonstration, the founder shows the sharks some aluminum foil; she does this to give them a visual representation of the tiny pieces of aluminum found in standard deodorant brands. Following this, she then goes on to introduce Curie, as well as share how she started the business. While the sharks are taking a closer look at their Curie samples, Sarah takes a short walk through the ingredients with them. 
The sharks appear to like the deodorants, and Lori Greiner makes a comment about how nice they smell. In response to this, Sarah reveals that she’s added a spray-on deodorant to her line due to a well-known gym contacting her about it. They wanted to expand Curie deodorants into their gyms. The founder then goes on to share her sales with investors. She begins by telling them that she started Curie with just $12,000 of her own money and she did $125,000 in sales in 2019, just a year after launching the company. In 2020, she did $700,000 worth of sales and successfully raised $1 million from an investment; however, the shark’s impressions on the company appeared to shift slightly after hearing this. Despite the company not being profitable at the time of the show, Sarah made claims that she was on track to do $2 million in sales by the end of 2021.
Lori Greiner asks Sarah, is Curie has done lab testing, which the founder responds to saying no, though the manufacturers have done their own tests. Kevin O’Leary is the first investor to back out of the deal due to the brand not being right for him. Mark Cuban follows closely behind are sharing that he isn’t on board with the valuation of the company. This is when Sarah reveals that Curie has made its way into Soul Cycle locations. Barbara Corcoran was interested in making the founder an offer. but she felt like the business was still too new to the market, and she tells Sarah that she may have raised the $1 million too early on. Due to this, she goes out. Lori agrees with Barbara’s thoughts and goes out next. 
After needing some time to think it through, Daymond John chimes in with an offer for the founder. He is offering her $300,000 in exchange for a 20% stake in Curie. Sarah counters the shark for a 12% stake. Meanwhile, Mark and Barbara are talking about potentially teaming up on an offer. Daymond eventually backs out, while Mark and Barbara offer Sarah a $300,000 deal in exchange for a 10% stake, with an additional 2% advisory share. The founder counters them for a 10% stake and a 4% advisory share, which Mark and Barbara accept.
Curie Now in 2023 – The After Shark Tank Update
After a successful appearance on Shark Tank, within just three days, Curie had sold out of all of their products. Though, Sarah Moret mentioned they’d be restocked, along with some newly launched products in April of 2022. Some of these new products include clay detox masks, body oil, body wash, pit kits, and a greater variety of deodorants. The deal Sarah secured with Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran was said to have concluded in October of 2022. Nonetheless, Curie remains running smoothly and seems to be expanding as planned. As of January 2023, the brand has reached more than 300 stores, such as Nordstrom and Anthropologie, as well as being sold on Amazon and the Curie website.
Curie had the opportunity to give us an update during the season 14-episode 8 Shark Tank show, where Sarah revealed that all the Curie products almost immediately sell out entirely shortly after she restocks them. This led her to having to start a wait list, which she shared consisted of 15,000 people at the time of filming. Additionally, the founder states that Curie has switched distribution centers and manufacturers; they also have two new warehouses. Thanks to Sarah and Barbara’s determination and advertising the products through TikTok videos, photoshoots on Instagram, and planning webinars, Curie has now made more than $1.6 million in sales. Their spray-on deodorant even made it into more than 100 Equinox Gyms nationwide! 
Since the Shark Tank episode concluded, Curie has been featured in Glamour Magazine and the New York Times Magazine. Although possibly their biggest public appearance may have been the three times the products have appeared on QVC. During Curie’s time on QVC, Sarah shared that they sold more than $140,000 worth of products in just a little over 15 minutes. Based on the achievements in this update, it’s clear that Sarah Moret has turned Curie into a success, with the help of Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran. Now, the founder reveals that she is continuing to work on growing the company further, in order to “take over the world”.
