Monday, November 4, 2024

Totes Babies 2024 Update – What Happened After Shark Tank

Totes Babies Before Shark Tank

Totes Babies is a car seat hammock that holds infant car seats in shopping carts. The carriers were designed to make shopping with an infant easier while still leaving the cart available for groceries. This easy-to-use hammock can be set up by simply unpacking the carrier, attaching the grips to the shopping cart, and setting the infant’s car seat on it. They’re adjustable as well. Totes Babies works well with nearly any retailer’s shopping carts. Though we know they for sure work on carts located at Walmart, Target, Publix, Costco, and Home Depot. The carriers can hold up to 75 pounds at a time, and they’ve already been safety approved by Canada and the United States.

A father-daughter team of entrepreneurs, Stanley Valius and Lindsey Fleischhauer created Totes Babies in 2018. Prior to becoming a founder of the company, Stanley was a CEO at the Glendale Heights Southern Imperial High PSI Pressuring Washing. Now, he is the Owner, and President at Subsource Inc., as well as a founder of Totes Babies. His daughter Lindsey, on the other hand, is a mother of a one-year-old. Though, she used to work as a sales employee at her father’s previous company, Southern Imperial. During her time at this company, she would help sell displays and shelves for retail stores.

The inspiration for Totes Babies came to Lindsey while she was out shopping with her child. She used to just place the infant’s car seat into the cart; however, this left her with little to no room for her items. While leaving her baby home was not an issue and piling items on top of the car seat can become harmful, Lindsey figured there had to be a better way to go about shopping with an infant. She began brainstorming ideas and she finally came up with the idea to create a hammock that would hold the baby’s car seat. Totes Babies Car Seat Carrier Picture 2

She spoke to her dad about her idea and ended up having his help, along with the help of an engineer they knew well. The father and daughter worked together to create their first prototype. Lindsey initially had the idea to use canvas and curtain rod hangers. Once they finished their prototype, Lindsey then tested it the next time she went shopping. Seeing how well it worked, this marked the beginning of Totes Babies.

From there, Lindsey and Stanley worked towards perfecting the design. The final design for the Totes Babies carrier was two pieces of aluminum, and polycarbonate tubing with a canvas, made from heavy cotton cloth, connected to each side. Stanley assisted Lindsey in getting patents in place, 35 of which he was included in on. The father-daughter duo went to showcase their Totes Babies carrier at a Chicago expo center, where their carriers became a success. They started selling the hammocks at gatherings where other baby items were being sold. They even got their product featured through local news stations and the carriers started appearing on Amazon and baby. After seeing how well the business had taken off, Lindsey’s husband encouraged the duo to take Totes Babies to Shark Tank. Lindsey is hoping a shark can assist them further with their distribution.

Totes Babies on Shark Tank

Lindsey Fleischhauer and her father, Stanley Valius, appeared on Shark Tank in hopes of getting a $100,000 deal in exchange for a 10% stake in their company, Totes Babies. The entrepreneurs introduce their product to the Sharks, while telling them about their story and how they came up with the idea. Fortunately for them, Lindsey and Stanley were pitching their company in front of Lori Greiner. Lori Greiner has had much previous experience in investing in baby-related companies, as well as investing in a former Shark Tank pitcher, TushBaby. Given that, this pitch could go quite well for the entrepreneurs. Lindsey explains that she is the sole founder and owner of Totes Babies, although her father helps her while also working within his other business. Totes Babies Car Seat Carrier Picture 3

Getting right into the sales of Totes Babies thus far, the founders reveal that their carriers are already being sold on Amazon and buybuy baby. Within just a few months, they had already hit $220,000 in sales. Lindsey explains to the sharks that one carrier costs her $9.90 to produce and then they are being sold for $39.95 each. She then adds in that their sales come from direct sales from their websites and other online retailers. They also have gotten some sales from their social media presence after spending $20,000 towards their advertisements on Facebook. Given this, their client acquisition is currently at 15% while they are making about $2,500 on average each month.

Mark Cuban speaks up to ask the founders if they have tried speaking to grocery stores about their carriers. He believes that they would get more sales if people saw more circulating around about Totes Babies. While he appears to be impressed by the business, it’s just not for him. He goes out. Next, Kevin O’Leary chimes in to tell them that he likes the idea; however, he doesn’t feel like he could add anything to the company. He goes out as well. Guest shark, Daniel Lubetzky, appears to be enjoying how enthusiastic Lindsey and Stanley are about their business, though he isn’t up for investing.

The founders eventually received a deal from Robert Herjavec for $100,000 in exchange for a 25% stake in Totes Babies. He tells the entrepreneurs that he can help them get their carriers into grocery store chains. Lori Greiner then chimes in and offers the duo $100,000 in exchange for a 25% stake as well. She mentions that she would be more focused on licensing for carriers. Daniel comes back and teams up with Robert, splitting Robert’s initial deal; they are even willing to decrease their stake to 22%. However, Lindsey and Stanley declined their offer and accepted Lori’s offer of $100,000 for a 25% stake in Totes Babies. Totes Babies Car Seat Carrier Picture 1

Totes Babies Now in 2024 – The After Shark Tank Update

After leaving Shark Tank with a deal from Lori Greiner, Totes Babies remains in business and appears to be doing great. Though, there isn’t too much of an update on how the company is doing, aside from a few new product introductions. As of 2024, there has been some evidence that their deal with Lori was never completed. The business has been doing quite well on Amazon, where they are receiving a multitude of 5-star reviews followed by successful-sounding comments. With that, the lifetime sales and annual revenue of Totes Babies has not yet been released.

Since their appearance on Shark Tank, Lindsey and Stanley have launched two new products to their line. One of them is a mount for tablets and phones. The mount can be connected to the headrest of the seat in from of the baby’s car seat so that infants can be entertained while parents are driving. The second product is called a Totes Babies Boogie Bracelet. This bracelet has a multitude of small-sized storage compartments which can be used to store things like tissues, snacks, wipes, keys, and so much more. Not to mention it can be worn as a bracelet or used as a keychain on a bag. Totes Babies Car Seat Carrier Picture 5

Melissa Buechler
Melissa Buechler
Graduated from Washington Virtual Academies and have been a freelance writer for about 2 years now. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my pets, gaming, etc.
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