What Happened To Ride FRSH Air Fresheners From Shark Tank Season 14 ?
Any fan of the reality TV hit "Shark Tank" knows some of the pitch meetings can get a little sticky. That was particularly true during one Season 14 episode when the Ride FRSH team rubbed series regular Mark Cuban the wrong way while pitching their line of high-end air fresheners. Thankfully, fellow investor Barbara Corcoran opted to take the plunge, agreeing to kick owners Donavan and Trey Brown $200,000 in funding for a 20% stake in their fledgling air freshener empire.
The Browns had already found considerable success before their "Shark Tank" pitch, growing Ride FRSH's subscription base to more than 10,000 strong. They'd even worked out licensing deals with the NBA and the producers of "Spongebob Squarepants" so their customers could represent their favorite team or the iconic animated character while freshening up their ride.
The brothers were, however, eager to expand to retail and were seeking an influx of cash to scale up their business and expedite potentially lucrative deals with certain retail chains. It's been over a year since the Ride FRSH team got the thumbs-up from Corcoran on "Shark Tank." But even as Ride FRSH is still a notable player in the air freshener market, it remains unclear how much of a game-changer Corcoran's backing was.
What happened to Ride FRSH on Shark Tank?
For those who didn't watch the "Shark Tank" episode when it aired, the jab that led outgoing shark Mark Cuban to sit out the bidding for Ride FRSH was quite personal. It involved the cache of air fresheners the Brown brothers selected to show off to the "Shark Tank" panel during their pitch. One that ended up in the hands of Cuban was branded with the logo of the NBA's Golden State Warriors.
Cuban is, of course, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise. That very year, Golden State bounced Cuban's Luka Doncic-led Mavericks from the NBA Conference Finals. In a move that perhaps unnecessarily salted the wounds for Cuban, one of the brothers even took a long sniff of a Golden State freshener before declaring, "Smells like winning," with Cuban advising the Browns they should've read the room better before bowing out of the bidding. Donavan and Trey Brown would later admit the jab was intentional and conceived as a promotional stunt.
As several major news outlets covered Cuban's reaction, it proved a savvy move to boot, with the ensuing coverage helping the Browns get their company's name out to folks who might've missed their primetime debut. Luckily, Barbara Corcoran wasn't offended by the jab and struck what could be a potentially lucrative deal with the brothers.
What happened to Ride FRSH after Shark Tank?
While Ride FRSH was hardly hurting when the Browns walked onto the "Shark Tank" set, with Barbara Corcoran's backing, the Brown brothers seemed primed for rapid market expansion. Fast forward one year, and it's not entirely clear how much Ride FRSH benefitted from the "Shark Tank" appearance in the long run, as it seems Ride FRSH is still relying heavily on its subscription service as its primary source of revenue. But with the company's website still boasting a subscription base of more than 10,000, that side of the Ride FRSH business is clearly holding strong.
Per a March 30 Instagram post, it does look like the Browns had a deal in place to sell Ride FRSH through Target. Still, their products no longer appear available on Target's website, and we could not verify whether they can still be found in physical stores. However, Ride FRSH air fresheners can currently be found for sale through Autozone both in-store and online, so it seems the Browns were able to close some of the retail deals they dangled to help secure Corcoran's backing. Even if they were in the works before the "Shark Tank" episode, it's easy to speculate that the memorable appearance helped the Browns get those deals closed.
What's next for Ride FRSH?
Retail deals aside, Ride FRSH has yet to attain the sort of market dominance the Brown brothers claimed they were looking for at this stage in the game. Per the duo's Joe Pardo interview in January of 2023, leveraging the "Shark Tank" exposure has been vital in scaling up all sides of their retail and distribution partnerships. The Browns also hoped to expand online sales by bolstering monthly subscriptions and wholesale deals.
On the retail side of the business, Trey Brown told Pardo Ride FRSH was looking to go global by the end of 2023, noting the company had been fielding calls from distributors as far away as New Zealand and the Caribbean. With global markets in play, the Browns noted they were working on expanding their retail partnerships stateside, hoping to land the NBA-branded air fresheners on the shelves of sports-centric chains like Dick's Sporting Goods and Fanatics.
With 2023 drawing to a close, there's been no official word on how far along the Browns are with those ambitious expansion plans. But if they're approaching those deals with the same flair and tenacity they displayed on "Shark Tank," there's every reason to think the Ride FRSH journey may only be just beginning.