The founder of Hoppy Paws introduced the world to her 20-year-old family tradition on the Holiday Special of Shark Tank. Trina created Hoppy Paws for her children 2 decades ago with Easter Bunny’s paw trail.
Her kids would follow the path into the home to their Easter baskets. The concept attracted the neighbors, who began wondering where they might acquire the materials to make similar paths for their kids for Easter holidays.
After observing her kids’ and neighbors’ interests, Trina was eager to launch her own company with paw and foot stamping kits for different holiday seasons. For Halloween, she made monstrous footprints; for baby showers, she made newborn baby footprints; and for St Patrick’s Day, Trina created leprechaun footprint stamp kits. However, her Rudolph and elf Christmas-themed footprint kits are what landed her on Shark Tank.
Prior to her appearance in front of the Sharks, Trina invested $100,000 in her business and even resigned from her then job in order to focus on developing and growing her brand.
The main aim of Happy Paws was to create a product that can be a prominent part of every holiday season. Each holiday season is represented by some magical being like Santa and the elves represent Christmas, and the Easter Bunny represents Easter. The aim of Hoppy Paws was to create footprint stamps for each of these holiday mascots so that the kids could enjoy a fun and engaging activity at home.
Is Hoppy Paws still in Business?
After its appearance on Shark Tank, the business sold over 100,000 articles and had a successfully running ecommerce website. However, as of now the Hoppy Paws website has shut down, and the products are not available on any ecommerce platform, which means they have gone out of business.
How Did the Shark Tank Pitch Go?
Trina appeared on the holiday special of Shark Tank with her holiday-themed product, Hoppy Paws. She began the pitch by giving all the Sharks “at home” samples of her development.
She then went on to highlight her challenging childhood and upbringing and how she came about the idea of Hoppy Paws. She herself was dressed in a reindeer to channel the Christmas spirit.
She wanted $50,000 in exchange for a 10% share in Hoppy Paws for the Sharks. After briefing the Sharks about her product and business plan, she mentioned how she wanted a $50,000 funding and where in her business will she invest the money given to her.
After hearing her pitch, most of the Sharks were impressed by Trina. They eagerly inquired about the products; Barbara asked about the powders in the stamping kit and whether or not they were safe to use. To this, Trina responded that the powder is biodegradable.
Trina also informed the Sharks that the samples were delivered to her a day before the show and that she had spent $100,000 on everything. Trina was characterized as a beast by another Shark, and he hoped his sales associates had her passion!
All of the Sharks, including Robert and Kevin, were impressed and fascinated by Trina’s narrative. Kevin stated that he would invest the first $5000 if the other Sharks matched up against his offer. Mark also agreed to put up $5000.
Barbara asked some questions and highlighted how much her kids liked this project. She was prepared to put up $100,000 for 50% ownership of the company. After a tough negotiation, Barbara and Trina agreed on $50,000 for a 49% stake.
Our Review of Hoppy Paws
No matter what age you are, the magic of holidays will always be cherished. It is exciting to bring magical beings like Santa and flying reindeers and Easter bunny to life. Hoppy Paws was the ideal tool for helping you in your efforts to enjoy the holiday’s magic.
Hoppy Paws was a fun and exciting product that helped keep the kids engaged every holiday season.
Pros of Hoppy Paws
- Fun and engaging activity for all kids for every holiday season
- Holiday-themed kits for different festivitiesAdded an extra bit of fun to every holiday
- The price of all the stamp kits was relatively affordable.
Cons of Hoppy Paws
- At the end of the holiday activity, the trail setup can create a significant mess.
- The kit came with stamp prints, powder, and paint, but as the product gets on everywhere, it is slightly tricky to use.
- Given the mess the product created, it is also challenging to clean.
Who Was Hoppy Paws For?
Hoppy Paws was mainly created for parents who want their kids to get involved in exciting holiday activities. It was designed to keep the kids entertained.
Trina’s vision was to make Hoppy Paws a celebratory product. She even created products with baby footprints for newly expectant parents.
Are There Any Alternatives?
There are a few alternatives to this product in the market, like the SpiceBox Imagine It Hand Print Art. Besides that, the parents can also create these footprints on their own. All they would need is a little paint and cardboard cutouts of the footprints of different holiday creatures.
Our Final Thoughts
Although the company offered fun and exciting products, it recently went out of business. The founder, Trina, put a lot of effort into making the product successful, but things didn’t work out the way she expected. Regardless, it was a unique product, and till it lasted, it offered kids fun activities to do on different holidays.
