Sleeping Baby is a company that manufactures a unique swaddle suit for babies. This suit, named ‘Zipadee-Zips’, claims to offer newborns the comfort and ease of the womb, thereby allowing them to sleep more peacefully.
The Zipadee-Zip swaddles newborn babies just like how a blanket would. The added advantage, however, is that this unique swaddle suit also allows the babies to move around with freedom. Even when fully covered, there is nothing stopping the babies from playing with toys or using pacifiers, for example.
The babies can safely wear this suit, even when they are in a stroller or car-seat. The Zipadee-Zip protects the baby’s skin, and keeps them from scratching their face or unintentionally hurting themselves in any other way.
The suit is made using poly and cotton fabrics, which makes it breathable and soft. In addition, the Zipadee Zip is also resistant to fire, even though no harmful chemicals have been used in its manufacturing process.
The husband-wife duo of Brett and Stephanie Parker is the founder of Sleeping Baby. The Parkers were, of course, very excited at the birth of Charlotte, their first daughter. However, Charlotte would struggle to stay asleep throughout the night, which was a major problem both for the baby and her parents.
Out of desperation, Stephanie created a swaddle suit and made Charlotte wear it. The suit worked like a charm and, the first night that the little girl wore it, she slept like a…baby. Charlotte slept for 12 straight hours, which also allowed her parents to catch up on some much-needed sleep.
The effectiveness of the suit compelled the couple to convert this invention into a commercial venture, and, therefore, Sleeping Baby was born.
Sleeping Baby was initially a home-operated business, and was actually doing quite well. Until then, the co-founders had not spent a dime on promotion or marketing; the positive word-of-mouth was enough for the business to attract buyers and generate healthy revenues and profits.
After a period, though, the couple decided to expand their operations – the reason behind this was not purely financial; they wanted to help other parents out there who were enduring sleepless nights just like Stephanie and Brett were before their miracle discovery.
That is when the couple decided to turn to the Shark Tank.
Is Sleeping Baby Still in Business?
As of December 2021, Sleeping Baby was operational and generating annual revenue of around $5 million.
How Did the Shark Tank Pitch Go?
Brett and Stephanie made their Shark Tank appearance in September 2014 during the sixth season of the show. The couple was seeking an investment of $200,000 in exchange for a 10% stake in Sleeping Baby – a valuation of $2 million.
The co-founders of Sleeping Baby revealed that Stephanie was pregnant in 2013, but, due to severe complications, the child was unable to survive. It was a very hard time for the family and they had to step back from the business; however, thanks to the outpouring of support and solidarity from their customer-base, the couple was able to keep the business running.
Brett and Stephanie revealed that they had sold 25,000 units so far and generated revenue of approximately $1 million. This was quite impressive for the Sharks, but not as impressive as the couple’s revelation that they started the business with just $700.
After the founders completed the pitch, Lori spoke up. She liked the couple, the business, and the motivation behind Sleeping Baby. However, since a lot of effort would be required in promoting the product, she would have to take a 25% stake in exchange for the $200,000 that the couple wanted. Daymond cautions the couple and tells them to be sure if they want to take their product to retail, since that is where Lori would be taking it. Daymond says that, normally, he would be in support of retail; however, the fact that Sleeping Baby had generated $1 million through online sales and minimal marketing efforts was not something to be taken lightly.
Kevin, too, was full of praise for the Parkers and what they had managed to achieve in this dynamic business environment. In addition, the Shark revealed that his grandfather had run a similar business that developed garments for newborns, but was eventually wiped out by cheaper manufacturing costs in Asia. Like Daymond, Kevin appreciated the online customer community that the business had managed to establish, and did not want to see Sleeping Baby ‘dying in retail’.
Daymond decided to match Kevin’s offer. Kevin was interested to know if Daymond planned to take the product to retail, to which Daymond responded that he would give it a shot but, if things didn’t work out, they could go back to selling online.
Mark Cuban was thoroughly impressed with the couple and what it had managed to create. However, he did not wish to make an offer, and decided to go out of the deal.
Robert accepted that he was not an expert in this area, and that Kevin would be a far better fit than him. He said that, since better-suited Sharks had already expressed their interest, it would be best that he did not get involved. He was out.
Brett turned to Daymond, and asked the Shark if he would help with the manufacturing. The couple conceded that Daymond was the first choice, but the equity percentage that he was asking was too high. They countered the Shark with $200,000 for 15%.
Daymond, however, did not budge, saying that he would normally ask for 33% in such situations. Ultimately, the founders accepted Daymond’s offer. Kevin, naturally, was a bit upset, but graciously accepted the couple’s decision.
Are There Any Alternatives?
Below are a few other brands that make swaddles for babies:
- SwaddleMe
- Aden + Anais
- Love to Dream
Our Final Thoughts:
The idea behind Sleeping Baby was to help parents who were struggling to keep their babies asleep throughout the night. The business has established a strong and extremely loyal customer-base, and, by the end of 2021, had managed to increase its revenue to over $5 million per year.
