In Oregon, compostable flosser Happi Floss has walked away from a Shark Tank season 14 episode empty handed. The sharks had issue with Happi Floss’s limited pre-sales and felt the $2-million valuation set by Dr. Staci Whitman was inflated.
Dr. Whitman, a pediatric dentist, designed Happi Floss using compressed post-consumer recycled paper and a plant-based biofilm, both of which rapidly biodegrade in soil or compost heaps. Plastic flossers, by comparison, can take centuries to degrade.
Happi Floss raised just under $30,000 in a June 2021 crowdfunding, falling short of its $50,000 goal. To date, it has produced one million flossers, and Dr. Whitman unsuccessfully sought the Sharks’ help to expand production.