Yo,
Happy Tuesday, I hope everyone was able to enjoy their weekend. For some of you, it was the last weekend of freedom before starting another semester. Good luck.
In case you haven’t been paying attention to my emails on Friday, I’ve been killing it. Tooting my own horn here, the past three weeks I have been ahead of the curve in terms of being ~informed~. Each of the topics that I chose to write were the focus of featured articles in either the New York Times, CNN or Morning Brew. So, either they’re using me as their source or I’m just getting lucky. Let’s assume the former.
But this isn’t a Friday edition, so let’s lock in.
Bathrooms are underrated
Today we’re going to be talking about toilets. Not flushing your hopes, dreams, and new year’s resolutions down them, but how most bathrooms need an upgrade.
I love the bathroom, it’s one of my favorite places. I experience comfort, have a better time reflecting, and feel at peace when I am in the bathroom. All my worries disappear. The bathroom is my safe place.
And a lot of America agrees. Most people spend an average of between 770 and 855 days of their life in the bathroom. Think about it, shaving, showering, changing, singing, dancing, brushing teeth, popping pimples, and actually going to the bathroom (which for most takes longer now thanks to Tik Tok) are some of our most intimate moments, yet they’re often times done in a bathroom not optimized for comfort.
Some employers have even noticed that workers will go to the bathroom to hide during the workday.
Ok, what are we getting at here?
The point is, just like the phrase “never skimp out on things that separate you from the ground”, I think the same goes for bathrooms.
Pimp out the bathroom
Everyone has been in the super nice bathroom with the heated floors, waterfall faucets, 30 shower heads, and sauna. But that’s not what I am talking about.
I’m talking about aftermarket solutions. Not everyone has the budget to completely tear down and renovate their bathroom to add those features, moreover a lot of people rent so it’s not even an option. Aftermarket products are cheaper, don’t require any crazy installations, and allow you to spice up your existing bathroom.
Need an example?
How about Tandem? They’ve made a product that retrofits to the existing shower head and gives you the optionality of two shower heads without the crazy installation. Suddenly, your bathroom is better, and your shower has room for two.
They’ve identified the market and created a product that perfectly exemplifies the idea of aftermarket products for the bathroom. They’ve even struck some deals with hotels and raised nearly a million dollars on Kickstarter.
Need a real-life example? Here ya go:
Boona
Speaking of Tandem… you should buy one. Boona was started by two Amazon engineers who saw the opportunity for a tandem showerhead and made it a reality. No major renovation project, just the instant shower upgrade that you wanted. Whether you’re alone or with a partner, two heads are better than one with Tandem. You can pre-order them here or check out their Kickstarter to contribute. #ad
Opportunities abound
Do aftermarket solutions exist? Sure they do, I just told you about one of ‘em. But to me it doesn’t seem like anyone has capitalized on the market. When I think of a nice bathroom, there isn’t a specific company that comes to mind. Which, in my opinion, highlights an opportunity.
Think about how Brooklinen has taken over the bedding industry, nobody is doing that for the bathroom. The bathroom accessory market is $17.05 billion yet I can’t think of a singular company that has capitalized.
There are plenty of products that I have thought of that either don’t exist, or are unnecessarily complex:
- Battery powered heated towel racks: These exist, but mostly need to be connected to the gas piping, AKA major renovation. Instead, just make them battery powered, run some hot wire through them, and you’re done.
- A diffuser/dehumidifier that acts as an exhaust fan: Any bathroom over ~40 years old that has a window isn’t required to have an exhaust fan. Which means a lot of fogged up bathrooms. The idea is to have a dehumidifier/diffuser that takes this moisture in the air, dehumidifies it, and adds a scent (think of a normal diffuser with a dehumidifying component).
- Bidet: Not a fan of these things and this might be the one idea that doesn’t work just because there are a lot of them out there already.
- Mount/casing for phone or tablet: Everyone wants a TV in their shower, so make a suctioned, waterproof, encasement for a phone or tablet instead.
- Shower seating: Exists, but could be better.
- Art: Nobody know what to hang in their bathroom, take that decision out of their hands and make it for them. This vendor is doing over a million dollars just in bathroom art.
- Shower beer dispenser: The most coveted beer in all of beers, the shower beer needs a permanent residence in the shower for gameday mornings or the pregame before the pregame (this is a joke btw).
Hopefully this paints the picture a little better.
Closing Remarks
The bathroom is a modern-day sanctuary that hasn’t changed much since we moved the outhouses inside.
We see all these new and creative contraptions for the kitchen and bedroom, but none for the bathroom (at least none that I know of).
Bottom line is, the bathroom deserves love too, so become the titan of the bathroom, create the next big consumer brand, and above all:
‘Til Friday.
from, matt
