Scrub Daddy

Scrub Daddy Inc. is an American cleaning product company best known for its eponymous smiley-face sponges. Founded in 2012 by Aaron Krause, the company emerged from a failed experiment: Krause originally invented buffing and polishing pads that were acquired by 3M in 2008, but a line of sponges he had created was left behind.

Five years later, he used those surplus sponges to clean his dishes and lawn furniture and realized he had a multi-million-dollar idea. Scrub Daddy officially launched with grassroots marketing and appeared on Shark Tank in October 2012, where Lori Greiner invested $200,000 for a 20% equity stake.

The next day, they sold 42,000 sponges in under seven minutes on QVC. By January 2017, revenues surpassed $100 million — the highest of any Shark Tank product. As of May 2023, Scrub Daddy had sold more than $926 million in retail sales, employs 273 people, offers 160 products, and is sold in 257,000 retail locations.

The brand's signature FlexTexture polymer foam adjusts firmness based on water temperature — firm in cold water, soft in warm water — and the original yellow smiley-face scrubber has become an iconic cleaning tool. Scrub Daddy also markets the Scrub Mommy sub-brand, introduced in 2014.