SoaPen on Shark Tank: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Shark Tank AMANAT ANAND and SHUBHAM ISSAR

ABC

Entrepreneurs Amanat Anand and Shubham Issar took their company SoaPen and its product to the sharks on “Shark Tank” to see if they could get one of the sharks to invest in their company during the October 29, 2021 episode of the hit ABC show.

The episode synopsis revealed that “entrepreneurs from New York City pitch their clean product designed to encourage children to wash their hands.”

The entrepreneurs pitched their company to sharks Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec and guest Shark Nirav Tolia, founder of Nextdoor.

Here’s what you need to know about SoaPen on “Shark Tank:”


1. The Founders Met at the Parsons School of Design

SoaPen’s founders Amanat Anand and Shubham Issar both grew up in New Delhi, India. They didn’t know each other growing up. They met when both women enrolled at the Parsons School of Design in New York City. Not only were they from the same city, but both planned to design for social impact, SoaPen’s official website reveals. They stumbled upon the UNICEF Wearables for Good Challenge and discovered that 50% of infectious diseases that lead to the death of children under 5 can be prevented with the simple act of washing their hands with soap.

This fact moved Amanat and Shubham deeply. They started thinking “how can we make handwashing with soap fun?” They went on to win the UNICEF challenge and that was the first step on their journey towards founding SoaPen. What makes SoaPen fun for kids is that it is a soap that they can draw all over themselves with. It is also, according to marketing materials provided to Heavy by SoaPen, “made without SLS, parabens, phthalates, EDTA, or animal byproducts, SoaPen’s unique formula is designed such that the drawings only rinse off once a child has washed their hands for the recommended 20-40 seconds.” Parents enjoy SoaPen too as they can see if their children actually washed their hands by checking for leftover marks.

The UNICEF challenge was just the first competition Amanat and Shubham won. They were also named Toyota’s Mother of Invention and listed on Forbes 30 Under 30, per their official website.


2.SoaPen’s Founders Are Still Dedicated to Their Social Impact Mission

Amanat Anand and Shubham Issar haven’t forgotten their mission to design with social impact along the way. SoaPen’s website states, “Our mission is to make handwashing fun and accessible for kids around the world. For every purchase, we donate soap or a percentage of profits to partner organizations that passionately support children’s hygiene and health. We’ve conducted successful handwashing awareness campaigns in India and the Philippines using SoaPen as a teaching tool and are excited to grow our impact.”

When they were researching SoaPen, they traveled to India and visited schools where they noticed that the students hardly ever washed their hands and teachers were keeping soap locked up in a closet. When they asked why, they were told soap was expensive and if they didn’t keep it locked up, the kids would play with it. The teachers told Amanat and Shubham that they’d rather be coloring, Money reported.

A lightbulb went off in Amanat and Shubham’s heads simultaneously. “We knew we wanted to create a soap that they could draw with and that’s kind of the inception,” Shubham told the outlet. With frequent handwashing one in three childhood deaths from infectious diseases can be prevented.


3. They Started a Kickstarter Campaign to Raise Funds to Start SoaPen

SoaPen’s Amanat Anand and Shubham Issar said on “Shark Tank,” “Kids don’t like stopping what they are doing to wash their hands, and when they do, they don’t wash properly or for the right amount of time. Plus, kids love drawing on everything, tables, walls and even on their own body.”

They started a Kickstarter campaign to get their company off the ground. They said, “Parents around the world struggle to make kids wash their hands every day. Clean hands are vital to children staying healthy. Most infections are spread among children within classrooms. Moms, you can let your little ones have fun washing their hands in schools just by sending a SoaPen with their lunch box. Now imagine your kids always coming home with clean hands”

Amanat and Shubham raised $28,000 from 227 backers. They are using the money to increase production with the hopes that one day they will be able to lower the price of a SoaPen to be the same price as a stick of Chapstick, Money reported. SoaPen are available in a variety of colors and scents. Currently, each Soapen costs $5.  Their all-woman team works out of offices in New York City and Mumbai.

In her interview with Money, Amanat said, “We’re always nervous to visit schools but when we see a child with it, we’re like ‘It’s going to work, they’re going to like it.’ t’s so simple, it’s so fun. Why wouldn’t they like it?”


4. SoaPen Can Help Prevent 1.5 Million Child Deaths Annually

As mentioned, Amanat Anand and Shubham Issar were honored with Toyota’s Mother of Invention Award. In the video for that award, Shubham said she and Amanat were both Industrial Design majors at Parsons. She said, “Industrial designers are problem solvers and washing hands with soap can protect one in three children from infectious diseases. In countries like Africa, this can be huge because even with simple things like diarrhea handwashing can prevent 50% of illnesses.”

UNICEF reports that children under 5 are especially vulnerable to infectious diseases and children in the poorest parts of the world are disproportionately affected. Amanat and Shubham are well aware of this statistic and have been since the early days of SoaPen. “For every three pens sold in the US, SoaPen donates one to a school in a low-income community in India,” Shubham told Because International.

Shubham revealed, “We grew up in India and we knew that hygiene was a big problem.” The two women endeavor to bring an impactful change to the world with their product.


5. SoaPen Comes in a Variety of Colors and Fragrances

SoaPen is sold in packs of three for $15. It is good for sensitive skin, is non-toxic, and is free of paragons and animal products. Each Soapen pack comes with a green, blue, and orange SoaPen in the scents, fresh pear, berry blast, and tangy tangerine. It lasts for 100 washes and is small enough to fit in a purse, desk, lunchbox or backpack. The colors do not stain clothes and easily wash off of walls, All Products On Shark Tank revealed.

Additionally, Shubham presented SoaPen at Yale University’s Global Health Conference and Stanford’s Global Entrepreneur Summit. The two founders were accepted into the Pursuit Incubator, which is a mentoring program for companies that will have a positive impact on impoverished parts of the world, the outlet reported. SoaPen was also a runner-up for the James Dyson Award, which recognizes the next generation of design engineers.

By the time “Shark Tank” is over on October 29, 2021, Amanat and Shubham will know how the sharks feel about their socially impactful product.