Unshrinkit: What Happened To The Brand After Shark Tank?

From Glow Recipe serums to Luna Magic lashes, "Shark Tank" has given us some pretty amazing fashion and beauty products. One of the most memorable pitches that didn't strictly fit into the fashion space — but is still useful to those who love their cashmere sweaters — is Unshrinkit. The self-explanatory business appeared on Season 7 of the show in 2015 with a simple yet revolutionary idea: a product used to restore wool garments that had shrunk in the washing process back to their normal size, negating the need to throw them out. 

The brains behind the idea were CEO Desirée Stolar, a graduate of Harvard Business School, and fellow graduate and engineer Nate Barbera. Stolar first thought of the concept after accidentally shrinking one of her sweaters while she was still at Harvard, which prompted her to search for ways to fix it. When she came across infinite DIY content online about unshrinking wool clothing, she thought there might be a market for this product, and she was right. Barbera used his mechanical engineering background to come up with the solution, which is essentially a formula that impacts the fibers of the wool so they can grow back to their proper size again. 

Unshrinkit was born in 2014, and by the time Stolar and Barbera appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2015, they had sold 5,000 units and grossed $35,000 in sales. They were initially hesitant about going on the show because they were told that the Sharks were no longer looking for small businesses, but they decided to try their luck anyway. And it's a good thing they did: They left with an offer from Mark Cuban, and though the original founders appear to have sold the business, it achieved success into the 2020s, with a potential relaunch in the works today. 

Unshrinkit appeared on Season 7, Episode 8 of "Shark Tank," and the founders immediately got off on the right foot by introducing their product with humor; Nate Barbera pitched Unshrinkit as a solution to "shrinkage," before specifying that he was talking about the laundry variety, which won some laughs from the Sharks and broke the ice. Originally, Barbera and Desirée Stolar were asking for $150,000 for 10% equity in Unshrinkit, hoping that the investment would help them to boost brand awareness and expand their retail presence. And their presentation appeared to feature lots of green flags. 

Stolar was wearing a sweater that she had restored with Unshrinkit, hoping to prove the efficacy of the product, while Barbera mentioned that he had been involved in patenting for Johnson & Johnson, which seemed to perk up the Sharks' ears. They estimated that they would sell 20,000 units of Unshrinkit by the end of the year, and had won the interest of Macy's and other smaller retailers. Their projections pointed to a possible $130,000 in revenue by the end of the year, and this figure was enough to garner significant interest among the Sharks. 

Robert Herjavec wasn't convinced, however, and neither was Lori Greiner, who argued that wool isn't that popular and the percentage of people who shrink it is even smaller. Stolar countered this by explaining that Unshrinkit isn't a "reactive product," but something that people will buy to have on hand, like aspirin. Kevin O'Leary was convinced, offering $150,000 for 33.3% equity, while Daymond John, who echoed some of Greiner's concerns, offered $150,000 for 25% equity under the condition that they pursue licensing. In the end, Unshrinkit secured an offer from Mark Cuban for $150,000 for 15% equity. Plenty of "Shark Tank" beauty pitches didn't get a deal and still saw success, but Unshrinkit certainly got a head start with this investment. 

Any "Shark Tank" appearance can boost sales for a brand, but successful pitches that leave with offers are likely to attract even more interest online directly after the show. But for Unshrinkit, the benefits weren't immediate. In a 2020 interview with Inspired Insider, Desirée Stolar admitted that the brand only received "about a fourth of the website hits" and sales that she and Nate Barbera expected on the night their "Shark Tank" episode aired, leading to some serious disappointment. This was perhaps due to the fact that the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris took place on the same night, leading to confusion with air times and understandably absent social media support from the Sharks. 

However, unlike what happened to Hot Mama Gowns after "Shark Tank," hits and sales for Unshrinkit picked up by the end of the weekend, leading Stolar and Barbera to exhaust their inventory. By December 2015, Unshrinkit had doubled what it had achieved the year before. After this success, the business began to shift its focus, zooming in on its wholesale customers and also targeting an unexpected demographic: young men at universities, who turned out to be among the brand's biggest customers. In this time, Unshrinkit built up a modest following on Instagram, Facebook, and what was then Twitter. As the brand grew, it was featured widely in the national-media landscape, including in Good Housekeeping, Boston Magazine, and the Global Innovation Awards. In 2019, Unshrinkit was reportedly sold for an unknown amount to an aggregator-operator group, but the business was still showing no signs of slowing down. 

Unshrinkit appeared to stay in business following the 2019 takeover, given its active website. However, there have been a few changes since the brand's early days. Notably, Nate Barbera and Desirée Stolar appear to no longer be involved following the sale of the business. Stolar's LinkedIn notes that she's now the chief talent management and global employee programs officer at Burson while also working as an executive coach at Unshrinking Life, which appears to be her own coaching business (and a nod to Unshrinkit). Interestingly, Unshrinkit no longer posts on Instagram or X, being last active on these platforms in 2017 and 2018, respectively. 

The brand's business model also seems to have evolved in some respects. Unshrinkit originally sold for between $12 and $15 per bottle, with production costs being $1 per bottle, while the solution now costs $24.99. However, it's not confirmed whether this is for a larger-sized bottle or not. Unshrinkit also sells bundles that consist of multiple bottles and sweater care packs, which wasn't discussed on "Shark Tank." The branding is the same as it was in 2015, and the brand reportedly grossed $1.5 million in 2023. All that said, where Unshrinkit stands in 2025 is a little more complicated. 

Unshrinkit still has an active website, so it can be assumed that it does still exist. However, all of its four products (the single bottle, the two bundles of bottles, and the sweater care pack) are sold out, and there's no indication on the website of when they'll be back in stock. While this may point to a quiet closure, there are clues that suggest that Unshrinkit is soldiering on, with a possible revamp in the works. 

On the website's FAQ page, the brand notes that it's "working diligently" to release more products that are suited to every type of fabric, given that Unshrinkit is exclusively for wool garments. There's been limited activity on its Facebook page recently, but a response to a customer who asked if the products are still being sold points to movement behind the scenes: "We are currently working on a new version to fix some problems, we are going to re-launch later this year!" Unshrinkit wrote. This was in April 2024, and while there's been no news of a relaunch, we're hopeful that the end of Unshrinkit isn't upon us just yet.

Now, for a brand that maintained a much stronger social-media presence after "Shark Tank," here's what happened to Liberate, the meditation and gratitude brand.