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‘Shark Tank’: Pinch Me Therapy Dough gets $300,000 deal but fans joke it's ‘scented Play-Doh for adults’

Narrating her tale on the show, Nancy Rothner revealed that she had lifetime sales worth $5.3 million, since 2015

What do you do to de-stress? On ‘Shark Tank’ Season 12 Episode 16, Nancy Rothner — an entrepreneur from Lewes, Delaware — tried to secure the dough necessary to expand her line of stress-relief tools. 

A professionally developed, soft, pliable dough infused with calming aromatherapy, Pinch Me Therapy Dough can help you replenish, rejuvenate, and get back to center! The official website claims that as you massage the dough, your body begins to release tension. Moreover, Pinch Me's color palette was professionally designed to calm with each subtle hue. The idea seems appealing but did she manage to lure the Sharks? Let's find out.

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What are Nancy Rothner's sales?

Narrating her tale on the show, Nancy Rothner said she had lifetime sales of $5.3 million since 2015. At one point, she dealt with a tragedy when she and her husband were blindsided when she was diagnosed with leukemia. Moreover, Covid-19 hit her sales and her expected $2.5 million worth came crashing down to $760,000. Nonetheless, she said she made a profit of $1.2 million. 

Her sales definitely impressed many fans. "Wow. This lady’s valuation is insane but her sales numbers are insane too. Incredible numbers. Abs she’s a badass woman too. And congrats on her husband beating cancer," one posted after hearing her story. Another said, "#5.3 million in sales. Pretty good. Decent costs. #SharkTank."

Who grabbed the deal?

One by one, all the Sharks said no to her. Daymond John began by saying he likes it as a "customer" but wouldn't like to pursue it. Lori Greiner felt the product could be a great business for her. Mark Cuban had already politely said no right in the beginning. 

Then it was Kevin O'Leary's turn. He made an offer — $300,000 investment in exchange for a 25% stake. Sadly, she was seeking only 7% so it was quite a tough decision. Just then, Robert Herjavec jumped in and said the product was "speaking to him". His offer was the same as Kevin. Lori then advised her, "Don't give up your company." Meanwhile, Robert claimed he could do "a better job" than Kevin and the latter retorted saying he had many more products to help her out in the long run.  

In a new twist, Daymond hopped in again and offered to take it for a 20% stake. Not one to let go of the opportunity, Herjavec also moved down to 20%. Even though she tried to bargain it for a 17% stake, she finally said yes to Robert's deal!

‘Play Doh for adults’

Not everyone was sold by the idea though and some had different plans to de-stress. One mocked it saying, "I'd just get a stress ball." Another said, "Best way to de-stress is to R-E-L-A-X Let me share with you my personal anti-stress technique-the R-E-L-A-X method. R - Recognize E - Exercise L - Letting Go A- Attitude X- Xtra-Sleep."

A third joked, "So it's basically scented play-dough? That is what seems like to me." A fourth went on to say, "This is basically just Play-Doh for adults." Another quipped, "Therapy dough, can’t I just squeeze Play-Doh then?"

‘Robert Herjavec is the Cerebral Assassin’

Many others congratulated Robert Herjavec for getting the deal. "@robertherjavec IS the Cerebral Assassin," one tweet read. Robert himself tweeted, "Really impressed with @simplygoodjars and how they were able to pivot in the current climate. They understand how to meet consumers where they are...But that valuation.... nooooo."

If you're wondering where to buy and how much it costs, head to the website to purchase it at $14.99 per bottle. Do you think this product will succeed? Tell us in the comments below. 

‘Shark Tank’ Season 12 Episode 9 returned to ABC after the winter break on January 8, 2021, at 8 pm ET. Catch the latest episode featuring Simply Good Jars, Pinch Me Therapy Dough, Muff Waders and BusyBaby Mat on March 5, 2021, from 8 pm ET to 9 pm ET.
 
Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime and iTunes.