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‘Shark Tank’ Season 12 Episode 1: Can GarmaGuard kill Covid-19? Fans call Sharks ‘crazy’ for not investing in it

Sadly, the deal wasn't finalized on the show, and after the investment didn't work out on ‘Shark Tank’ many people were highly doubtful about the product

The world has been struck by the Covid-19 pandemic and so is television showbiz. ABC's hit show ‘Shark Tank’ — starring Sharks Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary with Guest Shark Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS shoes — made its way back to viewers after keeping a number of restrictions in consideration. After a number of delays related to safety concerns, production for the latest season was moved from Sony Studios in Los Angeles to the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas.

"We didn't know if it was going to be shot," Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran told Inc in a recent interview. "We were waiting and waiting on the state to give approvals for filming, and then finally when we decided to take it out of the state it got pulled together so quickly in Las Vegas." 

Not just that, the Sharks are seated at a distance of 20 feet from each other and given speakers to hear one another. Moreover, the new season won't see any handshakes, hugs, or high fives. "Who noticed the cool new curved shape of the #SharkTank stage? It was done to make it look like the sharks are just as close as before. But due to Covid regulations. We needed to be a certain distance apart," Daymond tweeted. 

Interestingly, Covid-19 was a part of the product pitches too. A couple from New Jersey came up with a product that's ideal for use during the Covid-19 pandemic. If their description is to be believed, the product called GarmaGuard is designed to keep garments safe from odor and bacteria. 

What is GarmaGuard? 

"GarmaGuard is engineered with families in mind by using a natural ingredient which is found in many of our daily cleaning products today – Citric Acid," the official website reads. "Citric Acid is a highly effective, organic ingredient known to eliminate odors we see today across the applications where we know GarmaGuard™ will be used."

The investors claim, "We choose Citric Acid due to the efficacy, organic nature, and colorless features. From the beginning, we always believed that for GarmaGuard™ to be widely adopted, it had to be natural, organic, and free of harsh and abrasive chemicals for even us to consider using it day-to-day on our garments."

The website also says: "Elysian Labs has worked extremely hard on innovating, creating and perfecting our organic formula which is used to deodorize and freshen garments and other fabrics. As a Veteran Owned Business which consists of Law Enforcement and Medical Personnel, we recognize and understand the importance of cleanliness throughout our shifts."

Who invented GarmaGuard?

Pete Badawy and his wife Bianca invented the product while looking for something to help keep their clothes fresh throughout the day. While Pete is a US Army Veteran Police Officer, Bianca is a nurse, and both of them have the same post-shift routine due to which they couldn't pay attention to household matters. When Pete couldn't find a suitable product on the market, he invented one.

On their website, their goal reads: "Our mission is to holistically engineer high-quality products and to always strive for 100% customer satisfaction." The two believe in customer satisfaction and their website boasts of a number of five-star ratings. Customers called their it “miraculous” and branded it the “best product yet!”

'Sharks are crazy for not investing in it'

Sadly, the deal wasn't finalized on the show. After the investment didn't work out on ‘Shark Tank’, many people were highly doubtful if it could actually kill Covid-19. Former Shark Barbara Corcoran tweeted: "Branding is everything. If #GarmaGuard can have an anti-Covid seal, they'll be running to the bank! #SharkTank!" One Twitter user said, "If the product killed covid, they wouldn’t need the sharks #SharkTank." 

But many others were intrigued. @garmaguard sounds interesting especially doing these covid-19 times!!!! Not sure if I am or not yet!!! @ABCSharkTank #SharkTank," one tweet read and another said, "Garmaguard, great people hope they make it #SharkTank." A third chimed in, "I LOVE this GarmaGuard product! And I LOVE this couple! I'm so rooting for their success!" 

Many viewers felt Sharks made a mistake by not investing in the product and felt it was better than Touch Up Cups. One slammed the Sharks for not investing in the products. "Those sharks are crazy for not investing in that GarmaGuard, that was a solid investment unlike that stupid cup #SharkTank," one said. Another Twitter user posted, "The Sharks gave great advice to GarmaGuard! They might take off without an investment! #SharkTank."

‘Shark Tank’ Season 12 Episode 1 premiered on October 16, 2020, at 8 pm ET/ 7 pm CT on ABC.