Whatever Happened To NeatCheeks After Shark Tank?

Since the show debuted back in 2009, the sharks on "Shark Tank" have seen all kinds of pitches for products geared at kids and parents. Some, like the Pair Eyewear customizable glasses, went on to become multimillion-dollar businesses. Others, like the PopUp Play customizable playhouses, couldn't sustain their success. Then there's NeatCheeks, a flavored face wipe invented by savvy mother Danielle Stangler.

Let's face it: Kids get messy, and they don't usually enjoy having their faces cleaned off with a harsh wipe. Not only are NeatCheeks wipes moisturized for sensitive skin, but they're also flavored with stevia to make them more appealing to the child. This essentially turns a grooming exercise into something akin to a sweet treat. "I stumbled upon the idea while having lunch with my family one Sunday afternoon," Stangler revealed. "My daughter, Taylor, was about 18 months old at the time and hated [having] her face wiped." Stangler didn't have any wipes on her at the time, so she dipped a napkin into what she thought was water. "It was lemonade! Taylor had fun cleaning up with the lemonade-dipped napkin and the idea for a flavored face wipe was born!"

Stangler and a former business associate named Julia Rossi went into the tank to pitch NeatCheeks together during Season 6, with their episode airing in April 2015. They wanted $150,000 in exchange for a 20% equity stake in their company. They managed to strike a deal, but did it go through? And how is NeatCheeks doing today? Read on to find out what became of the product and the people who pitched it.

As Danielle Stangler and Julia Rossi explained during their pitch, at the time of their "Shark Tank" appearance, NeatCheeks had only done $4,000 in sales. However, their plans for expansion were ambitious. They were looking to get into the retail market, and they were targeting $100,000 in revenue for 2015. Most of the sharks dropped out due to the fact that the patent was still pending, though a couple remained intrigued.

Lori Greiner decided to dangle the requested $150,000 in exchange for 30% equity, though her offer would only be valid if the patent came through. Barbara Corcoran then came in with a better deal, offering the $150,000 that Stangler and Rossi wanted in exchange for just 25% of their business (as long as they agreed to make a cherry-flavored wipe). Not wanting to be defeated, Greiner then offered the same amount of cash for 25% — and she dropped the contingency on the patent, too. After some deliberation, Stangler and Rossi decided to take Corcoran up on her offer. Unfortunately, the deal was never finalized, but it wasn't the end of the road for NeatCheeks — the creators soon discovered that the "Shark Tank" effect is very real.

Revenue grew 900% in that first year after appearing on the show, and NeatCheeks went on sale at big box retail chains such as buybuy Baby and Bed, Bath & Beyond, as well as online at Amazon. The company won the Package Design Matters Business Leader & Rising Star Award in 2016, and Stangler appeared on Fox Denver that same year to promote their new Berry Lemonade flavor, revealing that some of the proceeds would be donated to the nonprofit Baby2Baby. Then, in 2019, NeatCheeks was chosen by the Newchip Accelerator program as one of 30 companies to receive seed funding.

A flavored face wipe for kids sounds like a great idea on paper, and most of the people who tried it seemed to love it — the product had an impressive 4.3 star rating on Amazon. However, all good things must come to an end, as they say, and that appears to be the case for NeatCheeks. The product is now listed as unavailable on Amazon, and the company's social media pages are dormant: NeatCheeks' Instagram feed and its Facebook page have not been updated since 2023. What's more, the company's website has been suspended, according to the provider.

Sometime before NeatCheeks folded, Julia Rossi left the company and entered the design and hospitality industry. As of 2023, she owns and operates the design consultancy firm Grey Domain with her husband, Kevin. They offer build services in Montana and are currently putting together modern log homes in the state. They have also redesigned multiple other residences and Airbnb properties in Montana. "She grew up helping her parents renovate houses and has fond memories of [watching] her dad build their furniture, and her mom rearrange rooms with care... and the perfect amount of lamps," the Grey Domain website says of Rossi.

NeatCheeks may be long gone, but Rossi's business adventures continue. Meanwhile, Danielle Stangler is now listed under the name Danielle Klaan on LinkedIn, where she's still down as the "Founder and Managing Member of TaylorBaby, LLC, the original source of flavored face wipes." However, she hasn't posted anything for several years, so a comeback for NeatCheeks seems unlikely at this stage.