Whatever Happened To Hoodie Pillow After Shark Tank?

As fans of ABC's business investment reality series "Shark Tank" are well aware, winning on-air hardly guarantees a company's sustained success. In fact, long-term growth seems to be determined far more by traditional business planning than any one "Shark Tank" investment. For instance, the owners of grooming product company S.W.A.G. Essentials walked away from "Shark Tank" empty-handed, but were so successful after their TV appearance that they were featured in a follow-up segment on a later season. Meanwhile, despite toy company PopUp Play securing an on-air win, it's no longer in business today.

Hoodie Pillow, which appeared on "Shark Tank" Season 4, achieved a series milestone as the first business with a returning entrepreneur at its helm. Rebecca Rescate initially appeared on "Shark Tank" to promote a product designed to toilet train cats called CitiKitty, and successfully grew that business in her episode's wake. Rescate told Shark Tank Blog that Hoodie Pillow inventor Chris Hindley approached her husband about a partnership, which ultimately led to her return to "Shark Tank."

Hindley and Rescate successfully pitched the Hoodie Pillow — which, as its name more-or-less indicates, was a pillowcase with an attached hooded sweatshirt-inspired hood — and walked away with a $90 thousand promise from Robert Herjavec. However, that was in 2013, leaving plenty of room for Hoodie Pillow to change in the years since the episode's premiere.

Even before becoming a part of the "Shark Tank" family, Hoodie Pillow had some major sales behind it. Per statements made by Chris Hindley on "Shark Tank," a soft launch featuring the Hoodie Pillow in a single Facebook link led to more than 3,000 units sold since launching eight weeks before their "Shark Tank" appearance. Thanks to that viral link, Hoodie Pillow was discussed on "Good Morning America," "The Today Show," and the front pages of AOL, Yahoo!, and MSN. They also got a mention on the NASDAQ and Business Week homepages. The original targets were parents and college students, which is very interesting since their main target now seems to be kids and families as they're no longer selling the version that got them attention on "Shark Tank."

The grand total amount made before the show? $60,000. Is it any wonder that between those figures and the experience Rebecca Rescate brought to the table via her previous Shark Tank product, CittiKitty, they got plenty of bites from the Tank?

When Chris Hindley and Rebecca Rescate pitched the Hoodie Pillow on "Shark Tank," they showcased a hooded pillowcase that could be fitted over a standard-sized pillow. Now, however, visiting the Hoodie Pillow website reveals that the company no longer sells what was once its flagship product. Instead, their principal offering is a neck pillow with an attached hood, available in both inflatable and memory foam models. Also for sale are hooded blankets, a hooded beach towel, and a gym bag constructed from a heather gray hooded sweatshirt-reminiscent material.

In fact, it appears that Hoodie Pillow introduced its inflatable travel pillow not long after appearing on "Shark Tank," as evidenced by a 2014 HelloGiggles post about travel accessories listing the inflatable Hoodie Pillow among its recommendations. Perhaps the biggest indicator of the Hoodie Pillow's growth is luxury fashion brand Balenciaga selling its own hooded neck pillow, which a post by HypeBeast reveals the company introduced in 2021. However, whereas the inflatable Hoodie Pillow retails for $29.95, Balenciaga is asking $695 for its travel pillow.

So, while Hoodie Pillow may have shifted its focus, the company seems to now be a big enough success that one of the most well-known names in high fashion is getting in on the action with its own take on the "Shark Tank" company's signature product.