In 2014, Miki Agrawal launched TUSHY, a company that provides Americans with an alternative to dry toilet paper. The TUSHY kit comes complete with a fabricated bidet that fits most standard American toilets, a stand and designer stool, a TUSHY brush, and other miscellaneous products sold on HelloTushy.com. Approximately 99 percent of the company’s business comes from direct-to-consumer sales. Serial entrepreneur Miki Agrawal and her marketing team are working on deals to get the TUSHY products into retail stores.
How Agrawal Came to Launch the TUSHY Company
Miki Agrawal suffered from several issues related to bathroom hygiene and knew there had to be a better way. She grew up in a home with parents who had moved to the United States from Japan and India. Using a bidet to clean up after using the bathroom is normal in those countries, so she decided to try it herself. Her personal health issues disappeared, and she knew that she would never return to using dry toilet paper. These two situations, along with concern for the environment, prompted her to launch TUSHY seven years ago.
Miki Agrawal Discusses How TUSHY Became Profitable
Agrawal worked hard and waited patiently for three years for her new company to turn a profit. Part of the reason for the three-year delay in profitability was that the young company had to educate the American public about the benefits of using a bidet to clean themselves after using the toilet instead of toilet paper. Miki Agrawal waited, and that persistence paid off, as the company recorded $700,000 in revenue during its third year.
The TUSHY Marketing Strategy
Agrawal does not exaggerate when she states that using a bidet instead of toilet paper changed her life. Despite this, she knew it would take a lot of work to convince others that cleaning with water is safer, more effective, and better for the environment than using traditional toilet paper.
Although her first customers were family and friends, she knew more people would be interested if they knew that TUSHY existed. Her first step was developing a website, followed by taking out Facebook ads.
Agrawal acted in the first Facebook ads herself with her husband providing voice-over services. They relied on a lot of analogies to make their point, such as imploring people to treat their butt like their face by washing it with water. Each successive ad has been funny and irreverent, while also getting people to stop and think just how unsanitary it is to clean themselves with dry toilet paper.
TUSHY is not Miki Agrawal’s first business success, and it will not be her last. She has already launched two gluten-free farm-to-table pizza restaurants in New York City called Wild. In keeping with her theme of challenging the status quo and normalizing discussions about potentially uncomfortable topics, she also launched THINX underwear for women to use during their periods.
