Young Indian American Entrepreneurs Pitching Their Product ‘SoaPen’ on ‘Shark Tank’

Shubham Issar and Amanat Anand, inventors of SoaPen, making hand washing for kids fun. (jamesdysonfoundation.co.uk photo)

India-West Staff Reporter

On an upcoming episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” a pair of Indian American entrepreneurs will be pitching their business, SoaPen, to the investors.

SoaPen is an interesting and fun way to keep children’s hands clean. The company’s mission is to make hand washing fun and accessible to kids globally.

The concept makes washing hands a fun activity while ensuring safety to a child’s health, according to the company.

It is non-irritating, non-toxic and free from SLS, parabens, EDTA, phthalates and any animal by-product.

The SoaPen website lists two products, SoaPen and a Hand Sanitizer Gel.

SoaPen is a colorful soap-filled pen that kids can draw with, and the product is completely child-safe and free from toxins, it notes. Children are encouraged to draw it all over their hands and wash it under water for 20 to 40 seconds. A 1.2 fl. oz. pen costs $15.99, the site shows.

The Soapen kid-friendly hand sanitizer gel is made by following FDA and WHO regulated guidelines with 70 percent alcohol content, it says.

The gel has ingredients like lavender oil and eucalyptus oil, which create a calming effect on the skin. The gel also has Vitamin E, which helps with hydration. An 8-oz. bottle costs $16.99, it says.

SoaPen founders Amanat Anand and Shubham Issar grew up in India but met at Parsons School of Design, New York.

The two aimed to design for social change and enrolled in the UNICEF Wearables for Good Challenge. It highlighted a statistics that showed that more than 50 percent of diseases that caused fatalities among children under the age of 5 can be avoided by the usage of hand soap.

Anand and Issar were moved by this and started exploring ways to make hand washing fun.

The duo won the UNICEF challenge and SoaPen became a reality. They are listed on Forbes 30U30 and named Toyota’s Mother of Invention, the company notes.

Shark Tank Season 13, Episode 3 is set to premiere Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. on ABC. New episodes are released every Friday on the network.

Indian American founder of neighborhood app Nextdoor Nirav Tolia will be featured in the episode as a mentor to the aspiring entrepreneurs.

The ABC show introduces numerous interesting business deals by aspiring entrepreneurs who are participating to win millions and expand their business.