Naman Shrestha
Snoring is a common problem that many people face, but just can’t get rid of despite there being several snoring products on the market. Lloyd and Sue Ecker took it upon themselves to create something effective and came up with the Snorinator Pillows. The founders made an appearance on the second episode of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ season 17, pitching their business and the future plans surrounding it in front of the Sharks as they hoped to get at least one of them on board and help them take the brand to the next level.
Snorinator Pillows: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
Lloyd and Susan “Sue” Ecker have run multiple businesses together before discovering the potential of Snorinator. The Ithaca College graduate, Lloyd, was the CEO and co-founder of Babytobee for nearly eight years, from 2003 to 2011. Since March 2011, he has been serving as the CEO of AllAboutTheBaby. While still operating the business, he developed a snoring problem that disrupted his and his wife’s sleep. Even after trying several snoring products, including mouthpieces and nasal strips, his snoring persisted, and he had to sleep on the couch. When he searched for a solution on Google, he found out about Fowler’s position, which was a steep reclining angle invented by Dr. Fowler in 1888 in order to help the recovering tuberculosis patients breathe better. When he tried to sleep in that position by stacking pillows, he could sleep without snoring.
During a conversation with Medium, Lloyd revealed, “Because of that epiphany, my entrepreneurial gene kicked in. I was going to figure out how to manufacture an all-memory foam anti-snoring pillow which would comfortably allow a snorer to sleep upright and help them stop snoring.” With the help of a friend in the foam industry, he made a dozen versions of the prototype and tested them on himself. “Four months later I was ready to test my all- memory foam pillow, with a uniquely designed hinged head nest to keep me stationary and, most importantly, upright in the 66° Fowler Position,” he added. Thus, Snorinator was born. After getting his idea and prototype patented, he and Sue found someone who introduced them to ten memory foam manufacturing candidates.
A few months later, they chose their perfect vendor and began their journey to distribute their product across the nation. They offered their innovative pillows directly to the consumer through an e-commerce website. In order to expand their business, they launched Snorinator on Valentine’s Day 2023 at Indiegogo, a crowdfunding website that allowed their initial pillow inventory to be funded with the investors’ money. Shaped from premium quality, high-density memory foam, which is CertiPUR-US certified, the Snorinator pillow allows the user to drift to sleep at a 60-66° angle, improving oxygen flow, enhancing blood circulation, supporting the back and neck, and reducing snoring for chronic snorers. The anti-snoring supporting pillow also doesn’t have any electrical or moving parts.
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Snorinator Pillows: Where Are They Now?
Lloyd and Sue Ecker sell the Snorinator pillows through the company’s official website. Available in two distinct sizes, the pillows are priced at $199.99, but are currently available for $159.99. Besides that, the website also offers custom-fit Pillowcases for the Snorinator for $34.99. Not only are the pillowcases designed for simple sheathing and removal, but they are also machine-washable. In order to make it easier for users to take their Snorinator pillow with them, the founders also provide them with a durable, zippered travel bag that can fit both sizes of pillows. It is available for $39.99.
The Snorinator Pillows are frequently put on sale on special occasions, like Father’s Day. Although they don’t claim to treat sleep apnea, these pillows are marketed as the best and most effective anti-snoring pillows. While Lloyd takes care of the design aspect of the products, Susan operates the backend. To this day, the pillows ship from the same factory that was used to dispatch the first batch of the company. The brand and its products have been featured on Launchboom, Backerkit, CNN Underscored, and HuffPost.
