While many businesses have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, some small businesses have unexpectedly flourished. Cleaning product company Cleancult and bidet company Tushy have seen major increases in sales as people stock up. Video conferencing platforms like Zoom have also grown rapidly. However, many businesses face challenges in keeping up with demand due to supply chain issues. Some owners feel conflicted about profiting during a crisis but are also glad to help customers and keep workers employed.

1. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 1/10
COVID-19
Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19
pandemic
Nina Roberts Mar 25, 2020
Nina Roberts
Share Now:
Shows DON ATE
COVID-19 Make Me Smart Daily Econ Extra Credit United States of Work
COVID-19 quarantines spark rise in marijuana sales
Marketplace Morning Report
Nearly all businesses in the U.S. have been touched, and in some cases, decimated, by COVID-19.
The airline industry says it will be bankrupt without a federal bailout; restaurants, salons and

2. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 2/10
retailers — chains and individually-owned — are hemorrhaging, leaving countless hourly workers
unemployed.
But surprisingly, some companies have seen soaring growth due to COVID-19. The publicly traded
video conferencing platform Zoom, now part of the country’s collective lexicon, has seen its stock
rise, as have delivery services as most Americans try to “shelter in place.” Large companies like pet
supplier Chewy, meal kit company Blue Apron, as well as smaller businesses and startups have
been blindsided by surging sales over the past several weeks as COVID-19 and increased
containment restrictions turned worlds upside down.
“We didn’t see it coming,” said Ryan Lupberger, the co-founder of Cleancult, a venture-backed
startup that manufactures natural cleaning products in zero waste packaging.
“People are just not finding cleaning products in stores,” said Lupberger in New York City, where
half of the 15-person team is working remotely, the other half is in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Cleancult’s Amazon sales have increased eight times over in the past several weeks, according to
Lupberger, tripled in retail stores and doubled on Cleancult’s website.
Cleancult’s manufacturing is located in the Midwest without a “shelter in place” mandate thus far.
Production of lemongrass soaps and orange zest cleaners, among other products, has been
ramped up to meet demand, shifts have been doubled, the work week has been expanded to
seven day. Lupberger leaves worker safety measures to the warehouse manager. “All I know,”
Lupberger said, “is that it’s been expensive.”

3. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 3/10
Ryan Lupberger, co-founder of Cleancult, ponders future financing in New York.
Credit: Nina Roberts
With an immediate recession predicted due to COVID-19, venture capital funding is drying up and
startups like Cleancult are worried. “We see this huge demand,” Lupberger said, “but we don’t have
the dollars to support it.”
Some of Cleancult’s VC funding has been delayed, and Lupberger and co-founder Zachary
Bedrosian have started to look at alternatives like loans and basic lines of credit.
Tushy saw its bidet sales skyrocket when consumers began to have a collective melt down about
toilet paper scarcity. Founded by Miki Agrawal, Tushy makes portable, self-installable bidets,
allowing users to clean themselves with water rather than toilet paper. Bidets are popular in many
countries, but have yet to catch on in the U.S.
In early March Tushy’s CEO Jason Ojalvo said he had projected a possible bump in bidet sales due
to concerns about health and sanitation. But when videos of frantic shoppers pushing carts piled
high with economy size packages of toilet paper went viral, sales exploded. “The toilet paper
hoarding,” conceded Ojalvo, “caused the really significant boost.”
Over two weeks Tushy’s sales doubled, quickly tripled and are now holding at ten times according
to Ojalvo. Tushy bidets are sold out on Amazon and back ordered on the Tushy website. With
bidets currently being manufactured in Asia Ojalvo aims to fulfill back orders by late March or early
April.

4. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 4/10
When Ashley Tyrner, the founder of Farmbox Direct, a subscription service that delivers boxes of
fresh produce, woke up on March 14, she thought there was some type of bug in her computer
system. “There’s no way we could have taken that many orders overnight,” recalled Tyrner recently,
“but we did. We are doubling the company every 24 hours.”
Many of Farmbox’s new customers are located in areas where supermarket shelves sit empty.
Others new customers set up deliveries for parents and grandparents who are not risking infection
by leaving their homes to shop.
Scough, a mash up of “scarf” and “cough,” is a Brooklyn-based company that makes stylish wrap
around scarves and bandanas in funky patterns with attached hidden masks. The
immunosuppressant community has typically purchased Scough masks, according to founder
Andrew Kessler, as well as airplane travelers, motorcycle and bike riders. In early March masks were
in such high demand that Scough’s entire stock sold out.
“We went from like, ‘Oh, wow, that’s a bit of an uptick,’” Kessler recalled, “to ‘Uh-oh, everything’s
kind of breaking,’ to, ‘Oh, no, we’re going to be out of out of stock in two months,’ to ‘We’re going to
be out stock in two days.”
Kessler is scrambling to produce more masks, but Scough’s supply chain has been thoroughly
disrupted, so he’s looking at alternatives. “Our inboxes are just flooded with people asking
questions about masks and what to do and how many they can get,” said Kessler, who hesitantly
said he might resume production in four to six weeks. “But factories are shutting down” said
Kessler, “and who knows anything anymore.”
Fardad Zabetian, founder of the multilingual web conferencing platform Kudo said they’ve recently
had more than 200 inquiries a day about Kudo’s services. “They’re looking for a solution for, let’s
say, tomorrow,” said Zabetian with a laugh, “that’s kind of the state of where we are on the
technology side.” He estimated his business has increased 400% since COVID-19 spread to Europe
and then North America.

5. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 5/10
Kudo founder Fardad Zabetian said he’s been fielding 200 inquiries a day.
Courtesy of Kudo
Kudo is similar to other video conferencing platforms like Zoom, but with live, simultaneous
translation in multiple languages. Zabetian said international meetings that had been slated for
March, April and beyond, are being conducted on his platform. It has about 2,000 professionally
trained interpreters, many of whom are in lock down cities across Europe, willing to work from
their home offices.
“What COVID-19 is doing for Kudo,” said Zabetian, “is speeding up that adoption curve of people
trying a new technology. Because that’s the only way they can meet.”
Feelings on profiting during a pandemic
Some business owners have mixed feelings about the sudden surge in sales during a global
pandemic.
“It’s really complex,” said Lupberger, of Cleancult’s rapid growth. While he’s happy Cleancult’s
products are in demand, he’s aware it could be perceived as exploiting the situation.
Cleancult has just launched a new initiative, for every customer order placed on their website,
they’ll donate a bar of their lemongrass soap to NYC Relief.

6. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 6/10
“There is some ambivalence around our cultural moment happening, coinciding with a really kind
of scary time for so many Americans,” said Tushy’s Ojalvo. “But at the same time, what’s important
to note is that we haven’t really changed our marketing positioning or stance.”
“We’re kind of just doing more of the same,” Ojalvo said. “Actually, we’re doing less of the same,” he
corrected himself, referring to a humorous Tushy ad they recently pulled (made 18 months ago)
featuring two guys competing for the last roll of toilet paper in a bodega. “[We’re] trying to be extra
sensitive,” Ojalvo said.
With the increased volume, Farmbox’s Tyrner said she feels good about keeping some of her
Kansas City supplier’s employees from getting laid off, since supplying hotels, schools and
restaurants has evaporated. She’s also hired several new people to work in Farmbox’s customer
service department.
Scough’s Kessler has become accustomed to spiking mask sales during catastrophes, such as
wildfires. “We try and just remember the reason why we did it in the first place,” said Kessler of
designing scarves with hidden facemasks, “so that sort of keeps us going.”
“It’s not a happy moment,” said Zabetian despite Kudo’s booming growth, “the consequences of
coronavirus is much bigger than Kudo or Zoom or any of this.”
RELATED STORIES
For newly "essential"
workers, benefits are
still limited
April 15, 2020
As COVID-19 spreads,
Manhattan’s Chinatown
contemplates a bleak future
March 16, 2020
Black-owned businesses face
increased safety and economic
risk from COVID-19
April 7, 2020
If you’re a member of your local public radio station, we thank you — because your
support helps those stations keep programs like Marketplace on the air. But for

7. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 7/10
Marketplace to continue to grow, we need additional investment from those who care
most about what we do: superfans like you.
Your donation — as little as $5 — helps us create more content that matters to you and
your community, and to reach more people where they are – whether that’s radio,
podcasts or online.
When you contribute directly to Marketplace, you become a partner in that mission:
someone who understands that when we all get smarter, everybody wins.
AL SO INCLUDED I N
COVID-19
Tags in this Story
Business COVID-19 Pandemic Zoom
S HARE THIS S TO RY

8. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 8/10
COVID-19
Philadelphia Fed president on reopening the economy: "It’s going to take some
time"
COVID-19
Air travel is almost completely grounded due to COVID-19, as these 6 charts
show
COVID-19
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE

9. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 9/10
Washington relief packages leave out many domestic workers
What happened today?
Make today make sense with our new 10-minute daily Make Me
Smart podcast.
S UBSCRIBE
FacebookTwitterInstagramYoutube
About
Contact Us
FAQs
Staff
Careers
Support Marketplace
For Individuals
For Foundations
For Corporate Sponsors

10. 4/20/2020 Some small businesses are flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic - Marketplace
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/25/some-small-businesses-are-flourishing-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ 10/10
You want newsletters? We've got newsletters.
S UBSCRIBE
TAL K TO US
LOCAL RADIO AIRTIMES
© 2020 Minnesota Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Marketplace is a division of MPR's 501 (c)(3). EIN: 41-0953924
Privacy Policy Terms of Use