We were lucky to catch up with Shirah Benarde recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shirah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Ultimately, NightCap’s mission is to save lives, and I believe that if our products save just one person, I have done my job. The sad truth here is that in a perfect world, my product wouldn’t need to exist, but 1 in 2 women have had their drink spiked in their lifetime. Since NightCap’s inception, we’ve sold over 600,000 units in 40 different countries, giving peace of mind to over HALF A MILLION people worldwide.

We’ve partnered with over 150 major universities, including LSU, Ole Miss, FSU, Yale and Penn State, furthering our mission to promote safety and vigilance and influence a wider cultural shift.

Shirah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I invented the NightCap Scrunchie in a dream I had when I was just 16, after a close friend of mine had her drink spiked during a night out. I woke up inspired, went to my mom’s closet, grabbed a pair of pantyhose, cut them up, and attached them to a scrunchie to create the first NightCap prototype. NightCap started as one product, scrunchies that unfold into drink covers to prevent roofies and other unwanted substances from being dropped in your drink.

Since then, we’ve worked to expand our product line to make sure no matter who you are or what you’re drinking, we will have the product to make you feel safe. Today, NightCap offers a lot of potentially life saving products, including the hero NightCap Scrunchie, StopTops, bottle caps, keychains and more. We also aim to be as widely accessible and impactful as possible, and we frequently work with bars, clubs, universities, police departments, local governments, non-profits, and other organizations to get these products in the hands of their students and customers.

What sets us apart is our genuine care for our customers. We continue to check in with our community to see what products would make them feel safer.What I’m most proud of is the work that we’ve been doing with legislators and senators to be a voice for those that have been roofied, robbed and/or assaulted because of this problem.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My brother and I continuously work to generate a community on social media, spreading awareness and education around the topic of drink safety. After all, NightCap isn’t just a business; it’s a movement that advocates for safer and more enjoyable nights out – empowering individuals to enjoy their lives while still practicing vigilance. We not only promote our life-saving product (and show the many ways to use it!) through our viral social media channels, but we also create engaging and informative content, delivering tips on staying safe during a night out.

At the end of the day, TikTok has literally made our business possible. In fact, a year after launching, just one of our viral TikTok posts brought in over $40,000 in sales. Today, 50% of revenue is from direct-to-consumer sales, with TikTok being a significant driver.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

About a year after launching, My brother and I were lucky enough to have NightCap featured on Shark Tank in 2021, resulting in a passionate partnership with the queen of QVC herself, Lori Greiner. We got a lot of positive attention from that! In addition to TikTok being a major avenue from growing clientele, we also focus heavily on strategic partnerships with mission-driven brands, including dating app Bumble, which customized a couple hundred scrunchies to give out to their brand ambassadors, and most recently, retailer Forever 21, which purchased 8,500 scrunchies to sell at 400 retail stores.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nightcapit.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightcapit/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightCapIt/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirah-benarde-951083195