How Suzy Batiz Used Clever Branding And Design To Build Her $500 Million Odor-Eliminating Empire

It's a truth universally acknowledged that few brands in the history of consumer culture have managed to turn the most basic of human functions into a $500 million empire with the same panache and flair as Poo-Pourri.

Since its launch in 2007, the natural toilet spray has become a cult hit, turning a once-taboo topic into a conversation starter through a clever mix of witty advertising, self-deprecating humor and a characteristic visual aesthetic that has not changed to a large extent. in the last 17 years. The genius behind it all is Suzy Batiz, the company's visionary co-founder, whose unapologetic zeal and innovative mindset landed her on Forbes' 2019 list of America's Richest Self-Made Women.

Batiz, who hasn't been shy about her past battles with depression, poverty and abuse, spent years experimenting with essential oils in her home before launching Poo-Pourri. He used word-of-mouth advertising during his early years in business, relying on his dry sense of humor and a product design based on Victorian perfume bottles. Since then, the brand has become a design and marketing powerhouse, selling millions of bottles at stores like CVS, Target, Costco, Bed Bad & Beyond and more. With Batiz at the helm, the company has deftly navigated the fine line between humor and sophistication, crafting products that look good, smell good, and don't shy away from the fact that they do: poop smells .

Batiz's journey from concept to cultural icon is a testament not only to his unwavering belief in the power of a good laugh, but also to his great business and branding sense. In 2022, the company changed its name from Poo-Pourri to ~Pourri and branched out into other product lines, targeting a litany of other scents: foot odors, body odors, pet odors, scents of baby ass, even smells of weed. (Pot-Pourri, anyone?)

Demand can't keep up: the company is averaging 25-30% year-over-year sales growth and now actively sells over 200 different products under the ~Pourri umbrella. (The latest is a new pocket toilet spray, for on-the-go needs.)

As the brand continues to evolve, it continues to embody a philosophy Batiz holds dear: empowerment. We recently sat down with Batiz to explore the design philosophy that drives the brand, the challenges and triumphs of building an empire, and what the future holds for the ~Pourri brand.

We start with the rebranding of Poo-Pourri to just ~Pourri and the launch of new product lines. Tell me a little bit about the thinking behind this decision and how long you've been thinking about expanding the ~Pourri empire.

Well, I started Poo-Pourri over 17 years ago. I've always created other products – the first product I created was a pet odor neutralizer. But because we're self-funded and the bandwidth is limited and the competition so high, we've focused on really dominating one category. While I've always created other products that I knew someone would want, the plan was always: create a brand first, get Poo-Pourri widely distributed, and get our stake in the ground.

Now, we have a reputation that people can trust. So [expanding to other products] it has always been part of the plan. I wish it had been faster, but now… it is activated.

One thing I've noticed is that over the years, the visual design of the brand and its packaging has remained largely the same. I'm talking about the vintage floral pattern. Considering you haven't changed, it must be working pretty well?

When I was first starting out, I noticed a few things: the first was that no one really liked to talk about the smell of the bathroom. The only people who seemed to want to talk about it were the comedians, who would make jokes about it. That's why I named it Poo-Pourri, sort of in keeping with that very spirit.

The second thing I noticed was that I hated how the metal cans on the back of the toilet looked. I said, “Look, it's got to look like a Victorian perfume bottle.” So I approached an artist and said, make it look like that. It literally has to look like a bottle of perfume sitting on the back of the toilet. But then I said, “I want you to put in funny little things, like a cherub and a toilet plunger. These cute jokes that make it fun.

And after that, my senior creative director Lindsay Bellanti, who's been with me for 13 years, she and I would work together on new iterations of the design and packaging. I would print out pictures from the internet and give him a collage of things and just say, “I want the new scent bottle to look like this.”

My idea for Poo-Pourri bottles was always, it should be something you don't have to hide. I thought, “Let's make it beautiful and make it fun.” And people really leaned into it.

[In a later interview, Bellanti, told me: “We knew if we could make a poo spray beautiful enough to pick up, women would be interested in the idea! We looked at a lot of Parisian architecture, sculptures, glass perfume bottles, apothecary potions and illustrative work and developed our core look. We also always strive to combine nods of humor and hidden elements on all of our bottles—you can always find a mischievous cherub up to something on each line and always some cheeky copy!]

Tell me more about how you come up with different scents at home. As the product became more and more popular and you started to come up with more scent ideas, who was behind the brainstorming of different scents and how do you really come together? Who is in the lab? Who does the mixing, matching and testing?

Well, when we started it was all me. What people don't understand when they talk about smell is that we don't actually smell first. Let's go to the effectiveness first. We use essential oils to “solve the problem”. So, first, we need to choose which oils will serve as a base to actually eliminate the odor. And then we layer on top of these base oils to create new scents.

For example, lemon, limes, and orange are really strong base oils. And then we look at what's out there, what's popular. This past year, vanilla really made a comeback. We have an in-house product designer who looks at these trends and then we figure out what new scents will work for us.

One of the main things we'll never do is put out a scent that polarizes people, that people either love or hate. For example: pink.

How do you incorporate market and consumer feedback into your process? Have you ever changed or changed a product based on what consumers said or asked for?

Well, Steve Jobs once said, “Don't ask consumers what they want. They don't know.” So my usual way of developing products is by listening to what me to want, not necessarily to what they to want. With Poo-Pourri, I did it not because my bathroom stank, but because I hated other people's. I've been making essential oil products for over 30 years, so this felt like a natural fit.

But you know, it doesn't always work. For example, we tried to make an automatic Poo-Pourri unit for your toilet, like a fixture that would automatically spray after you go. Everyone told us they wanted it and finally we said, ok, we'll get it. And guess what? Nobody bought it. We lost millions of dollars. That's why you can't always do what consumers say they want, because they don't always do it.

What are you really excited about when it comes to new product launches?

Probably our women's product line: wipes, full body deodorant, wash, oils. We are very excited and plan to launch it next spring.

Any ideas for the name yet?

Well, I want to call him Puss-Pourri, but nobody will let me.