New York
CNN
—
Bring up installing a bidet to the average American before the pandemic, and they might have likely flushed the idea straightaway.
The bathroom washer business, once a foreign concept to many in the US, experienced a huge boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, when shoppers were battling over toilet paper shortages. But while some products or industries saw a boom during Covid that later came back down to earth –- say, masks, roller skates, pet adoptions, Zoom subscriptions, Peloton bikes -– bidets made a big splash and have managed to maintain sales growth.
Bidets and their product cousins – washlets, “bum guns” and other water-based alternatives to toilet paper – are universal in most parts of the world; bidet enthusiasts tout how the devices are more sustainable, clean, and less abrasive. But Americans just can’t seem to let go of the Charmin Bear. It took a toilet paper shortage for some to come around to the 18th-century invention.
During the pandemic, every single bidet sold out at bidetking.com, and the business grew exponentially, bidetking.com founder James Lin said.
The site faced a massive supply crunch, and it had to air freight costly containers to meet demands. Lin described shipments of products from abroad by water completely selling out before they even hit the warehouse.
By some estimates, the entire bidet market grew two to three times during 2020. Tushy, which makes a trendy bidet seat attachment, pulled in a revenue of $40 million in 2020 versus $8 million in 2019, founder Miki Agrawal said to CNN.
Americans are still intrigued by the bidet. Bidetking.com reports sales have grown a minimum of 20% each year since the pandemic, with 2023 closer to 30%.
A dizzying array of bidet options confront the burgeoning American consumer. Big spenders