An innovation is born: new mom pitches baby bottle monitor on Shark Tank

When Veon Brewster, a computer science Ph.D. student, first became a mom, she quickly realized how demanding and stressful it was to keep her son nourished. She breastfed him but oftentimes had to express her milk via a pump in order to run errands and, a few months later, go back to work full-time as a user experience researcher for Google.

Her new worry: tracking the expiration of that bottled breastmilk to ensure it remained fresh for consumption.

This very real problem inspired Brewster to create Veba Baby, a baby bottle monitor that tracks temperature and expiration in real time. Established in partnership with her husband, Sean, Veba Baby leverages technology and health data to give parents peace of mind regarding their baby’s milk intake. 

The only such device on the market, Veba Baby was recently featured on Shark Tank, one of the nation’s best-rated reality TV shows.

Although Brewster didn’t make a deal with the sharks, Veba Baby hopes to benefit from the “Shark Tank Effect” which holds that simply appearing on the show, even without getting an offer, has the potential to significantly boost sales for companies. In fact, some entrepreneurs have reported 10- to 20-fold increases in daily revenues after the show's airing.

Brewster knew she was taking a risk pitching her product only two weeks after Veba Baby officially launched but, as she says with a laugh, “When Shark Tank comes calling, you don’t say no!”

Being on Shark Tank was not only thrilling, but greatly informative as well.

“Lori really understood and appreciated the Veba Baby monitor,” says Brewster. “She told us it will be a very useful product for first-time parents.”

Mark Cuban also provided solid advice on packaging the monitor and succeeding in the retail space. “We had a great dialogue about it and he learned that moms spend from four to six hours a day pumping!”

One of the most surprising things she realized about her entrepreneurial journey is how far society still needs to go to better understand the realities of new mothers, especially those who simultaneously hold down a job.

“I don’t think many people get how hard it can be to breastfeed a child while working, having to excuse yourself every few hours to pump and the pain we experience when we don’t pump on time,” says Brewster. “During my pitches to investors and venture capital firms, I am confronted with having to explain motherhood to my mostly male audience. Getting them to really understand why my product is such a godsend for new moms can often be a challenge.” It is estimated that between 75 and 85 percent of mothers use a breast pump.

Although Veba Baby is still early in its journey, Brewster is excited for the next steps.

Having officially launched Veba Baby in August 2023, Brewster recently met with StartUP FIU co-founder and director Robert Hacker to learn about federal grants available that will allow her to continue funding research & development and building more of her baby bottle monitors.

“Becoming a new mom inspired Veon to stretch her innovative mind and design a unique, technologically savvy solution that efficiently tracks infant feedings,” says Hacker. “Working with creative and entrepreneurial students like Veon is always a joy.”