Omigo: On a Mission to Create a Bidet Culture in the United States

Abstract

This case is about North Carolina-based Omigo, a bidet manufacturing startup co-founded in 2017 by the father–son duo of Tom Lotrecchiano, Sr. and Tom Lotrecchiano, Jr. According to experts, the market size of bidets could grow at a rate of more than 5% between 2020 and 2026 globally. Within the United States, during the COVID-19 pandemic, bidet manufacturing companies reported a significant increase in sales. This exponential growth largely occurred due to the scarcity of toilet paper rolls. Although bidets are culturally unacceptable to U.S. consumers, the co-founders of Omigo believed that they could make this shift to bidets by U.S. consumers a permanent feature. Students are asked to frame strategies to help the co-founders bring this cultural change to the United States. How can they achieve this goal? Going forward, in what directions should they focus their innovation efforts?