Sherman Specialty

What Sherman Specialty does

Sherman Specialty, Inc. (doing business as Sherman Dental at shermandental.com) is a privately held US ecommerce retailer founded in 1950 that supplies dental, medical, and veterinary practices with patient-engagement and practice-promotion merchandise. Its primary buyers are individual SMB dental, orthodontic, pediatric, general medical, and veterinary offices that order affordable toys, prizes, giveaways, take-home bags, recall cards, magnets, balloons, stickers, and dental-themed novelties to build loyal patient relationships, with a more recent extension into veterinary practice merchandise under a dedicated Veterinary Essentials category. The company lists its address at 141 Eileen Way, Syosset, NY 11791 (conflicting with the firmographics-listed Colorado Springs city), and has 101–250 employees.

The product catalog spans seven categories — Bags, Dental Essentials, Veterinary Essentials, Prizes & Giveaways, Promote Your Practice, Stickers, and Clearance — covering hundreds of SKUs that range from low-cost consumables (e.g., $2.25 sticker sets, $11.88 dental rubber duck assortments) to higher-value fully custom-printed digital bags and pouches priced at roughly $589–$1,000 per unit. Underlying technology is straightforward: a Volusion-hosted SaaS ecommerce storefront with USAePay for online invoice payment, in-house digital printing for custom bags/pouches, and reselling/distribution partnerships with third-party brands including Dr. John's, ZolliPops, Disney, Spin Master (Paw Patrol), Netflix (Stranger Things), Pixar (Toy Story 5), and DC Comics. There is no public API, no app, and no AI/ML features disclosed.

The business model is direct-to-consumer ecommerce with unit-priced, pay-as-you-go billing and no subscription tiers; customers browse and order through shermandental.com or via a phone/email order line (800-645-6513, [email protected]). There are no marketplace listings, resellers, or third-party retail channels. Revenue is generated from one-time product sales (consumable goods classified as hardware sales) plus custom printing/personalization services classified as professional services. Sherman Specialty is privately held, with no disclosed funding rounds, M&A, or institutional investors in the source data.

Name

Sherman Specialty

Legal name

Sherman Specialty, Inc.

Website

https://www.shermandental.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sherman Specialty, Inc. (DBA Sherman Dental) is a privately held US ecommerce retailer, founded in 1950, that supplies dental, medical, and veterinary practices with patient-engagement novelties, customizable bags, prizes, stickers, and practice-promotion merchandise through its shermandental.com storefront.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dental Practice Supplies

NAICS

Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (45942), Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (459420), Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459)

SIC

Retail-Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores (5940), Retail-Miscellaneous Retail (5900)

akta.pro primary industry

Pop Culture, Licensed & Fandom Gifts Retail (CRALAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Seasonal & Holiday Gifts & Decor Retail (CRALAJAD)

Keywords

• Dental practice supplies
• Pediatric patient giveaways
• Practice promotion merchandise
• Custom printed bags
• Veterinary practice supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

Colorado Springs

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct product sales (one-time purchase of consumable goods): Revenue is generated through one-time sales of toys, prizes, giveaways, take-home bags, stickers, dental accessories, recall cards, magnets, customized novelties, and veterinary products. Products are sold as assortment packs, canisters, or individual items with publicly listed unit prices.
2. Custom printing and personalization services: Higher-priced customized products such as fully custom digital printed bags, pharmacy bags, and imprinted bags (with practice names/branding) command premium prices (e.g., $589.74-$1,000.09 per item) compared to non-personalized equivalents, reflecting added customization services on top of base product sale.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sherman Specialty, Inc. (DBA Sherman Dental) imports and sells affordable toys, prizes, giveaways, take-home bags, stickers, magnets, recall cards, and customizable practice-promotion merchandise to dental, medical, and veterinary practices through its own e-commerce storefront at shermandental.com. The catalog spans hundreds of SKUs organized into Bags, Dental Essentials, Veterinary Essentials, Prizes & Giveaways, Promote Your Practice, Stickers, and Clearance categories. Higher-priced fully custom digitally printed bags and pouches offer personalized practice branding on top of the base product offering.

Product overview

Sherman Specialty, Inc. (operating as Sherman Dental at shermandental.com) is a single ecommerce storefront — not a multi-product platform — that sells affordable toys, prizes, giveaways, bags, stickers, and practice-promotion supplies to dental, orthodontic, pediatric, general medical, and veterinary practices. The offering is organized as a unified catalog of themed product categories rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The named product categories — Bags (Non Personalized, Paper, Personalized, Pharmacy, Pouches, Scatter Bags), Dental Essentials (Dental Accessories, Dental Stickers, Mirrors, Pens, Sand Timers, Toothsavers), Veterinary Essentials, Prizes & Giveaways (Candy, Canister Mixes, Crafts, Fun Toys subdivided into Animals, Balls & Poppers, Bubbles & Squirters, Dental Theme, Games & Puzzles, Sticky & Stretchy, Transportation, Jewelry, Pencils & Coloring, Sunglasses, Individually Wrapped, Treasure Toys, Vending), Promote Your Practice (Balloons, Custom Giveaways, Magnets, Office Decorations, Recall Cards, Timers), Stickers (Dental, Licensed, Patient, Tattoos, Value Assortments), and Clearance — collectively form the company's single online catalog under the Sherman Dental brand. The storefront is built on the Volusion ecommerce platform and supports customer accounts, invoice payment via USAePay, and an e-newsletter subscription.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bags Take-home bags for dental, medical, and veterinary practices, including non-personalized bags (large and small), paper bags, personalized bags (full custom, large, small), pharmacy bags, pouches (non-personalized and personalized), and scatter bags.
• Dental Essentials Dental-themed practice supplies encompassing dental accessories (tooth banks, toothpaste squeezers), dental stickers, hand mirrors, tooth-themed pens, sand/brushing timers, and tooth savers for pediatric and general dental offices.
• Veterinary Essentials Veterinary practice supplies including pet-themed bags, paper bags, pharmacy paper bags, licensed character stickers (Paw Patrol, DC Super Pets, Palace Pets), animal canister mixes, and puppy/kitten patient stickers for veterinary clinics.
• Prizes & Giveaways Affordable toy, prize, and giveaway assortments for pediatric, orthodontic, and general dental and medical practices, including candy, canister mixes, crafts, fun toys, jewelry, pencils & coloring, sunglasses, individually wrapped items, treasure chest toys, and vending capsules.
• Promote Your Practice Marketing and practice-promotion items for dental and medical offices, including balloons, custom giveaways, magnets, office decorations, recall cards (non-personalized 4 UP and personalized postcards), and office timers.
• Stickers Sticker assortments for patient giveaways and rewards, categorized into dental-themed stickers, licensed character stickers, patient recognition stickers, temporary tattoos, and value assortments.
• Clearance Discounted items across bags (large and small), dental essentials, office decorations, pencils & coloring, recall cards, stickers, and toys.
• Fully Custom Digital Printed Bags Higher-priced customized and personalized bag and pouch products with practice names/branding applied via in-house digital printing, sold at premium prices ($589.74-$1,000.09 per item) compared to non-personalized equivalents.

Quantifiable outcome

• Catalog established since 1950 — over 75 years of continuous operation serving dental and medical professionals
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VolusioncoreTechnology or IntegrationVolusion is the SaaS ecommerce platform powering the Sherman Specialty / Sherman Dental storefront (shermandental.com). The site footer states 'Ecommerce by Volusion', and the platform provides the shopping cart, account management, order tracking, and product catalog functionality the business depends on.
• USAePaycoreTechnology or IntegrationUSAePay is the payment processor used by Sherman Specialty for online invoice payments. A 'Pay Invoice' link routes to a secure.usaepay.com interface, allowing business customers to settle invoices electronically.
• Dr. John's Healthy SweetsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSherman Specialty resells Dr. John's branded xylitol-based hard candy, fruit pops, and tooth-shaped pops (Classic Fruit Collection, Berry Swirl Tooth Shaped Pops, Fruit Pops, etc.) as part of its candy assortment for dental practices.
• ZolliPopsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSherman Specialty lists ZolliPops Assorted Fruit Flavor Lollipops in its candy assortment category (JV522).
• Disney (licensed character line)minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSherman Specialty sells Disney-licensed stickers (Disney Smile Stickers, Frozen Dental Stickers, Finding Nemo Dental Stickers, Disney's Palace Pets Stickers, Cars Dental Sticker) and Sponge Bob Squarepants With Toothbrush Stickers for pediatric dental patients.
• Spin Master / Paw Patrol (licensed property)minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSherman Specialty sells Paw Patrol-themed products (Paw Patrol Stickers, Paw Patrol Movie Stickers, Paw Patrol Movie 2 toy) targeted at both dental and veterinary practices.
• Netflix / Stranger Things (licensed property)minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSherman Specialty sells a Stranger Things 'Tales from 85' licensed product (PS825) as part of its novelty/toy assortment.
• Disney / Pixar (Toy Story 5 licensed property)minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSherman Specialty sells a Toy Story 5 licensed product (PS823) within its toy assortment for pediatric dental patients.
• DC ComicsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSherman Specialty sells DC Comics-branded merchandise (DC Comics 51 mm Foam Balls, DC Super Pets Stickers) as part of its fun toy and veterinary product lines.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Patterson Dental: Patterson Dental is a large, broad-line dental supply distributor serving practices with equipment, consumables, and front-office merchandise. It is a broad incumbent whose practice-promotion and small-SKU catalog overlaps with parts of Sherman's offering while operating at far greater scale across other dental categories.
• Young Dental (part of Envista): Young Dental, now part of Envista's KaVo Kerr portfolio, sells preventive dental products and consumables to practices. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the dental SMB supply chain with overlap on consumable SKUs that practices reorder alongside novelties.
• Benco Dental: Benco Dental is a full-service dental distributor offering supplies, equipment, and practice-management resources to dental offices. Comparable as a broad incumbent selling into the same dental practice buyer, with overlapping but non-specialized pediatric merchandise offerings.
• Henry Schein Dental: Henry Schein is the largest dental supply distributor in North America, serving practices with a comprehensive catalog. It is a broad incumbent alternative channel that competes for the same dental-practice wallet, including on consumables and small practice-merchandise items.

Direct peers

• Practicon: Practicon sells dental practice supplies and patient-education/engagement products directly to dental offices, including novelty and consumable items. It is comparable to Sherman in the dental SMB self-serve catalog motion and front-office merchandise mix.
• Midway Dental Supply: Midway Dental Supply is an independent dental distributor offering consumables and patient-communication/practice-merchandise items to dental practices. It overlaps Sherman on SMB dental ordering patterns and online catalog dynamics, though with a broader consumables mix.
• Richmond Dental and Medical: Richmond Dental manufactures and distributes cotton, sponge, and disposable dental consumables plus a range of practice merchandise. It overlaps Sherman on the dental SMB supply motion and consumable/SKU breadth, though with greater depth in disposables rather than novelty toys.
• SmileMakers: SmileMakers is the closest direct competitor, selling pediatric dental patient giveaways, treasure chest toys, stickers, and practice-promotion items to dental offices — overlapping Sherman's core assortment and SMB dental buyer base nearly identically.

Emerging players

• Zollipops: Zollipops is a small, dentist-friendly confection brand (xylitol lollipops) sold both direct-to-consumer and via dental distributors including Sherman itself. It is comparable as a dental-channel specialty novelty/engagement brand overlapping Sherman's candy assortment category.
• Dr. John's Healthy Sweets: Dr. John's is a xylitol-based candy brand sold through dental channels as a tooth-friendly giveaway. It is comparable to Sherman as another specialty dental-channel novelty supplier, with overlap specifically on the candy/sugar-free engagement assortment Sherman resells.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sherman Specialty