An influencer proved a point about how easy it is to get drugged on a night out.
Shirah Benarde, who co-founded a company called NightCap that sells scrunchies that protects from drinking spiking, made a TikTok last month where she put candy in her friends’ drinks when they weren’t looking.
The 21-year-old’s goal was to raise awareness about drink spiking and teach everyone to be careful when they are out consuming alcohol.
“‘Spiking my friends’ drinks with candy to show them how easy it is…,” she wrote at the start of the video.
The minute-long footage featured clips of Benarde dropping or even squeezing candy into people’s drinks while they were distracted from being on their phones or talking to other people.
“Drink spiking most likely happens by someone you know…think about what’s going on with Diddy right now,” she wrote on the video, referring to the criminal sex charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“Pregames and private parties are a false sense of security,” Benarde also wrote. “You don’t expect anything to happen but it does.”
At one point in the video, Benarde hugged one of her friends as she sneakily shoved a piece of candy into his High Noon can.
Benarde also pointed out that even water can be spiked with drugs and that men get roofied too.
“Doesn’t matter if you’re drinking out of a can or battle,” she added. “Always watch the bartender make your drink.”
“And never leave your drink unattended with or without a NightCap,” the end of the video said.
Benarde captioned her video, “With everything going on with #diddy right now, this is do important to remember. Do not let your guard down even at a private party. #diddyparty #drinkspikingprevention #spiked.”
In the comments section, some people shared their own stories of times that they were drugged at parties or bars.
“I’ve had this happen to me. I blacked out and almost hurt someone really bad. I came to 18hrs later not having a single memory of what happened only people telling me what I did,” one person said.
Another TikToker said Benarde’s video was “a fun way to teach your friends to pay attention to their drinks.”
Benarde co-founded NightCap with her brother Michael. The duo made Forbes’ 2024 Under 30 Retail & Ecommerce list for their innovative scrunchies.
In January, Benarde told Forbes the idea for the scrunchies was born in 2019 after her friend was roofied at a college bar.
“We surveyed 100 women when we started the company and 26% of them said they had their drinks spiked,” she shared. “Realizing that it was a problem, that’s how we market it now: It’s a fun solution to a serious problem.”
The siblings ended up on “Shark Tank” in 2021 and Lori Greneir offered them $60,000 for 25% of the business. Singer-songwriter Julia Michaels later invested $100,000 into the company for 10% ownership, according to Forbes.
In 2023, the business reportedly brought in $2 million in revenue.
Benarde told Forbes she’s working on NightCap creating partnerships with music festivals and bars to continue to keep people safe.
