Long Island parents' invention, STAYnEAT plate, makes meals easier for their autistic son — and others

When Seth Sirota, of St. James, left his job on Wall Street two decades ago, he didn’t know he’d have ahead a business on his plate — literally.

The 57-year-old Sirota is the inventor of the STAYnEAT plate — a plastic dish inspired by difficult mealtimes with his autistic son, Matthew.

The plate is divided on one side so different foods are contained in their own sections; the other side is sloped, so liquids won’t touch the solid food — as with syrup and pancakes.

The plates also have a spill guard and suction on the bottom to keep them attached to the surface they’re placed on.

According to Sirota, the plate has become a "low-key" sensation, that's not only being used for people with autism. It's being purchased for use by any children, the elderly, people with Parkinson’s disease, and for those going camping.

"It’s hugely popular at trade shows," Sirota said. ” I don’t think anyone buying the plate would guess that this started out as a family project." He said the home-based company he founded for production of the plate — Stayware — needed to upgrade its manufacturing and distribution capabilities to meet demand.

The plates are made in New Jersey, with the first version coming out in 2015 and the current version in 2018.

"As we got off the ground, our sales were sporadic and dependent on how much of our attention and marketing dollars we were able to invest," Sirota said. "We gave away and/or marked down a ton of product and measured success more on positive reviews than positive cash flows. Consequently, our total revenue was less than $100K."

Two sizes for plate

Sirota, who along with his wife, Michele, 56, worked for Bank of New York and for different hedge funds, said there were plans to ramp up the plate business and sales by connecting with professionals who could scale the product online through various social media platforms and Stayware’s e-commerce websites.

"We also expect to increase sales to our major distributor that we connected with toward the end of last year," Sirota said. "We plan to sell upward of 7,500 units — $200K at retail by year’s end."

He added, "Our current, but not final projection for 2025, calls for $500K at retail — give or take — dependent on the final marketing budget."

The plates come in small ($24.99) and large ($29.99) sizes, and the product packaging was done by the Sirota’s 24-year-old daughter, Ilysa. She holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in package design from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Sirota, who started his career at Smith Barney and worked at New York Life Insurance Company before joining Bank of New York, said Matthew — now 21 and living in a residential program upstate — was his plate tester.

"The original idea for STAYnEAT had nothing to do with money," Sirota said. "We were fortunate to be in a good place financially. It was all about Matthew." He added, "We were watching Matthew eat one day when he was younger and having a hard time.”

Sirota said, "Something made me" sketch out two vertical lines with a diagonal line between them" and that led to a rough prototype of the plate being created that same night with Ilysa’s Model Magic modeling clay. Before then, Sirota noted, he had thought of unrelated inventions and liked to build things growing up, but this is his first creation to hit the market.

"This [mealtime] scenario was not unique to our family," Sirota said he learned. "A lot of children with autism have food sensitivities and a lot of difficulty with fine motor skills."

He was pleased to learn the plate could have other uses, he said.

Sirota’s patents include a reversible plate with two surfaces, each of which has a slope and edge — and their stickability.

Even the hit TV show for entrepreneurial pitches, "Shark Tank," reached out, Sirota said. "They actually called last year, but since I did not yet have the COVID vaccine I was unable to be on the show."

He’s working on other ideas for Stayware and another opportunity to appear on "Shark Tank."