5 Kramer Schemes From Seinfeld That Became Real Businesses

Could Kramer’s Business Ideas Work in the Real World?

The video puts five of Cosmo Kramer’s business schemes on trial, asking whether the ideas that made his friends laugh could work in the real world. The verdict: most had something to them—though Kramer didn’t always get to cash in.

5. The Coffee Table Book About Coffee Tables

Kramer actually finishes his book, which has a built-in gag: it folds out into a miniature coffee table. In 2023, a real publisher released a 48-page version credited to Cosmo Kramer. It exists, but the video notes that it works more as a novelty souvenir than as a serious book about coffee tables.

4. The Bro—or the Manssiere

Kramer pitches Frank Costanza on a support garment for men, and the two argue over what to call it. The video points to a Japanese retailer that sold a men’s bra in 2008, reportedly moving hundreds in just weeks. Kramer and Frank, it concludes, were early—and their naming dispute was not the real obstacle.

3. The Peterman Reality Tour

Kramer imagines charging people to tour the life behind J. Peterman’s stories, complete with pizza bagels, candy, and a stop to dispose of muffin stumps. The twist: the real-life Kenny Kramer, Larry David’s former neighbor and an inspiration for the character, had already been running a New York bus tour of his own life. The fictional scheme was based on a real one.

2. The Make-Your-Own-Pizza Place

Kramer’s plan has customers pounding dough, tossing it, adding toppings, and sliding it into a hot oven—prompting George to worry about people reaching into a 600-degree oven.

Modern build-your-own pizza chains such as MOD Pizza show that customers do like choosing their own toppings. But they leave the dough-flinging and oven work to the staff. Kramer got half the idea right; George’s safety objection held up.

1. The Beach Cologne

Kramer dreams up a fragrance that makes you smell as if you’ve just come back from the seaside. Calvin Klein turns him down, then a model introduces him to Ocean—leading Kramer to accuse the company of stealing his idea.

The video’s strongest real-world match is Bobbi Brown’s fragrance called Beach, which is described as a best-seller. Kramer’s concept was right; he just didn’t make the product himself.

Closing Verdict

Kramer’s ideas weren’t usually the problem. The trouble came afterward: the name, the practical details, or pitching a company that could make the idea without him.

Personalities Featured or Discussed

Cosmo Kramer, Jerry Seinfeld, Frank Costanza, Sid Farkus, Poppy, J. Peterman, Kenny Kramer, Larry David, Regis Philbin, Calvin Klein, and Bobbi Brown.