'We made a revolutionary product which is a night incense stick.'
'It leaves the room so fragrant'
'- and automatically puts you in a romantic mood. - Gosh!'
'Sharks, we have many flavours for you all.'
'Like Romance, Classic Love, Extreme Fun.'
'Which Shark are you hinting at?'
'The one in dire need of extreme fun!'
'First, a quality check is performed.'
'The drug should match the order number.'
'The machine starts making packets then.'
'Every packet has the name of the drug, the time'
- '- and the date printed on it. - Excellent.'
'Our concept is simple.'
'To make food for different brands using the same ingredient.'
'So that wastage is minimum'
'and customer satisfaction is maximum.'
- '- The taste is nice. - Very nice.'
'What are your current sales?'
'We have clocked Rs. 4.1 crores of revenue.'
'Rs. 70 lakhs in 7 months.'
'We'll make you an offer.'
- '- All five Sharks on board. - A five-Shark deal.'
'May we discuss it?'
'It's a five-Shark deal which is extremely rare.'
'The company that took the five-Shark deal last season'
- '- is on the top. Just imagine.' - They have gone off the charts!'
'Please make a decision.'
[theme music plays]
[theme music fades]
- Hi, Sharks. - Hello.
Every mother has a common problem each morning.
"What meal do I pack for lunch?"
And mornings are usually so chaotic
that you pack bread-jam,
noodles and chips, which are all unhealthy foods.
Once the kids go to school, you're overcome with guilt.
"I wish I had packed some nutritious snack."
GladFul is here to rid you of that guilt.
[music playing]
Hi, Sharks. My name is Parul.
And I'm a mother to two very cute kids.
We're from Jaipur and we're the cofounders of GladFul.
[music playing]
GladFul is India's first family-friendly protein brand.
We offer power-packed protein cookies,
It is because 73% of Indians are protein deficient.
We believe that two bowls of dal
fulfil our daily protein requirement.
But that's not true.
If your child weighs 30 kilos,
then he needs 30 to 40 grams of protein daily.
To meet this need, we bring protein to the kids
and to their parents.
If parents notice that their kids are slightly hungry,
they can rest assured
because every serve of GladFul contains 4 to 6 grams of protein.
gets approval by a strong community of 350 mothers.
We wish to make products
that Indian families eat on a daily basis
and are habituated to.
We aim at making the nation protein sufficient
and building a strong India.
so that every Indian mother feels glad with GladFul.
Alright.
Manu and Parul, welcome to Shark Tank.
- Did you do your schooling there? - We studied in the same school.
- Oh. - I pursued B.A. honours in Economics
and went on to pursue MBA.
- After which I worked in Cadbury for 15 years. - Wow!
I launched quite a few products and filmed a few ads.
Were you a brand manager or a category manager?
When I joined the marketing team in 2010,
I was the brand manager
for Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk and Bournville.
- Wow! I love Silk. - I was...
- Yes? It's a fantastic product. - One of my favourite chocolates...
After that, I managed Cadbury's Gems portfolio
as well as their kids' portfolio.
My dream brand was Cadbury Dairy Milk.
And then I became senior brand manager for it.
I moved on to being category manager, chocolates,
where quite a few brands like 5 Star, Celebrations,
and the gifting portfolio were under me.
Amazing experience.
What have you done, Manu? What's your background?
- Sharks, I'm a Chartered Accountant by academic background. - Oh, my!
Sir, I've done audits for you earlier.
- Really? - In CarDekho. Yes.
Tell us his secrets.
[unanimous laughter]
Tell us everything today.
It was the coolest office during 2013-14.
- It had foosball and gaming... - CarDekho?
- Yes, sir. - Wow!
- Last year. - We quit last year.
We spent around 9 months conducting research.
We launched the product in January.
Did it come up somewhere? What happened?
I used to be at home after 2019.
I had always been a career woman before that.
At that time, my kids were 6 and 9 years.
My elder son was 9 years.
He sustained fractures and cuts one after the other
and they took a long time to heal.
The pediatrician asked me a couple of times,
"What are you doing for protein? Do you know how much is required?"
So, I looked up a protein calculator on the internet
and made a note of it daily.
5 grams from a glass of milk.
- 4 grams... - It must not have been more than 15 grams.
His requirement was 44 grams
- whereas we were giving him 20 grams. - Ah!
I realised I had made a grave mistake.
I resided in Jain Society.
I spoke to my neighbours and friends
and began calculating
the protein intake of their children.
I realised this was a widespread problem.
And I identified the opportunity.
They try not to give them cookies, chips and other bad food.
They feed them natural foods like eggs and dal.
This is another challenge in this industry, right?
Our community of 350 mothers
is aware that children will eat healthy food on three occasions.
They will eat healthy food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
And in between, there are two to three occasions
when kids ask for a snack.
It's unavoidable frankly speaking.
- Products like chips and cookies fall under that category. - Correct.
Our intent is to provide taste on those couple of occasions,
and why not consume 4 grams of protein while you're at it?
I understood her trigger point. What about you?
I'm just 28, sir, and I was diagnosed with diabetes.
- At such an early age. - Yes, sir.
That was a very alarming time for me.
Are lower protein levels linked to diabetes?
- Lower protein automatically means high carbohydrates. - Right.
High carbohydrates mean high sugar.
Ultimately, that is linked to diabetes.
When I was detected with diabetes, I said I needed to do this.
That's why I joined Parul.
- I'll show you the products. - Okay.
I like the box. It's lovely.
Ultimately, it'll go in a lunch box.
- So, we thought why not? - I like burgers.
Unfortunately, Aman, it doesn't contain burgers.
I want the dog.
So, is one cookie sufficient?
No. One serve is. One serve comprises two cookies.
The boxes are not ours.
Can you tell me what I am eating?
This is a chocolate chip cookie, sir.
What are these small items?
- They are orange minis. - Mini cookies.
- None of them contain maida. - No.
- No maida at all.
- No cholesterol. - What's it made of?
Whole wheat flour, ma'am.
- Show us the packaging as well. - Sure.
[pleasant music playing]
The cheela is good.
Yes, your products are nice and taste good.
Thank you so much.
Is this only for kids? Can't I eat it?
You absolutely can.
The cheela contains 8 to 9 grams of protein per serve.
[pleasant music playing]
What would you like?
- Whatever you'll serve. - We'll take you.
- This looks good. - I'm not available.
[laughs]
I really liked the cheela.
- Yes, I loved the cheela. - Thank you.
Have you made the recipe?
I am not the only chef.
We're working with an experienced chef.
- Really? - Nothing so far tasted bad.
- I like everything. - Thank you for the seal of approval. Thank you.
This is a pack of ten cookies and costs Rs. 150.
So, one cookie will cost me Rs. 15.
Similarly, how much is Good Day priced at?
- I think one-fifth the price. - So, Rs. 3 for one cookie.
Quite a significant price difference for being healthy.
- It is quite significant. - Got it.
I wish to understand your brand strategy.
This is not cookie clutter breaking packaging, right?
It's similar.
If I go to any shop,
all the brands have a similar vibe and similar colour tonality.
They all look the same. Did you conduct any studies on this?
We designed these boxes in this fashion because we know
that our business will be online in the foreseeable future.
We have borrowed some codes from this category.
The look of the cookie and the flat colour
on the box conveys that this is like regular cookies.
The consumer should not feel
that protein cookies are a completely different product.
Can you tell us the market size of protein cookies?
The protein cookie market is very small and non-existent.
- Rough figure. Any idea? - It's just about starting, sir.
There are many companies in the western market
that solely focus on protein
and make a revenue of Rs. 1000 crores.
Let's talk about sales. Can you tell us about your sales?
Very good.
Through which channel mostly?
Quick commerce is a big opportunity for food especially.
A really big opportunity.
Give us your unit economics.
- Yes, sir. - Yes.
In the food category!
I've rarely seen anyone burn cash in this category.
Their EBITDA is 7 to 8%.
[dramatic music]
I want to be out.
Maybe I'm not the best partner in this category right now.
But great work, great cookies and great presentation.
We'll give you an offer.
Namita and I will give you an offer.
We gave you a valuation
of two and a half times your current sales.
[suspenseful music]
- You already raised a round. - Yes, sir.
I want to grow my company into Rs. 500 crore company within 5 years.
I have an offer for you.
[dramatic music]
Our performance has been impressive in the last 8 to 9 months.
Your burn rate is high.
We haven't listed the existing business on quick-commerce yet.
Last month's sales of Rs. 20 lakhs
will increase to Rs. 30 lakhs to Rs. 35 lakhs by December in no time.
There's an immense opportunity
so I request you to reconsider your offer if possible.
To be honest,
I didn't want to make an offer as I had a problem with the taste.
[dramatic music]
I felt that giving you a valuation of Rs. 5 crores is unfair to you.
I wanted to increase your valuation to Rs. 13 crores.
[dramatic music]
I have an offer too.
[thrilling music]
Rs. 50 lakhs for 3.5% equity.
[thrilling music]
We didn't know you already received funding
when we made an offer so we'll make a revised offer.
As we are two Sharks investing together,
I did my work. Now I'm out of this deal.
You may choose from two good offers.
I wish you all the best.
Why are you out?
She has got two offers at the right valuation.
[thrilling music]
I want to tell you a few things.
Your knowledge of Cadbury
will be beneficial in brand building.
You just need to get knowledge of online sales.
We will teach you how to crack online marketplaces.
It's no big deal.
[dramatic music]
When you tell your investors that Aman and Namita joined you,
they'll be like, "wow! You have done the best thing."
When you tell them that Amit is the investor,
they'll be assured of business growth in terms of unit economics.
- Yes! - "We are getting both health expert and brand builder."
As you studied my books,
you know that I grow businesses in terms of unit economics.
I think both of you said enough. Parul, please make a decision.
[sweeping music]
If you want to grow your business, choose me. I'm being forthright.
[dramatic music]
- Naman... I'm sorry. Namita... - You may call us Naman.
[laughing] Namita and Aman is Naman.
Team Naman, I request you
because I need your expertise.
Can you please join Amit in his offer?
- You mean you want the three of us to come together. - Yes.
[dramatic music]
- Please agree. - Come on!
Let's do it.
So we accept the offer.
- I'm glad you got a 'GladFul' deal. - Thank you!
[bubbling]
[ethereal music]
This is a chaotic medicine box
- which can be found in every Indian house. - That's true.
The elderly in our families read the doctor's prescription daily
to take their medicines
and try to guess
the timing of each medicine.
40% elderly depend on a caretaker
to take their medicines
in the right manner, at the right time
and in the right quantity.
So Pharmallama
found an innovative solution to this problem.
Nice.
Hello, Sharks! I'm Achintya Dayal from Bengaluru.
I'm Arjun and I'm also from Bengaluru.
Sharks, many pharmacies in India
deliver medicine online
but their service is limited to delivering medicines.
Pharmallama takes it one step ahead.
They give a pillbox.
Yes, exactly!
is to replace the chaotic medicine box
with Pharmallama smart pillbox in every Indian household.
- Nice. - Our ask
- every house will have Pharmallama! - Pharmallama!
Sharks, with your permission, we want to give a simple app demo.
Please go on.
Sharks, a customer or a patient
can easily start this.
For example, we have Rajeshwari Rajpal's prescription.
They just have to click a clear photo
of their prescription
and upload it to our system.
As you can see, I have already added a few patients.
Let me add Ms. Rajeshwari.
Now I submitted it finally.
As soon as it was uploaded,
and as soon as they get an order,
The best part of Pharmallama is,
you don't have to buy the whole strip if you need 7 days' medicines.
You have to pay for the medicines for just 7 days.
- That's good. It causes a lot of waste. - That's nice.
After getting the order, they use a tablet
in all Indian languages.
It's a QC machine
which does 100% automated quality control.
and they are designed for hospitals in foreign countries.
Their throughput is to make one order in 20 minutes to 25 minutes.
We scrapped the technology layer and remade it.
Now we can proudly say
that we dispense 25 orders in 1 hour from a single machine.
Did you do hardware innovation too?
[motivational music]
We got this idea in mid-2019
- when my mom was diagnosed with kidney failure. - Sorry!
Basically, the reason they gave
was that the overdose of the medicines
taken by her affected her kidney.
We felt frustrated.
We found a solution
and we decided to staple all her medicines in a pouch
and left it for her before going to work.
Later, we realised that we can make an automated version too.
After interacting with more people, we came to know
that patients with Alzheimer's, cancer
and tuberculosis
generally face this problem.
They contacted ACG and discussed with them
and I felt it was perfect
because they are the largest manufacturers of packaging machines.
If we want to grow this in India
and improve the throughput of these machines
Did you discuss this with ACG Pam Pac?
- Yes! - Yes!
Who are they?
ACG Pam Pac makes automation machines for packaging.
Right!
Associated Capsules Group.
They are the largest manufacturers of films and foils.
They are considered the second-largest in the world
in the technology of packing medicines.
How much money did you get?
We raised Rs. 5 crores initially.
Who owns the IP?
ACG Pam Pac or you?
We have a joint MOU
Machines are expensive.
Ma'am, we are a suitable version of PillPack for India.
We want to give you some samples
to show you how it feels.
Yes. Please show us.
[ethereal music]
First, tell me why you chose this symbol and Pharmallama as your name.
Generally, we don't smile when we see a medicine box.
So sweet!
So we decided to have a mascot
so that you get a recall value when you take out the medicines.
- You may also place it on your dining table too. - Okay.
Suppose I'm Tata 1mg.
PillPack can sell in India, right?
I'll approach PillPack
and get the machine from them. Can they give the machine?
Sir, they can definitely give the machine
but the backward optimisation done by us...
No. What difference will it make?
No. PillPack won't give the machine because Amazon owns it.
Then Amazon can buy it for themselves.
Amazon never sell machines.
They'd never give their technology to others
- because they deal in Pharmacy. - That's right.
If they need the machine,
they'd have to buy hospital machines and redevelop this technology.
How much will it cost?
The packaging cost is surprisingly,
just Rs. 20 per order.
and the packets inside it cost Rs. 20 in total.
No, sir. Actually, the other box is meant only for Shark Tank.
Okay, it's for me. Thank you!
How much does the cost of the medicines increase
after these processes?
That's the best part.
People get discounts in India.
[tense music]
The thing is,
though it has now been reduced,
a 20% to 25% discount was given in India on online pharmacies.
Now it has reduced to 15%.
If you aren't giving a 15% discount,
it means you are 15% more expensive.
My dad takes medicines
so I'd be happy with this solution
and I'd be ready to pay for it.
As soon as my dad comes to know that it was purchased on MRP,
he'd ask me to order it from the place that gave a 25% discount.
Exactly!
Why are you selling it on MRP?
If you sell at a lesser price, will you bear a loss?
No. Sir, we can sell it at a reduced price.
We are in discussion with numerous manufacturers.
Manufacturers spend
around 20% to 25% on the packaging of medicines.
After reaching a level, we'd buy medicines from them in canisters.
It'd help extend our margin.
- Correct! - Around 15% to 20%.
Our margin will increase to become 48%.
- In that case... - It's a long shot.
They also need to do investment in CAPEX to change their packaging.
They already export them in drums.
Are the manufacturers ready to give medicines?
- Yes, sir. - Some manufacturers are ready to invest
and they want
to join our model at a bigger level.
I'm interested in your round and your company too.
I have a few questions.
Firstly, what is your customer acquisition cost?
[suspenseful music]
It's around Rs. 870 to Rs. 900.
- Correct! - What's your retention till now?
91%.
Sir, more than 5,000 customers.
Alright. Retention means
the customers who bought from you five months ago
are still your customers. The subscription is still continuing.
How much time do you need to recover Rs. 900?
We can recover Rs. 800 to Rs. 900
in five orders easily.
Five! Do you have an estimate of the lifetime value of the customer?
Any patient will be associated with us
for 4 to 5 years at least.
- Unless the medicine... - Let's assume it to be three years.
What will be the customer's average value for three years?
Rs. 42,000.
Rs. 42,000. So that's not a problem.
Sorry! What are your sales figures?
We launched it for the common people just four months ago.
Did you lock in the machine's supply?
Yes. We signed three years exclusivity deal.
Do you pay rent for the machine or is it free?
We pay a nominal rent per month.
It's good. These are expensive machines.
You gave 51% equity to ACG Pam Pac.
When financial investor enters the scene,
they won't understand how to earn money. Is it true?
[tense music]
No. Actually, we are generating a lot of interest.
We already have a solid term sheet with us.
What are the details?
We can't reveal their name
but we bagged a term sheet
from India's largest e-commerce player.
But it's strategic, right?
[sweeping music]
Sir, it's a strategic offer but we are raising a round
in which more VCs will participate.
What is the valuation of the round?
Rs. 45 crores.
So what do you want from us?
Sir, our ask
is Rs. 1 crore for 1.5% equity
and use your D2C expertise
and marketing mechanisms
to make it accessible
to the common people.
Your brands have already done that
and we want to learn these from you and implement them too.
I'll give you an offer but you must make a decision quickly.
- Do you want Rs. 1 crore? - Yes, sir.
Sir, can we hear the offers of all the Sharks?
- Yes. - If you give us permission.
You are a good boy!
Anupam, what offer did you give?
I offered them what they wanted.
Let's give a combined offer instead of fighting with others.
- Our percentage will reduce. - We'll increase the amount.
- Okay. - Rs. 2 crores for 5% equity.
Anupam, let's make a five-Shark deal.
[suspenseful music]
Let's discuss this.
We have an offer.
We'll give you Rs. 2 crores instead of Rs. 1 crore as we need
1% equity to each. We'll give Rs. 2 crores instead of Rs. 1 crore.
[suspenseful music]
Rs. 2 crores for 5% means it's Rs. 5 crores less than the base value.
Boss, all five Sharks want to invest.
[suspenseful music]
What's your decision?
Sir, we have a counteroffer.
The one who closed the five-Shark deal in the last season
- is going places. - They are off the charts.
[dramatic music]
ACG Pam Pac is one of our biggest suppliers. Okay?
For packaging machines. So you can imagine that we have been
doing integration for the last 12 years.
Anupam can open the door to investors and help you put
the deal together by helping you deal with strategic investors.
[sweeping music]
How you give discounts on medicines
will play a key factor.
Please be quick! Finish it off!
[dramatic music]
Let's do a deal.
- Deal done! - Deal done! Thank you!
- Alright! - Woo-hoo!
- Five-Shark deal! - Boss, it's real work.
- It's my favourite as the hardware and software... - Thank you so much.
Thank you so much, sir!
You have me and the other four are free.
[laughing]
[theme music plays]
[theme music fades]
Sharks, this is the era
of specialised restaurants and cloud kitchens.
One for burgers, one for momos and other chains that sell pizzas.
This leads to kitchens being unproductive.
Don't ask about cravings!
They change with every passing hour.
That's why every restaurant has a variety of dishes on its menu.
Owing to that, there's a surplus of food at the end of the day.
We thought of killing two birds with one stone.
That gave rise to a cloud kitchen brand
that prevents wastage of food as well as fulfils your cravings.
Greetings, Sharks. I am Subhabrata Ganguly.
Crave Raja Foods is a Kolkata-based cloud kitchen chain
and stuffed omelettes for breakfast?
What if I crave a nutritious protein meal in the afternoon?
What do we eat after the party?
So that wastage is minimum
and customer satisfaction is maximum.
Very interesting.
A restaurant loses 5 to 6% due to wastage.
Whereas our wastage is merely 1 to 2%.
We want to be India's largest crave-worthy food services
cloud kitchen brand.
We want to set up 6 to 7 cloud kitchens in the next one year
with multiple brands in each of them.
- Sharks, should we order something for you quickly? - Yes, please.
Delivery!
Aman gets fried chicken.
We've given Anupam...
- Nawabi Chicken Tikka Burrito without cheese. - Yes.
We've given Amit corn-cheese mushroom sandwich.
Namita has been given a half and half pizza.
One half is Fungi Forest
and the other half is Farm Fresh Deluxe.
Peyush, you, too, have received the half and half pizza.
One half is Paneer Tikka and the other half is Corn and Mushroom.
[uplifting music playing]
I really like the taste of your Corn and Mushroom Sandwich.
- The taste is nice. - Very nice.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- The pizza is good. - Very good.
Thank you.
Tell me something. Kolkata is a very interesting city.
- Were you born and brought up there and hail from there or... - No.
- I hail from a small city called Bardhaman... - Okay.
Which is 120 km from Kolkata.
I completed my twelfth in 2012.
Then I went to St. Xavier's College in Kolkata to pursue Math Honours.
Nice.
But I didn't fare well.
[chuckles]
So, I gave the entrance test for Economics at Presidency University.
- I got through. - Wow!
He also got through.
We both went to the same college.
He must have spoken to me thrice in three years
as he was the topper kind.
- Topper kind! - Yes.
We started bonding during our masters.
We both got a placement in the same company.
- In Bengaluru. - Bengaluru.
That is where we first saw
how a start-up founder behaves.
Their interaction was like a close-knit family.
- You were inspired by your founder. - Yes.
We thought the hierarchy in the office
we would join would be very strict.
But over there, we realised
that founders, too, can be extremely chilled out.
I told him we should do something.
Let's take something back from Bengaluru.
We were looking for sectors.
We used to order from a place called BOX8.
- Yes. - Yes, BOX8.
During office hours, I opened up a new tab and began searching
who the founder of BOX8 was
and how many orders they fulfilled.
I was startled to see a figure of 1 million orders.
- Which meant the market was huge! - Yes.
And the market in Kolkata had still not been explored.
Interesting.
Call it host kitchen or cloud kitchen,
- it wasn't so relevant. - Hmm.
Then we made a plan.
I told him I'll go to Kolkata and you come after a while.
I took a small place on rent and a job in Kolkata and went there.
We started off with four staff
and a kitchen.
When did you both quit your jobs?
I put down my papers last month.
You resigned now!
The company is bootstrapped till date.
The salaries we receive are pumped into the business.
You work for a Kolkata company.
- We work in the same company. - Same company.
Have you quit your job or not?
I have not resigned from my job yet
because I have a lot of crowdfunding to repay first.
Do you go to office or work from home?
No, I work from home.
So, you work for Crave Raja
- and draw a salary from that company. - Exactly.
I will announce work from office in my company starting tomorrow.
There you go. I've been saying it all along.
Hang on. You're saying all this on national TV.
- Yes. - They'll fire you.
No. When we started working,
we ensured the compliance bit was taken care of.
Do you get the time to do both?
- For the last 2 years, we've worked for 16 to 17 hours. - A day.
As of now, where does the business stand? What are your sales?
Since inception, that is September 2020 until yesterday,
we have clocked Rs. 4.1 crores of revenue.
Last month, we clocked Rs. 19.5 lakhs.
Net profit was 3.5%.
we kept our prices very low.
Secondly, Swiggy and Zomato are extremely competitive marketplaces.
New market players are compelled to give higher discounts.
- Your revenue last month was Rs. 20 lakhs. - Hmm.
Could you also cite your expenses for us, please?
Basically, the revenue of Rs. 20 lakhs or 19.5 lakhs,
is post discount.
- When business expands... - Exactly.
- Exactly. It will decrease. - That will go down.
You know, from your perspective, when you use the same ingredients,
of course, there are benefits.
But from a customer's perspective, how are your products different?
Okay, we change the menu.
We had a pizza called Hariyali Tikka Pizza.
It sold like hotcakes and then the sales slacked.
We took it off the menu and replaced it with Malai Tikka.
And that gained demand.
We used to experiment on a regular basis.
Domino's Pizza is the biggest player.
They had an inherent problem which a customer called us about.
They wanted a large pizza
and they couldn't get cheese burst anywhere.
If you check Domino's menu,
- you won't get cheese burst in a large sized-pizza. - Medium.
- Correct, it's medium. - Exactly.
In large pizzas, our cheese burst
- was... - Cheese burst was very popular.
That raised our ticket value.
Tell us the price of all four brands.
- We have 10,000 reviews on Zomato as of now. - Wow!
- What's your rating? - Our average rating is 4 on Zomato.
- Yes. - This is what we want to do all our lives.
When will you do it full-time?
[tense music playing]
Erm...
That's why they're here
- to take the money and raise funds... - Yes.
- So that they can work. Right? - Exactly.
- You'll quit your job if you get this funding, right? - Right away.
I am out.
I have two reasons. First, you're not all in.
You're far from doing it right now.
Second, you asked for a valuation of Rs. 20 crores straightaway.
I think that's very high, so there's no way I can negotiate.
So, I am out.
I think the team is great and your numbers are fantastic.
If we're present in two to three metro cities,
we can look at a projected revenue of at least Rs. 15 to 20 crores.
- You can bring more revenue through geographical expansion. - Correct.
Not through vertical depth in the city.
That's also doable.
What's your strategy?
We have 3 kitchens in Kolkata as of now.
They cover almost 70 to 80% share right now.
By setting up just one more kitchen, we can cover the entire city.
It wouldn't make sense for us
to set up another 5 kitchens within Kolkata itself.
So, it's important that we look at increasing our revenue
through geographical diversification.
[intense music playing]
I didn't find a differentiator as such in your products.
And for that reason, I am out.
Which is the biggest cloud kitchen brand in India?
Edible foods.
That's wrong.
Domino's is the largest cloud kitchen brand in India.
And you know, they don't burn money.
Do you have any idea how much money they make?
You have no idea
and yet you entered into this business.
You know nothing about the king of this business.
Their sales are over Rs. 2000 to 2500 crores.
They make a profit of about Rs. 1000 crores.
The other players are making losses for the simple reason
that they don't have market pull.
Domino's sells for its popularity.
Because of the power of the brand!
[intense music playing]
You're sinking into the same quagmire
as the earlier counterparts.
The only difference being you have no money.
You're in a much worse position.
If you really want to do this,
establish one or two brands with a strong customer pull.
Until that time, this is not a business.
For that reason, I am out. All the best.
I'm the only Shark left.
Cloud kitchen is a globally proven business.
I am out for that reason, but I really enjoyed your pitch.
[intense music playing]
I thought I would invest,
but I start to lose interest if there's no objectivity.
I am out but I wish you all the best.
Thank you.
- Thank you, guys. - Thank you so much.
- All the best. See you. - Thank you.
- Thank you.
[theme music plays]
[theme music fades]
- Greetings, Sharks. - Greetings.
A lot of people around the world
experience the same boring
night routine when they come to their rooms.
There's nothing new.
No excitement, no spice and no fun.
What do you do?
And more importantly how?
The solution lies in the smell.
Smell is a sense
that can put a person in a good mood instantly.
I'm sure you must have heard about regular incense sticks.
But do you know about night incense sticks?
- I doubt that you do. - We don't.
Now, everyone will know.
And my company is called V A Perfume Products.
[peppy music plays]
At V A Perfume Products, we made a revolutionary product
which is a night incense stick.
It leaves the room so fragrant
and automatically puts you in a romantic mood.
[peppy music plays]
Sharks, keeping you in mind,
we have quite some fragrances.
The one in dire need of extreme fun!
"Please kill me!"
Sharks, other than night incense sticks,
- we also manufacture a huge range of devotional incense sticks. - Yes.
If you help us,
we can make our incense sticks a household name.
[comical music playing]
This product has spunk!
[Sharks laugh]
- Gosh! - [laughs]
I am curious to know
how you have...
- You seem to be a man with quite a lot of experience. - Yes.
How did it occur to you
to manufacture incense sticks that set the room on fire?
Not in the literal sense.
- I'm talking about desire if you catch my drift. - Yes, sir.
What happened? Did tragedy strike?
Did you have the need for it? Tell us.
- Tragedy! - [Sharks laugh hysterically]
- It'd be best if you didn't tell us about the tragedy. - No...
It's alright. I can talk about it.
Amit, please don't listen to them. Tell us everything.
[Sharks laugh]
- Sir, I was in the rice industry for 15 years. - Okay.
- My plant was export-oriented. - Okay.
My goods were mostly exported to Nigeria in West Africa.
So, I exported to Nigeria.
Plus, they already used to make night incense sticks there.
They made good sales.
- In Nigeria? - Yes, that's right.
So, I had a meeting with them.
They weren't interested in India
so they shared the ingredients with me.
I ordered some perfumes from Indonesia.
I liked the concept.
Such a concept was unheard of
so I adopted it
and forged ahead.
Are you doing the rice business too?
No, sir. Actually, due to a ban on export,
- I wound it up in 2018. - Okay.
- I got it. - How is this business faring?
Sir, I started it seven months ago
and it's going great for now.
How much money did you invest in this business?
Yes, of course. Sir, actually, I get good margins in this business.
I had just a 2% margin in the rice industry.
What's the margin in this business?
Sir, my gross margin
- is around 56%. - Wow!
So you have set up a factory to make these.
Yes, I have a factory. Also, I get it outsourced.
The smell is quite strong.
Are you getting a sensation?
[chuckling] Aman!
I'm not getting a sensation.
Have you done testing? How did you find out
that it helps increase power?
- Sir, it's true. - How?
He's getting excited.
[chuckling]
Sir, it's tested.
- How? - How?
Sir, how can one explain it?
Sir, once it's lit, it creates an ambience in the room.
Look! Hold on!
- Hold on! You burned four incense sticks over there. - Yes.
And he's smelling them all alone.
Now please get his feedback.
Thankfully, he didn't ask for customer testimonial videos.
- Sir, it should be burned inside a room at least. - Who?
It won't be effective if you burn it in a stadium.
Sir, that's absurd.
Can we see your product?
Yes, sir. I'll show it to you.
Sir, they are going to be launched soon.
They have a strong smell.
Sir, a strong smell is effective.
[chuckling]
You are right.
[ethereal music]
There's a light inside the incense stick box.
Is it packed like this for us? Or for the public too?
Mine looks like this.
He likes you more.
It seems so.
Can we extinguish it? Can we?
Yes, sir.
- I have a question regarding your business. - Sure.
- You sell incense sticks for meditation. - Yes.
You sell them for prayer and mood too.
Do you sell all varieties?
Ma'am, my sales for devotional incense sticks
- are good. - How much is it?
70% of sales are of those.
And these items comprise 30%.
I want to increase the sale of Night Agarbattis
up to 90%
because the margin is sizeable.
Do you have a special formula to make these?
Yes, sir. We have some specific ingredients.
We make ordinary incense sticks
and add some extra ingredients to them
- to make them unique. - What ingredients do you mix?
We use basic ingredients,
certain perfumes
plus a few items that I can't reveal.
How do those items affect it?
Sir, they help set up the mood.
It creates an effect.
I made my decision.
I fail to connect to your product
nor relate to it.
And I don't have expertise in incense sticks
- so I wish you the best but I'm out. - Alright.
It's difficult to scale it up due to the fragmentation of the market.
The cost of logistics is so high
that you can't make them available everywhere.
You will have to open multiple factories as it's a local business.
Sir, there are brands like Zed Black and Cycle Agarbatti.
Their turnover is Rs. 800 crores.
I agree.
I mean the journey of building a renowned brand
isn't an easy one.
So I want to be out.
I don't foresee scalability.
I would have surely considered it if you had some intellectual property.
- I want to be out today. - Okay, sir.
I don't have expertise in this area
so I want to be out.
Obviously, the incense sticks business must be quite big.
- You said it's Rs. 10,000 crore market. - Rs. 10,000 crores!
I learned it just now.
I don't think I can help you so I'm out.
I don't understand your business,
to be frank. The incense sticks business is solid
but the business of night incense sticks is...
We are selling devotional ones as well as Night Agarbattis.
Two products can't grow under a single brand.
Yes. Actually, you are selling devotional incense sticks
and selling the same product as Night Agarbattis. So I'm out.
Amit, you are a good businessman. Okay?
Taking money from investors
to grow the business
and return their money is a different ball game.
But you have certain fanaticism.
And it's believed
that there is a fine line between insanity and greatness.
Only you know if you'd succeed in making the business great in future.
I wish you the best of luck
but I want to be out.
- All Sharks are out. Good luck! - Good luck!
- Thank you! - Thank you!
[mellow music]
'Peyush, in today's Shark Xperience segment,'
'Vimal Rathi from Ajmer has a question for you.'
'What is the right time to leave our job'
'and begin a start-up according to you?'
Vimal, it's a good question.