Shark Tank India has returned with its second instalment on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony LIV. Shark Tank India Season 2 episode 24 titled “India Ke Incredible Entrepreneurs”, premiered on February 2, 2023 during the 10-11PM IST time slot. Payel Seth is the show’s creative director, and it’s been produced by Studio NEXT, with Ravikesh Vatsa as its writer.
The show is hosted by comedian Rahul Dua, and graced by six judges, better known as sharks – Anupam Mittal Founder-CEO of Shaadi.com – People Group; Aman Gupta, Co-Founder-CMO of boAt; Namita Thapar, Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals; Vineeta Singh, Co-Founder-CEO of SUGAR Cosmetics; Peyush Bansal, Founder-CEO of Lenskart.com and Amit Jain, Co-Founder-CEO of CarDekho Group and InsuranceDekho.com.
-Shark Tank India Season 2 Episode 24 Recap Contains Spoilers-
Designed for Indian farmers with small farms, ‘GEEANI’ makes for the smallest tractor in the nation. The brand’s founders, Divyarajsingh Bihola, Prajal Geeta Menon and Anitha Panikar, are still moving on the steps of the pre-revenue stage and launch their product for the first time on the Shark Tank set. To go ahead with the mission and help increase the yields and aid farmers more than ever, the team asks for Rs. 75 lakhs against 7.5% equity.
With a compact and lightweight tractor weighing only 550 kg, the crops won’t be damaged due to its use. If the traditional factors are priced around a range of Rs. 5 lakhs – Rs. 5.5 lakhs, their small-sized counterpart will be launched at Rs. 4.8 lakhs, i.e. at a competitive price. Eight times more efficient than diesel tractors, the team’s efforts are lauded by the judges, who then hop on to the tractor while chanting the tunes to Mere Desh Ki Dharti.
All investments for the venture have gone through due the savings of Prajal Geeta Menon, and are the Sharks are greatly moved on hiring this. Aman gives them the same offer they’d asked for. Anupam thinks that the business needs everyone’s support with all the Sharks on-board. However, Amit is keen on finalising an individual offer worth Rs. 1.5 crore for 20% equity. The other Sharks advise the team not to give away such a grand percentage of equity, as it will come back to bite them in the back later. Aman, Anupam and Vineeta offer them a joint deal of Rs. 1 crore for 10% equity. It’s Amit Vs the Shark trio, and ‘GEEANI’ goes ahead with the latter.
Yasser Ali and Nayyar Hussain bring the taste of Italian love, ‘Amore’, to India with their affordable range of 100% vegetarian premium gelato. To Anupam’s favour, their brand also has 5 vegan flavours, and the zestful duo passionate about their love for this category of Italian ice cream alternative are out on a mission to make the beverage an affordable household name in India as well. In order to achieve the same, they’re looking for an investment of Rs. 75 lakhs against 4% equity.
Having partnered with the award-winning Italian gelato chef, Costanzo Malatoo, who’s also the technical director of the brand, and Rakiesh, who’s helped him translate those exotic flavours as per the Indian palette, the team charges about Rs. 60-70 per scoop for their magical concoction. Although the quality product is actually a premium beverage, their prices are pocket-friendly, but it raises an issue of scalability with the Sharks.
As the five Sharks present for the day take a scoop of the delight, the difference between gelato and sorbetto is also demystified by the founders. While the former is prepared with milk, the latter needs water, but all in all, they’re both a viable alternative to our usual ice cream options which contain a lot of fat and cream.
The team’s sales numbers push nearly all the Sharks away, except Anupam, who’d even built a great rapport with the founders early on during their conversation. At the last minute, he offers them a deal of Rs. 75 lakhs for 7.5% equity, but with the condition that ‘Amore’ needs to achieve sales of Rs. 80 lakhs per month by March 2023. Giving it a quick thought, the founders go ahead with it and partner with Anupam.
The last pitch is brought on by Supriya Donthi for ‘Leafy Affair’, India’s first floral jewellery and stationery brand which has even sought celebrity clients like Ranveer Singh. With the vision to become the biggest botanical lifestyle brand, Supriya hopes to procure funds worth Rs. 50 lakhs for 2.5% equity.
As the idea for the business came into being in 2016, the founder wanted to bring nature close to our heart by preserving them as jewels. The product range is showcased to the Sharks, who take more interest in the jewellery line-up rather than the stationery side. Supriya announces the paperweight to be the highest priced product in totality rated at Rs. 3500.
This brings Namita to ask her about the high price, and the founder deals out information about how the flowers are first derided of moisture, preserved in a 3D form, designed with resin and other aspects of the procedure that are quite tedious to follow. Earning Rs. 1.1 crores during the financial year of 2021-2022, she projects the sales for the next cycle to go as high as Rs. 3 crores. The fully bootstrapped company is gaining a gross margin of 80%, with EBITDA staying strong at 35%.
Coming down to the repeat percentage of customers, which is marked at 12%, the entrepreneur is well aware that most of her customers come as gift buyers, hence the low records on that front. Namita and Vineeta also speak up about how the idea can easily be copied by other viewers of the show or competitions in the market. However, Supriya counters this with the claim that their innovative approach to the business makes them an expert in the field, and they stay on their toes to bring in new SKUs every season, keeping the vision fresh and alive.
Scalability issues and the lack of comprehension of the evaluation for the business pushes the Sharks back. Amit even believes that she doesn’t need a Shark at all to keep the wheel turning. Anupam, on the other hand, pushes her to associate a sense of storytelling with the packaging and that she should promote it as a clean jewellery brand. He’s ready to fund the business if she gains clarity along the same lines in future.
Shark Tank India Season 2 Episode 24: Final Thoughts
The first thing that probably most of the viewers would’ve taken away from this episode has to be the palpable Peyush Bansal-sized void. He’s evidently risen high as an indispensable part of the show, and without him, a sense of emptiness can be felt in the air. We need an all six Shark episode as soon as possible to see how high the tensions will rise with all of them out on the floor.
Shark Tank India Season 2 episodes will be broadcasted on Sony Entertainment Television and live-streamed on SonyLIV from Monday to Friday at 10 PM IST.
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