Namita Thapar accuses Shark Tank India pitchers of creating ‘pura ka pura copy’ brand, Aman Gupta fears lawsuits: ‘I’m scared’

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They said that to launch the business, they mortgaged their house and took out a loan for Rs 2.5 crore. “That’s a big decision,” said Anupam Mittal, and Aman Gupta agreed. “Solid risk,” he said. Meanwhile, Namita Thapar noticed that the packaging of their products is very similar to pre-existing products in the markets. “Aapka toh pura ka pura copy kiya hai, itna kyu copy kiya?” she asked, and one the brothers explained that they don’t see themselves as such. “We follow customer trends,” he said, elaborating on his colour-coding strategies.

Namita said, “Okay, shut everyone up, tell us your sales.” The brothers said that they closed the last financial year at Rs 9 crore, and are projecting Rs 12 crore for this year. The ‘sharks’ were very impressed, but some of them, like Peyush Bansal, had reservations. He pointed out that they will get driven out of the market by competitors if they don’t build a brand, and for that, they will require a lot of investment. Namita, on the other hand, disagreed. They had a tense back-and-forth, when Peyush refused to allow Namita to make an offer. “Peyush, this is not making sense,” said Anupam Mittal.

Anupam backed out of the deal, as did Aman, who said that they’re asking for litigation from the major players by copying their designs, and that he isn’t ready for what that’ll bring. “I’m scared of that, so I’m out,” he said. Namita made an offer of Rs 70 lakh for 3% equity, but asked for 2% in royalty until she recovers her investment. Ritesh, who predicted that they have a Rs 1000 crore business on their hands, matched her offer, but didn’t include the royalty ask. He also promised to distribute their products through his vast network. “I run 10,000 hotels, I can help you,” he said, asking for co-branding as a condition.

Eventually, Ritesh and Namita agreed to make a joint offer, but the founders didn’t want to give them royalties. “Bisleri is selling pan-India but is only 100 times bigger than us, we’re limited to 250 km radius. This market is an ocean today, we’re taking water out with a lota. Tomorrow, if we take water out with a bucket, it wont make any difference to the ocean,” one of the brothers said. They negotiated the royalty ask down to 1%, and struck a deal valuing their company at Rs 23 crore.