Shark Tank India Season 5: There were secret recipes, pocket diaries, and family legacy – Shark Tank India Season 5‘s latest episode had it all. Hailing from Jaipur, the leading ladies of a household cleaning innovation pitched their brand, Urban Wipe, to Shark Tank India judges, Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar, Kunal Bahl, Anupam Mittal, and Mohit Yadav. With a formula that was developed in 2011 and garnered over Rs 10 crore in lifetime sales, the Shaadi.com founder found the pitch to be straight out of a movie.
“Aapne bahut papad bele hain, [You have worked really hard],” remarked Mittal as he praised Dr Renu, the majority stakeholder of the cleaning brand. With a PhD in marketing, she revealed that she even conducted coaching classes before her husband passed away in 2017, and supported her children’s education. Their brand, however, was born out of a little red diary with a concoction of chemicals that gave birth to a quick and safe cleaning solution.
UrbanWipe’s ‘little red book’ – Shark Tank India pitch
UbranWipe, headlined by Dr Renu Mathur, had two young and dynamic founders, Samradhi and Aapurva. With an MBA, Aapurva was the initial partner with their mother. After spending a significant amount as the Assistant VP at Barclays, CA Samradhi joined Urban Wipe. Together, they developed and manufactured five hero products, selling across Amazon, Flipkart, and Meesho, which received organic positive feedback from influencers and over 35000 customers on a single platform.
They asked for Rs 90 lakh for 2 per cent equity, taking the valuation to over Rs 40 crore. However, the Shark Tank India judges had a different plan in mind. They convinced the panel with their positive testimonials alone, but a product demo sealed the deal. Several users on social media were instantly reminded of the Shark Tank USA demo of Scrub Daddy, a cleaning sponge which dominates the market in the US even today.
Commenting on the diary of secrets, boAt’s Aman Gupta joked, “Yeh aapko deni hai toh de do ham iski recipes dekh lenge [you can show the diary to us, we will look at all the recipes].” Reacting to this exchange, Mittal opined, “Yeh ekdum movie type ka scene hai. Ek diary reh gayi aur usme se aapne formula nikala. [This looks like a movie scene, a diary was left behind and you discovered a formula] It’s quite tremendous.”
The major components of their cleaners include aqua, surfactants, salts, and fragrances. Upon enquiry, they revealed that minimal and permitted quantities of cocamidopropyl betaine(CAPB) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) are also added in the NABL-approved product. However, Aman Gupta called the packaging ‘fuddu’ with no visual appeal to Gen Z and millennials.
Sharks in bidding war: Aman vs Anupam vs Mohit
Aman Gupta, finding potential in improving and building it into a brand, offered Rs 90 lakhs for 5 per cent. Presenting a counteroffer, Gupta upped the ante by offering Rs 1 crore for the same amount, as Mohit Yadav joined the race with an identical deal. The cleaning products founders, after much deliberations tried to present their offer, asking them to join hands for 3 per cent equity. Hearing this, the Minimalist founder was quick to back out.
With further deliberation, Mittal and Gupta teamed up to offer the brand Rs 1 crore each, Rs 2 crore in all, for 20 per cent equity, which took their original valuation down by more than half. With no scope for negotiation, Mittal and Gupta sealed the deal with a joint investment.