Healthy snacking brand Let’s Try appeared on Shark Tank India as a months-old company in early 2020 — seeking an investment of Rs 45 lakh. The family-run brand led by former ITC and PepsiCo executive Nitin Kalra had made a persuasive case for themselves and eventually left with an ‘yes’ from Aman Gupta and Anupam Mittal. Later developments saw the Shaadi.com founder taking a step back from investment — with Gupta emerging as the sole shark willing to take a chance on Let’sTry.
The company has come a long way since those initial months — with valuation reportedly increasing 50x since Season 1. According to an Indian Express report, the company is currently valued at Rs 324 crore. The figure is a a significant leap forward from its Rs 3.75 crore valuation while appearing on Shark Tank India.
‘Backing passion, madness and hunger’
“I couldn’t make money in Nvidea Chips. But I made money in Bhujiya Chips. My Rs 12 lakh investment has turned into Rs 40 crore in a company almost nobody wanted to invest in…Let’s Try from Season 1 of Shark Tank. I have never been an Excel sheet investor. I invest in founders, not formulas. 333x return in 4 years (approximately 33,233%) Some call it luck, but I call it instinct. I call it backing passion, madness and hunger. Also, this is the best outcome in Shark Tank India history, yet,” Gupta reminded in an X post.
He also dubbed Kalra “an outstanding guy” during a recent interview with Republic World — revealing that there had been numerous naysayers when the brand appeared on the show.
“All the Excel sheet investors said it can’t make it. Everybody said ‘there are so many big companies in this sector, how big a company can you make in this competition?” he was quoted as saying.
What happened on Shark Tank Season 1?
The brand had appeared before the sharks soon after formation — revealing that it had earned Rs 16 lakh from sales in just a five-month period. Let’s Try had sought Rs 45 lakh in exchange for 2% equity in the company. The founders also assured at the time that they would be able to give stiff competition to other snack brands within seven months — despite pricing their products about 15% higher than most rivals.
“Bande mein dam tha. I knew he will do something. He had that aag (fire),” Gupta recently told Republic World.
But the pitch failed to convince fellow judges Ashneer Grover and Namita Thapar. The latter had also noted that their products were fried despite being positioned as healthy snacks. Both Aman Gupta and Anupam Mittal were initially keen to invest and jointly sank Rs 45 lakh into the company for 12% equity. Mittal had stepped out of the investment following the post-show due diligence was completed.
