A father-daughter duo stepped into the Shark Tank India stage, presenting their spice brand, Tulua. They proudly stated that their spices come from across India and are sold at prices lower than their competitors. Richy, introduced as the CEO, led the pitch, while her father, Hitesh, managed sales. Seeking Rs 50 lakh for 2% equity, they valued their company at Rs 25 crore. They shared that Tulua had already raised Rs 4.7 crore in two funding rounds.
Kunal Bahl immediately recognized them, revealing, “We have met before, and I came very close to investing.” He praised Richy’s abilities as a founder. Aman Gupta was curious why he didn’t go through with it. Kunal explained that their business was primarily B2B at the time. Richy clarified that they were now expanding into D2C, though it currently made up only 8% of operations. Most of their revenue, which had jumped from Rs 2 crore last year to Rs 6 crore this year, still came from the HORECA industry.
Aman complimented their branding and packaging but felt they had undermined their own pitch by emphasizing B2B. He chose not to invest for this reason. Azhar Iqubal also stepped back, saying he didn’t see a strong enough “differentiator” in their product. Ritesh Agarwal advised them to focus on one business direction before expanding. Though he opted out, he assured them, “I’ll be in touch.”
Kunal, despite his earlier interest, decided against investing again. The toughest feedback came from Vineeta Singh, who seemed visibly disappointed. She remarked, “There isn’t a founder-market fit,” and expressed her dissatisfaction with Richy’s approach. Before exiting the deal, she strongly advised them to avoid pulling the business in different directions.
After they left without a deal, Vineeta stood up to discuss the pitch with the other sharks. She observed, “She’s under daddy’s shadow. They need to be separated.” Meanwhile, Hitesh, responding to the feedback in a post-pitch interview, firmly disagreed. “This is absolutely wrong. Richy makes all the decisions. It was her decision to make a B2B business.”
Despite leaving without an investment, the duo remained determined to scale their brand.