Shark Tank India has returned with its second instalment on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony LIV with the motto “Entrepreneur ki Leher Ek Baar Firse”. Shark Tank India Season 2 episode 1 commenced the saga with its premiere on January 2, 2023 during the 10-11PM IST time slot.

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.

The first few moments of episode 1 relive the grandeur of the former season as the lovely shark duo – Namita Thapar and Vineeta Singh – visit the all-women employee team of Jhaji store, run by Uma Jha and Kalpana Jha. They begin the new season with a bright and hopeful vision by retracing their incomplete steps and handing out another cheque of 85 lakh rupees to support their pitch further.

Coming back to the set, the first company to kick off the season is Hoovu Fresh, a Fresh Pooja flowers company led by Yeshoda and Rhea. Their pitch voices the predicament of flowers losing their freshness plaguing fellow companies. However, they’ve worked out a technology which controls both moisture and bacteria and the eventual preservation of the flowers in a specific gas-flushed packaging that increases the shelf life of the flowers from 2 to 15 days.

The walk in asking for 80 lakhs in return of 1% of the company. Adding on to their pitch, they detail the costs of everything involved, while highlighting the reduction of wastage from 40% to 2%. Currently, 60 women employees work with them for garlanding, and the sales earned by them during August were charted as 1 crore rupees, with a profit of 15 lakhs, and average sales recorded at 50-55 lakhs.

Finally, they receive two offers, out of which they accept Aman and Peyush’s offer of 1 crore for 2% equity.

Thereafter, the second team is represented by Sparsh and Ishaan, who run a Darjeeling tea company, Dorje. The pitch is largely marketed by Sparsh’ magnificent oration that takes the sharks by a storm. He appropriately articulates the tea hill gardens being at a loss due to urbanisation, which further endangers the symbolic image of Darjeeling.

Dorje tea is packed and dispatched from the famous Selim hill tea garden and is available through subscription. The pair ask for 30 lakhs for 5% equity and explain the impact of changing seasons on the tea leaves. Transporting the 5 sharks to a vicarious trip through Darjeeling’s nature, they further demonstrate the four flush or harvests of the Darjeeling tea and how it changes its flavour while offering them a taste of the roasted black tea.

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The sharks nitpick a drawback that due to the different harvests, the tea can’t always be consumed in the widely accepted manner with milk or other herbs. As the interrogate about the run rate of sales, they’re revealed to have been recorded at 11 lakhs monthly with gross margin 75%, presently registering them with 2 lakh burns. The judges love the experience of what they’ve just been driven through but the vision feels “disconnected”.

The first offer starts off at 30 lakhs for 10% equity, with the second at 30 lakhs for 15% equity, a collective effort put in by Anupam, Peyush and Vineeta, and is eventually confirmed.

The third and final pitch is delivered by Dheeraj and Rahul of Recode studios, a makeup brand brought up into the market to curb the high prices of makeup products, and already has its franchises set up in Faridabad , Delhi and Raipur. The team asks for 1 crore for 1 % equity.

However, the disjointed and impulsive approach of the businessmen leaves the sharks puzzled throughout the entire course. The packaging is shunned as well, but what shines through is their marketing strategy which also leaves a mark on the judges. Upon enrolling people for their self-grooming classes in the offline format, they charge the joiners 1500 rupees per admission, with which they hand of makeup products of the same value to them to use during the course’s duration, while also offering them free food amenities at a five star hotel, where the classes are held.

Their last year’s profit was recorded at 6%, with the present year’s sales projected approximately at 30 crores. Their idea is on the marketing end, but their impulsive chemistry of startup leads them down. Nevertheless, the sharks were still impressed with their impeccable and surprising business growth and motivated them to make some changes in their work ethics to make its all work our for even better results.

Shark Tank India Season 2 Episode 1 Review

Quite a few changes have taken shape in the new season of the reality TV show with the replacement of the former host Rannvijay Singh Singha and the two sharks who gained quite a vivacious reputation during last season’s telecast –  Ashneer Grover, the co-founder of BharatPe and Ghazal Alagh, the co-founder of Mamaearth. Their spaces are filled with a revitalised energy and the all the five out of six sharks we met today put the lights back on.

The bubbly camaraderie they share with each other retains the smile on your face as a constant look. All five of them are a team to reckon with for sure. Keeping their eyes open for every aspect of the business pitches, they’re never sold out on the basis of what lies on the surface, but are looking for the whole package, something they believe that can thrive in the brimming pool of ever-rising competition for entrepreneurship.

The best takeaway of this show is not only limited to its entertaining factor, but also the affirmative boost the sharks send out to the contestants. Even when turning some pitchers away, they make it a point to encourage them to reach for their fullest potential and by suggesting some necessary amendments in the best way possible. The dream team of Namita Thapar and Vineeta Singh keeps the spirit of women empowerment alive one season down the line as well, and it’s most the positive vision they’ve made a point to uplift in our contemporary society.

Although the last pitch is bound to raise some eyebrows because it seems evident that the sharks have closed off their ears for competitive pitches, especially since Recode was turned away, there are other elements that need to be taken into account as well. The pitch would feel discordant even to someone who isn’t fully acquainted with the business arena. However, it’s a question that’s worth asking from the get go, will the sharks turn away every other business idea that clashes with their own empire constructs? Hopefully, not.

Conversely, even if numbers and finances are not your thing, you can always watch these episodes as a breezy watch to end your day on a sweet recreative note, and the season is already off to great star.

Shark Tank India Season 2 episodes will be broadcasted on Sony Entertainment Television and also live-streamed on Sony LIV from Monday to Friday at 10 PM IST.

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