Protein Brand Gladful Transforms India’s Protein Snack Market at Shark Tank

Gladful is India’s pioneering protein brand designed for families. Their product range features healthy options like Protein Cookies, Protein Breakfast Mixes, Dessert Bites, and much more. According to Parul, a significant 73% of Indians do not get enough protein, highlighting the need for a brand like Gladful. Each serving of their products contains between 4 to 6 grams of protein. Manu also mentioned that before launching, their items received approval from a community of 350 mothers. Since its launch in January 2022, Gladful has successfully sold 60,000 units. You can find their products on their official website and various online marketplaces. Currently, the company is seeking an investment of ₹50 Lakhs for a 2% stake, which values the company at ₹25 Crore.

Click here to visit their official website: Gladful

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Manu Sharma and Parul Sharma are siblings who started a company called Gladful. They hail from Jaipur, India. Parul has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and spent 15 years working at Cadbury, where she successfully launched several products as a Brand Manager. On the other hand, Manu is a chartered accountant.

The founders of Gladful revealed that a single serving includes two cookies, providing a total of 4 grams of protein. Their 10-pack cookie box is priced at ₹150. Over the past nine months, they have achieved lifetime net sales of ₹1 crore, with last month’s revenue reaching ₹20 Lakhs. For this month, they expect to generate ₹24 Lakhs. The founders noted that 90% of their sales occur online, while the remaining 10% come from offline channels. Amazon is their largest sales platform, accounting for approximately 45% of their revenue. They maintain a gross margin of 50%, but after factoring in marketing and logistics costs, they are currently facing a monthly loss of around ₹8 Lakhs. Gladful has already completed one funding round, raising ₹2 Crores at a valuation of ₹13 Crores. Parul aims to establish Gladful as the leading food brand in the protein sector in India and is working towards building a ₹500 Crore company within the next five years.

The entrepreneurs are asking for ₹50 lakhs (5 million rupees) for 10% of their company, which means they value their business at ₹5 crores (50 million rupees). They claim this valuation is based on their sales, suggesting they are worth about 2.5 times what they have sold so far.

One of the investors, Peyush, decides to leave because he feels that he is not the right person to invest in this type of business. Another investor, Anupam, makes a second offer of ₹50 lakhs for only 3.84% of the company, based on a previous valuation of ₹13 crores. Parul, another investor, suggests that the entrepreneurs will grow their business to make ₹35 lakhs a month soon, so she thinks the sharks should reconsider their offers and maybe offer more.

Next, Amit, another shark, offers ₹50 lakhs for 3.5% of the company, which is lower than Anupam’s offer. Namita and Aman (the first sharks) also change their offer to ₹50 lakhs for 4%. Anupam decides to leave the negotiations because he feels that the first valuation mentioned by Namita and Aman is too high compared to what he thinks it should be worth.

Finally, Parul asks the other sharks if they would team up with Amit on his offer. The sharks agree and shake hands on a deal where they give ₹50 lakhs for 3.5% of the company—so Namita, Aman, and Amit will invest together.

Gladful experienced significant success after their episode aired. They finalized a deal with the Sharks, securing investment and guidance for their business. Following the show, the founders had mentoring sessions with investors Amit Jain and Aman Gupta, which helped them further develop their business strategy. Manu, one of the founders, revealed that their monthly average sales quadrupled just a few days after their appearance, leading to an overwhelming influx of orders. To handle this surge in demand, Manu’s friends and family stepped in to help fulfill the increased number of orders, showcasing the positive impact Shark Tank had on their business growth.