Shark Tank India founders that count Tata and Reliance as partners get more than three times their ask from Peyush Bansal, Vineeta Singh, Kunal Bahl

Three points you will get to know in this article:

  • Raheja Solar Food Processing offers a sustainable solution for preserving farm produce by retaining natural colors, taste, nutrition, and fragrance for up to a year.
  • At Shark Tank India, the founders pitched for ₹50 lakhs in exchange for 1% equity at a valuation of ₹50 crore.
  • The founders got investment from Kunal Bahl, Vineeta Singh, Peyush Bansal

Raheja Solar Food Processing Secures Deal on Shark Tank India

On the most recent Shark Tank India show, a mother-son business team presented Raheja Solar Food Processing, their industrial enterprise. They manufacture solar heaters capable of drying a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers that would otherwise be thrown away. According to them, food waste worldwide amounts to an estimated Rs 90,000 crore annually, and the business is valued at $4 billion. They valued their company at Rs 50 crore and requested Rs 50 lakh in exchange for 1% stake.

They informed the group of “sharks” that their revenue target for this year is Rs 15 crore, with a 10% profit margin. They manufacture and sell dried fruits and vegetables in addition to their machines. But just 10% of their income comes from the food. They reassured Kunal Bahl that selling machines is their main line of work. According to them, they collaborate with the Tata Group and the Reliance Foundation to help struggling farmers who lose money each year as a result of food waste. According to them, one of the main reasons why farmers commit suicide is the 15% of food that is wasted annually.

Click here to visit their official website : Raheja Solar Food Processing

About the company & Founder

Raheja Solar Food Processing Pvt Ltd was established in 2019 and produces reasonably priced, domestically produced solar dryers to assist farmers in producing goods with additional value.

Due to the erratic fluctuations in market pricing, farmers are unable to obtain fair pay for their labor. Across the nation, it is not uncommon to witness farmers disposing of fresh produce on roadways during a price collapse. Even though India is a major agricultural force in the world, between 30% and 40% of its annual produce is wasted at different stages of the supply chain.

Drying fresh produce is one strategy to cut down on food waste. Varun Raheja, the founder of Raheja Solar Food Processing Pvt Ltd, claims that the current value of the global market for dried produce is $70 billion.

Varun, a 25-year-old Indore-based entrepreneur, claims that learning about sustainable living and practices at the Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development, an Indore-based NGO, gave him the idea to start the business. 

The business model

One example of how readily available energy can be efficiently utilized for farmers’ benefit is the solar drying method. Giving farmers access to a foldable solar dryer that is both inexpensive and do-it-yourself allows them to turn produce that would otherwise be wasted or sold at extremely low prices into value-added items, such as dried tomatoes, onions, ginger, mangoes, watermelons, rose petals, etc. Farmers won’t benefit from solar dryers alone, though, because they lack access to markets. Raheja Solar Food Processing solves this second half of the equation.

To sell these dried goods to final customers, the business purchases them from the farmers.Because they can sell their produce anytime market prices are high, this longer shelf life gives farmers some control over market prices. Farmers gain control over traders and become independent of market prices as a result. Therefore, our affiliated farmers sell it whenever their prices in the fresh market are high, and if not, they process it,” he continues. Varun claims that he has teamed up with regional suppliers who produce various components in accordance with his designs, thus the solar dryers are produced locally.

The company has built 1,600 solar dryers to date, with prices ranging from Rs 10,000 for home use to Rs 5 lakh for mid-sized models.To purchase dried produce from the farmers, the company has established two collecting centers, one in Vijayawada and one in Indore.

The Shark tank pitch

Anupam Mittal and Aman Gupta withdrew from the agreement because Anupam had fundamental doubts about the company. This isn’t a company. It’s a passion, but you will fail if you treat it like a business, he warned. However, seeing an opening, Peyush Bansal and Vineeta Singh agreed to make a joint bid of Rs 50 lakh, valued at Rs 25 crore. After carefully considering the financials, Kunal got into the agreement, but he stated that he doesn’t make small-time ventures. He gave the entrepreneurs two choices, saying, “I’m not interested in 1 or 2 percent.” 

According to him, they may accept Rs 1.25 crore for 5% stake or Rs 2 crore for 10% equity. The valuation would be Rs 25 crore in both situations.In response, the founders asked if the “sharks” could agree on a valuation of Rs 40 crore because they didn’t want to offend the more established investors. Vineeta and Peyush expressed their willingness to work together, but they believed Kunal had no interest in doing so. He stated that since it wouldn’t impact his conditions, he was willing to work with the three of them to obtain a 7% equity stake.

After being promised that the split would be planned to ensure that their older investors would not lose out on the Rs 40 crore valuation, the founders finally agreed to Rs 1.75 crore in exchange for 7%. The agreement was then finalized.

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