The Elefant on Shark Tank India: Sharks Debated The Elefant’s Toy Subscription Model Scalability

Toys are an essential part of childhood, but they often pile up, unused after a few months. The Elefant, a Mumbai-based toy and book subscription service, aims to solve this problem.

Founded by Sourabh Jain and Shristi Padia Jain, The Elefant provides:

• Expert-curated toys and books tailored to different age groups.
• A simple subscription model where parents can order, use, and return items.
• A cost-effective way to keep kids engaged without constant new purchases.

The concept is built on sustainability, affordability, and variety, allowing parents to reduce clutter while giving their children access to high-quality, safe, and educational toys.

For Sourabh and Shristi, The Elefant is more than a business—it’s a way to redefine playtime for modern families.

Their goal? Make high-quality toys and books accessible to every child without the burden of ownership.

They believe that:

1. Parents struggle with clutter and outgrown toys.
2. Kids lose interest quickly, leading to wasted money on unused products.
3. A subscription model offers variety without unnecessary spending.

But despite the promise of this idea, the sharks weren’t convinced it was an easy business to scale.

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The Elefant follows a simple yet unique model:

1. Parents subscribe to the service (choosing from different pricing tiers).
2. They receive a set of toys and books based on their child’s interests and age.
3. Once the child gets bored, they exchange them for new ones—keeping playtime exciting.

The unit economics behind the business showed some challenges but also strong potential.

The Elefant’s Investment Breakdown

• Toys: ₹6 lakh
• Setup Cost: ₹50,000
• Franchise Fee: ₹1 lakh

The Elefant’s Unit Economics

• COGS (Cost of Goods Sold): 42%
• Branding & Marketing:8%
• Salaries: 28%
• Warehousing: 2%
• EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization):3%

With an EBITDA of 11.3%, The Elefant had a functional financial structure, but its reliance on subscriptions made profitability uncertain.

Stepping onto Shark Tank India, the founders asked for ₹60 lakh in exchange for 1% equity, valuing the business at ₹60 crore.

While the sharks appreciated the concept, concerns quickly surfaced regarding scalability, pricing, and user behavior.

Here’s how each shark reacted:

Shark Vineeta Singh: The Subscription Challenge

• Having run a subscription business before Sugar cosmetics herself, Vineeta understood the struggles of getting customers to commit to advance payments.
• She questioned whether Indian parents would adopt this model long-term.

Shark Peyush Bansal: Product Care Concerns

• Peyush highlighted that in a non-ownership model, customers don’t treat products with care, leading to damaged inventory and high replacement costs.
• He also pointed out that franchise owners would need to invest ₹1 lakh every month, adding financial risk.

Shark Kunal Bahl: Is It a True Value Proposition?

• Kunal felt that the pricing didn’t justify the service, making it unattractive for middle-class families.
• If buying new toys was more convenient and cost-effective, why would parents pay for a rental model?

Shark Aman Gupta: The Subscription Struggle

• Aman didn’t disagree with the business model but had an issue with subscriptions in general.
• He pointed out that many Indian consumers prefer one-time purchases over long-term commitments.

Shark Anupam Mittal: The Reality of Scaling

• While he called the idea conceptually strong, Anupam believed that optimizing the supply chain would be too difficult.
• Managing distribution, logistics, and toy rotation across multiple locations was a huge challenge.

By the end of the discussion, none of the sharks made an offer.

The main reasons?

1. Subscription Fatigue – Indian consumers aren’t fully comfortable with subscription-based physical products.
2. Logistics and Supply Chain Complexity – Managing returns, maintenance, and inventory rotation is operationally intense.
3. Pricing Issues – The cost wasn’t attractive enough for mass adoption.

While no investment was secured, the founders walked away with crucial insights on how to improve their business.

For startups considering subscription-based models, The Elefant’s pitch offers valuable takeaways:

1. Indian Consumers Are Still Wary of Subscriptions – Unlike global markets, most Indian households prefer one-time purchases.
2. Logistics and Maintenance Matter – A rental model only works if product care is ensured.
3. Scalability Must Be Clear – Investors look for businesses that can grow smoothly, without excessive operational hurdles.

The Elefant’s Shark Tank India appearance was less about securing funding and more about refining their business model.

While the sharks were skeptical about subscriptions, the brand still has room to grow—if it addresses pricing, customer behavior, and supply chain challenges.

With the right adjustments, The Elefant could still become a leader in India’s toy rental space. But for now, they have some tough lessons to apply before reaching the next level.