- Owners/Founders: Sumit Rastogi and Aarti Laxman
- Business: Zero Sugar Deserts
- Ask: ₹50 Lakhs for 1.75% equity
- Valuation/ Networth: ₹28.75 Crores
- Funding: ₹50 Lakhs for 5% equity until ₹75 Lakhs are recouped.
- Sharks: Vineeta Singh
- Episode: Season 3 Episode 23
ARTiNCi Shark Tank India Pitch:
ARTiNCi makes 100% sugar-free products and offers ice creams, Indian sweets, cookies, and cakes. They use a patented, proprietary stevia-based sweetener with a low glycemic index. The company has served more than 50,000 customers. ARTiNCi products are available on their own website and marketplaces. Aarti took 8 months to research and develop the ice cream sweetener. They use different sweeteners for different products.
ARTiNCi Financials & Revenue during Shark Tank India:
In FY21-22, they had 3 crores in sales with 1.2 Crores in losses, while in FY22-23, sales increased to 4.4 crores but resulted in 5 Crores in losses. Additionally, their monthly sales figures for November ’23, October ’23, and September ’23 were 33 lakhs, 37 lakhs, and 34 lakhs, respectively. For FY23-24, they are projecting sales of 5.3-5.5 Crores with 1.2 Crores in losses. They have a 62% gross margin. The founders have invested 4 crores from their savings and hold a 72% equity stake in the company. In 2022, they conducted a fundraising round and raised 3.1 Crores with a valuation of 28.57 Crores. They currently have only 8 lakh in the bank.
Who are founders of ARTiNCi?
ARTiNCi is owned by Sumit Rastogi and Aarti Laxman, who are from Bangalore. Sumit has an MBA from KJ Somaiya Institute, while Aarti previously managed Accenture India’s Inclusion and Diversity program as an HR professional. Aarti has a hearing disability.
ARTiNCi Shark Tank India Negotiations & Funding:
Peyush was the first shark who chose to opt out of negotiations, as he believes the founders need to find a path, and B2B is better for them compared to B2C. Namita also chose to opt out and advised the founders to deepen their product offerings to simplify operations, stating ‘when you are in trouble, less is more.’ Anupam believes the products are good, but the business sense or commercial acumen is weak. He also raised the point of why they are marketing products for diabetes, suggesting they should narrow down their choices, and he chose to exit from negotiations.
Aman chose to opt out of the negotiation. Vineeta believes that Indians love Indian sweets, and it is the main opportunity, viewing other products as distractions. She made a conditional offer of 50 lakhs for 10% equity with the condition that they have to create an FMCG ‘Guilt-Free’ Indian Sweets Brand with a focus on retail, rename the brand, and improve the packaging. The founders made a counteroffer of 50 lakhs for 5% equity plus 1% royalty until 75 lakhs are recouped and the deal is finalized.
How is ARTiNCi doing after Shark Tank India?
Our research into the company revealed that while ARTiNCi did get a deal on Shark Tank, whether their deal with sharks closed after the show is still unclear. As of now, early signs are positive, but they could still be in the due diligence phase. While their numbers are not yet public, we will update this article with more information as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, you can check out Shark Tank India products by clicking the Amazon button below!
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Source: Instagram @artincisugarfree
Here are other companies from Season 3 Episode 23.