Delhi-based Honey Twigs selling natural honey in squeezable packets secures Rs 75 lakhs on Shark Tank India

The first thing that comes to mind when carrying honey is what a messy affair it can become! Hence, aiming to revolutionize the way honey is packaged and consumed, Honey Twigs, a Delhi-based brand, has ventured into the market and recently secured a deal on Shark Tank India season 3.

Founded in 2015, Honey Twigs originated from a discussion over dinner between co-founders Paras Fatnani and Jigar Mehta. "We were discussing how difficult it is to eat healthily in today's times," says Paras Fatnani. Both Fatnani and Mehta, who studied together and shared a passion for food, concluded that "salt and sugar were the detrimental components of everyday eating." "That's when we realized we wanted to address the sweetness issue," Fatnani adds, noting that Jigar's family background in honey and his dissertation on the same topic during his studies supported their endeavor.

The co-founders proceeded to explore the possibilities within the honey industry and engaged with over 3,000 customers to understand the problems associated with the product. "We didn't just want to be a brand that served the same audience and addressed the same honey-related issues," he says. The research conducted by the team revealed three predominant problems with honey. "People complained that honey was messy and not portable. They also expressed doubts about the quality of honey," Fatnani says.

Following the research, the brand launched its own honey. Currently, the brand offers a range of honey products, including two natural variants and five infused ones. While the honey is natural, it also comes in squeezable packets that impressed the sharks. Additionally, Honey Twigs are available in 10 countries besides being available pan-India.

Shark Tank Experience 

Uniquely presenting their pitch to the Sharks, the founders invited them to taste the honey, which had been placed beside their seats. However, the Sharks could not taste the honey due to the absence of spoons and tissues. It was then that the founders shared their brand's story and how they came up with squeezable honey packets that do not make it messier to eat and are easily portable, which caught the eye of Sharks. 

The founders initially asked for Rs 75 Lakhs for 3% equity at a valuation of Rs 25 crores. The pitch sparked conversations among the sharks, with Peyush Bansal inquiring about the founders' background and Vineeta wanting to understand their USP. Ultimately, all the sharks made offers to the founders, and they chose a combined offer from Anupam Mittal, Peyush Bansal, and Ritesh Agarwal, amounting to Rs 75 lakhs for 3% equity.

Reflecting on the overall experience at Shark Tank, Paras Fatnani says, "We have been in this industry for a long time and have met many people, but the validation and confidence that developed after meeting the sharks were phenomenal." Fatnani also mentioned that the team would focus more on the product's quality based on the sharks' feedback. "Quality is the hero element in our product, but we also focused on other elements all this while. Now, we want to refocus more on the quality," he says.