How is Creme Castle Doing After Shark Tank India?

Founder/Owner: Pranjay Mittal & Veena Mittal
Business: Bakery
Ask: ₹60 lakhs for 1.5% Equity
Valuation/ Networth: ₹40 Crores
Funding: ₹60 lakhs for 2.5% Equity
Sharks: Amit Jain
Episode: Season 3 Episode 35

Creme Castle Shark Tank India Pitch:

Creme Castle is an Indian startup that appeared on Shark Tank India season 3 episode 35. The company specializes in personalized cakes which can be ordered online and delivered to your home in two hours. The founders shared that they have a price advantage as their cakes are over 40% cheaper than the competitors. However, their unique selling proposition is their style and flavors. Their product line also includes cheesecakes, pastries, and éclairs. They have 3 branches in Delhi NCR and have sold over 5 lakh units so far. The founders sought an investment of ₹60 lakhs for 1.5% of the company, valuing the business at ₹40 crores.

Creme Castle founders said that they are planning to scale this business with a process-dependent assembly line model rather than people-dependent. They added that they have replaced the traditional chef, which costs ₹50,000 a month, with a trainee which costs ₹10,000, and brought down the cost significantly. They acquire 3000 new customers each month and half of them come through their own website.

Creme Castle’s Financials & Revenue during Shark Tank India:

Creme Castle made revenue of ₹88 lakhs in September 2023. They closed FY22-23 with revenue of ₹7.2 crores. A year prior was ₹5.2 crores, and FY20-21 clocked a revenue of ₹3 crores. The founders are projecting to close the current financial year FY23-24 with ₹13 crores in revenue. 70% of their business comes from their own website and the rest comes from Zomato and Swiggy. They have a monthly repeat rate of 60%.

Creme Castle has a customer acquisition cost of ₹400. Their average order value is around ₹1,800 and Lifetime Value of ₹2000. 50% of their sales come from regular cakes and another 50% comes from personalized cakes. Their gross margin is 65%, 15% is spent on marketing, 5% commission, 5% delivery, 15% kitchen salaries, 7% rent giving them a store level EBITDA of 19%. The company spends another 1% on Technology, and 10% corporate expenses giving them company-level EBITDA of 8%.

The founders also shared that they have a term sheet signed for funding from Venture Capitalists at ₹31 crores. They raised ₹5.5 crores in that round. They added that the projected payback period of a new kitchen is 6-8 months. The company is projecting to burn ₹4-4.5 crores in the next 1.5 years but the founders are projecting to reach the revenue of ₹50 crores during that time.

Creme Castle Shark Tank India Negotiations & Funding:

Aman was the first shark to go out because he couldn’t relate to the brand. He added that this could be replicated easily. Namita shared the same sentiment as she felt like there was no differentiator in the brand so she goes out of the deal. Vineeta felt like it would be difficult to scale therefore she goes out.

Anupam liked the founder and the business but he couldn’t justify the valuation therefore he goes out of the negotiations as well. Amit shared the same sentiment but he still offered ₹60 lakhs for 4% of the company. The founders countered that with ₹60 lakhs for 2.5% of the company. Amit accepted that counter and they shook hands on ₹24 crores valuation.

Who are the founders of Creme Castle?

Pranjay Mittal & Veena Mittal founded Creme Castle. They are from Noida. Pranjay worked in Cardekho group with Amit Jain in the past and he graduated from IIT Delhi.