- Founder: Ranodeep Saha and Vijay Kumar
- Business: Handicrafts
- Ask: ₹65 lakhs for 1% Equity
- Valuation/Net worth: ₹65 Crores
- Result: ₹65 lakhs for 3% Equity
- Sharks: Namita Thapar
- Episode: Season 1 Episode 26
Rare Planet Shark Tank India Pitch:
Rare Planet, a retail lifestyle startup, was founded in 2017 by Ranodeep Saha and Vijay Kumar appeared in Shark Tank India Season 1. Their mission is to promote and sell indigenous Indian handicrafts, providing local artisans with sustainable income opportunities. Their product range includes various handmade items such as terracotta and copper products, stationery, jewelry, pottery, bottles, and home decor crafted from materials like terracotta, copper, ceramic, brass, wood, and marble. The company initially began with terracotta kulhads and expanded its offerings over time.
At the time of their pitch, they had four stores in airports and their own website for direct consumer sales. They had a roster of over 10,000 craftsmen. Rare Planet’s vision is to collaborate with artists across the country. They sought an investment of ₹65 lakh for 1% of their company. They had a total of 6000 SKUs, generated ₹1 crore in the last month, with 78% of that revenue coming from retail and the rest from online. Their net profit was approximately ₹12-13 lakh last month. About 28% of their revenue goes toward airport rent. They employed 13 people in their corporate office, which costs around ₹3 lakh.
In 2019, they raised their first round of funding, securing ₹1.25 crore at a valuation of ₹6.5 crore. At that time, their monthly revenue was around ₹4-5 lakh. They raised a second round in August 2020, securing ₹2.5 crores. They were also in the process of expanding to 11 more airports within the next few months.
Who are the founders of Rare Planet?
Rare Planet was founded by Ranodeep Saha and Vijay Kumar. Ranodeep comes from a working class family and he needed money while doing his engineering so he started painting and selling Kullars in Festivals and He used that to fund his studies. While visiting a Village, He got the idea to work with local artists to start this venture. Vijay worked in Airport retail for 10 years and that’s why Ranodeep invited him to join his venture as Vijay has a better understanding.
Rare Planet Shark Tank India Negotiations:
During the Shark Tank India pitch, Vineeta decided not to invest, expressing concerns about the business’s reliance on the gifting segment. Gazal also chose not to invest, citing an inability to defend the brand. Peyush expressed reservations about the business’s dependence on airports and suggested interest once the model was proven in regular malls, but for now, he declined to invest. Anupam believed that the business’s margins would shrink as it expanded and questioned the team’s ability to build the brand, leading him to decline the deal as well.
Namita made the first offer, emphasizing her desire to be a strategic investor. She offered ₹65 lakh for 5% of the company, valuing the business at ₹13 crores. Rare Planet countered with ₹2 crore for 5%, which Namita refused. They then made another counteroffer at 3%, which was still less than their last valuation. Namita accepted this offer, and the deal was closed.
How is Rare Planet doing After Shark Tank India?
After Shark Tank India, Rare Planet’s deal with Namita was finalized and closed. They subsequently opened a store in Pune, and their revenue saw significant growth, increasing from ₹75 lakh per month to an average of ₹4 crores a month within a year of the show airing. Namita also revealed that the company is empowering over 15,000 artists with its venture. As of November 2023, Rare Planet claims to be the largest Indian airport retail brand, with over 26,000 Instagram followers and more than 20 retail stores in airports across India.
Namita Thapar announced in January 2024 that the business had grown to 50 stores at the time of pitch and is PAT(profit after tax) positive. Namita has also taken a partial exit from the business at 3.5X growth.
Source: Rare Planet Instagram
Here are more companies from Season 1 Episode 26.
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