- Founder: Chitresh Sinha
- Business: Unique plates made by artists
- Ask: ₹75 Lakhs for 2% Equity
- Net worth/Valuation: ₹37.5 Crore
- Result: ₹ 75 Lakhs for 3.75% Equity
- Sharks: Namita Thapar, Vineeta Singh and Aman Gupta
- Episode: Season 2 Episode 46
The Plated Project Shark Tank India Pitch:
“The Plated Project,” a social enterprise with a mission to provide meals to underprivileged children in India, was featured on Shark Tank India Season 2, Episode 46. “The Plated Project” offers a range of products, including plates, bowls, coasters, and more, each uniquely designed by different artists. A portion of the proceeds from each sale contributes to feeding underprivileged children. They have three categories: “Decor,” which is for decoration only, “Dinnerware,” which includes microwave-safe dishes for practical usage, and “Gifting,” which includes candles, etc. They collaborate with artists from around the world to create their products, and for every sale, they provide 10 meals to underprivileged children. They have sold over 30,000 products, which in turn sponsored 5.5 lakh meals. Their vision is to increase that number to 25 lakh by 2025.
Their price per plate is ₹2,499 with engraving and ₹2,199 without engraving. The sharks thought the pricing was steep, but Chitresh responded that it is competitive in the market. They generated 40 lakhs in revenue last month with a profit of 2.5 lakhs. Their EBITA for FY 21-22 is at 15%. Ninety percent of their sales come from the “Decor” category, and 10% come from “Dinnerware.” The expected sales for FY 22-23 are 10 crores with a 70/20/10 percent split between “Decor,” “Dinnerware,” and “Gifting” categories. Their goal for FY 23-24 is 40 crores with an expected category split of 50/33/17 percent. Their ultimate goal is to have a brand worth 100 crores by 2025. Ten percent of their revenue comes from international markets, with the Middle East being a major hot spot. The company is bootstrapped.
The Plated Project Negotiations in Shark Tank India:
Peyush comments that this is not defensible, and the impact is not going to make a significant difference, so he goes out. Anupam gives his offer of ₹75 lakh for 5% of the company and states that the offer is non-negotiable. Namita gives her offer at 30 lakh for 1% of the company, with the rest as debt at 12%. Vineeta gives her offer along with Aman for ₹75 lakh for 5%, matching Anupam’s offer. Chitresh counters at ₹1.5 crore for 5% with all interested sharks coming together. Anupam goes out, citing that there is not enough skin in the game with 1%. Vineeta suggests ₹75 lakh for 3.75% of the company, with Namita and Aman coming along, which Chitresh accepts, and they shake hands on that.
Do you think the sharks made the right investment? Let’s find out!
How is “The Plated Project” doing after Shark Tank India?
Our research into the company revealed that their deal with the sharks on the Shark Tank India show never closed. The reasons for the deal collapsing are still unknown. Despite that setback, the brand is still going strong and moving toward its goals. They are doing major marketing by collaborating with galleries across India to get the word out about their mission. They also partnered with actress Diya Mirza to launch a personalized art collection under her name. The company has also added a new category, “Memorabilia,” to help meet their set targets for 2023. As of October, they have over 70,000 followers on Instagram and are continuing to grow.
Sources: The Plated Project Instagram
What do you think could be the reason why this deal may have collapsed, comment your thoughts below!
Here are other companies from Season 2 Episode 46.