Tushar and Ravi Mundada, founders of Aquapeya, recently revealed their unique strategy of doing business while pitching their business idea on Shark Tank Season 4.
The duo, who entered the FMCG sector since 2007, built their strategy around an unusual but straightforward philosophy: “The consumer is not the king. The channel partner is the king.”
The two doubled down on their relationships with dealers and retailers instead of consumer preferences ensuring that the people who moved their product were motivated, engaged and profitable.
“Shark Tank India wasn’t just about the funding. It was an entrepreneurial education that provided insights that went beyond the financial support,” Tushar said while speaking about visibility of the brand on national television.
With the backing from the platform, Aquapeya is now poised to expand its production capacity by 50% at its existing facility by 2025. The aim is to scale up operations and reach a revenue target of Rs 20 crore.
“We are cracking the market on trends,” he declared, defending his strategy amid investor debates. With products spanning 75% water, 13% jeera soda, 7% mango juice, and just 2% carbonated drinks, Tushar’s clear focus on consumer preferences has fuelled profitability from day one. The company closed FY2024 closed at Rs 9 crore, and with an EBITDA of 16%, the brand is targeting Rs 12 crores for FY 2025.
The founders told the judges that the bottles are sold at Rs 20 and a dealer price is at Rs 6.5, leaving a 20% margin and Rs 1.25 operating profit per unit. However, the brand’s approach sparked intense discussions.
Piyush critiqued the pitchers saying “You are a copy brand,” arguing the business couldn’t scale profitably.
“The company’s expertise in distribution needs to be copied and pasted pan-India,” Namita Thapar argued, emphasising the strength of Aquapeya’s model. Thapar also highlighted that the packaging of their products is very similar to pre-existing products in the markets. “Aapka toh pura ka pura copy kiya hai, itna kyu copy kiya?”
One the founders explained that they don’t see themselves as such. “We follow customer trends,” he said, elaborating on the colour-coding strategies.
The company started with a modest Rs 30 lakh in monthly revenue and a network of 25 dealers. Today, it generates Rs 1 crore in monthly revenue, supported by 90 dealers and approximately 10,000 outlets. Despite setbacks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which cost the company significant sales during the summer seasons, Aquapeya has reportedly maintained an annual growth rate of 20-25% in terms of volume.
Tushar credits their success to their focus on building long-term relationships with channel partners. “Our growth is a direct result of the trust we’ve built with our partners. In tough times, they’ve stood by us, and we’ve focused on making sure that our growth is sustainable,” he said.
