Anupam Mittal senses ‘multi-trillion-dollar opportunity’ as Shark Tank India founders pitch Ozempic competitor pill

Shark Tank India, which is currently streaming its fourth season on SonyLIV, recently saw a team of entrepreneurs from Hyderabad, who pitched a product that promises to address the issues of diabetes and obesity. Sreeram Reddy Vanga, Kartikeya Kabra and Dr Lalitha Palle, the founders of the brand Moderate, said that their products can be consumed in the form of pills. They claimed that their pills can reduce 40 percent carbohydrates and associated calories from meals, and reduce post-meal spikes in sugar levels. The ‘sharks’ were quite skeptical about the products. The founders asked for Rs 50 lakh for 1.25 percent of the company, valuing it at Rs 40 crore.

At the beginning of the pitch, Vineeta Singh said that she was quite impressed with their packaging but admitted that she was scared of trying the product. “Darr lag raha hai par fir bhi mann kar raha hai khane ka (I am scared but I still want to try it),” she said. Anupam Mittal then jumped into the conversation, and questioned the founders about their clinical trials, which they claimed to have spent Rs 50 lakh on. When Peyush Bansal asked them about the side-effects, Dr Lalitha said that 20 percent users might experience some discomfort in their gut during the first couple of days but they will get used to it soon after that.

The founders said that they have sold Rs 1 crore worth of products in the last nine months and claimed that they will be able to generate Rs 6 crore revenue by the end of the year. They also claimed that they had a repeat rate of 33 percent.  Vineeta said that she wasn’t interested in making an offer as she believes that people would be scared of trying the product because of the unknown side effects, and no amount of advertising on social media will be able to solve this problem. 

Even Peyush backed out after saying that in case something unfortunate happens to a customer, it would weigh heavily on his conscience. He said, “Kisiko kuch ho gaya khuda na khasta main apne ko kabhi maaf nahi kar paunga (God forbid, if something happens to someone, I will not be able to forgive myself.)” Anupam also backed out of the deal after telling the founders that they should arrange third-party clinical trials to prove the efficacy of their products.

When Anupam brought up Apple Cider Vinegar, which promises similar results, the founders claimed that their product was better, even though they didn’t have much evidence to support that claim. Kunal Bahl also entered the conversation and brought up the “Ozempic revolution,” and asked the founders if they were “ready for the scrutiny” that comes with selling the product to masses who might be extremely skeptical about it. Anupam said that if their product actually does what they claim, then it could be a “multi-trillion dollar opportunity.”