Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal is in the news for pitching hair care brand Havintha on Shark Tank India season 4. Bharat Khatri, founder of hair care brand Havintha, claims to have developed only natural products that help stop hair fall. .
He demanded Rs 50 lakh for the exchange of 2 percent shares in his company. The brand's logo puzzled Aman Gupta, who thought the CMO's remaining boat logo resembled a cannabis leaf.
During his pitch, Khatri said that Havintha sells different types of hair care products. He later claimed that he had built his business on a loan of Rs 22,000 against his credit card and had sales of Rs 5 crore in the previous financial year.
When everything seemed to be working for the pitcher, Mittal questioned his qualifications and the science behind his production. The founder later admitted that he had no qualification in Ayurveda but had an Ayush license.
Needless to say, the pitch was in awe of Mittal as they backed him up for calling out the brand's “cunning”.
“Anupam is the one who speaks to these kind of Ayurveda scams. Some of these guys are simply behaving in a bid for TRP. He has a manufacturing facility that requires huge investment and various licenses and claims he doesn't have the required ingredients and orders. The label,” said a user.
“Indians will buy anything in the name of natural, ayurvedic and all, I don't doubt his sales or numbers but Anupam's feedback was spot on, he must have some backing behind his claim,” said another user.
“I think he's not the real founder of havintha, it's just a marketing gimmick used by havintha founders to promote the products worldwide (as it was D2C products),” a third user noted.
“Ayurveda is a fraud in most of its production it is not science it is science 90% doesn't work 10% has reality but if you live long enough you will at least know the beneficial local herbs etc given. I have always been this nonsense Stay away from,” commented a fourth user.
During the pitch, Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl said he believed in Khatri and what he was doing. Although he refused to invest in the business, Bahl asked Bharat to join him when he converted Havinda into a private limited company.
After the founder left, Mittal and Bal discussed the product and the entrepreneur.
Bal said many home remedies are passed down through generations, so many people don't know how these remedies work. However, Mittal said: “When you pack home remedy And sell it in the market, then you have an obligation to do it responsibly. I'm sorry to say, but I felt this was a complete scam.