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 consumer products sector in 2007, built their strategy around an atypical but simple philosophy: “The consumer is not the king. The channel partner is king.
Both doubled down on their relationships with dealers and retailers instead of focusing on consumer preferences, ensuring that the people marketing their products were motivated, engaged and profitable.
“Shark Tank India wasn’t just about funding. It was an entrepreneurial education that provided knowledge beyond financial support,” Tushar said of the brand’s visibility on national television.
With the support of the platform, Aquapeya is now set to expand its production capacity by 50% at its existing facilities by 2025. The aim is to scale up its operations and achieve a revenue target of Rs 20 crore.
“We hack the market based on trends,” he said, defending his strategy amid investor debate. With products comprising 75% water, 13% jeera soda, 7% mango juice and just 2% soft drinks, Tushar’s clear focus on consumer preferences has fueled profitability from day one . The company closed FY2024 at Rs 9 crore, and with an EBITDA of 16%, the brand is targeting Rs 12 crore for FY2025.
The founders told the judges that the bottles are sold at Rs 20 and the dealer price is at Rs 6.5, leaving a margin of 20% and an operating profit of Rs 1.25 per unit. However, the brand’s approach has sparked intense discussions.
Piyush criticized the launchers saying, “You are a copycat brand,” arguing that the company could not scale profitably.
“The company’s distribution expertise needs to be copied and pasted across India,” argued Namita Thapar, emphasizing the strength of Aquapeya’s model. Thapar also pointed out that the packaging of their products is very similar to the pre-existing products in the markets. “Aapka toh pura ka pura copy kiya hai, itna kyu copy kiya?”
One of the founders explained that they did not consider themselves as such. “We follow customer trends,” he said of developing the color-coding strategies.
The company started with a modest monthly turnover of Rs 30 lakh and a network of 25 dealerships. Today, it generates Rs 1 crore in monthly revenue, supported by 90 dealers and around 10,000 outlets. Despite setbacks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which cost the company significant sales during summer seasons, Aquapeya has reportedly maintained an annual growth rate of 20-25% in terms of volume.
Tushar attributes his success to his focus on building long-term relationships with his channel partners. “Our growth is a direct result of the trust we have built with our partners. In difficult times, they supported us and we worked to ensure that our growth was sustainable,” he said.
