Hoovu Fresh is a puja flower brand started by two sisters named Yeshoda karuturi & Rhea Karuturi, who pitched their company in the first episode of Season 2 of Shark Tank India. The Sharks loved the idea of Hoovu Fresh to the extent that two teams of two sharks each offered to invest in the company, leaving the two founders to make the choice they thought would be best for their brand.
In this piece, I will walk you through what exactly is Hoovu Fresh, the Hoovu Fresh Shark Tank Pitch and share updates on what happened with Hoovu Fresh after their Shark Tank Appearance.
What is Hoovu Fresh?
The core insight behind Hoovu Fresh is actually straightforward.
While the urban Indian population might generally think of bouquet flowers when they hear about flowers, they are also used daily in a huge number of Indian households for daily puja. Apart from this, flowers are also used by women to decorate hair and hang flowers in places like their auto, car and offices.
Hoovu Fresh claims to be the first company to serve the traditional Indian flower needs, attempting to turn the unorganized market into an organized one.
Hoovu Fresh Shark Tank Pitch & Deal
After entering the Shark Tank room, the two sisters and co-founders, Yeshoda karuturi & Rhea Karuturi, began their pitch by establishing the problem they were looking to solve. According to them, despite the fact that the Indian puja flower industry is worth 2.5 lakh crores, there was no company catering to this huge segment and the main reason for this was the problem of freshness. While the shelf life of these flowers is usually 2 to 3 days, Hoovu Fresh increased the shelf life to 15 days with the help of technology.
At the time of the pitch, Hoovu Fresh was present in eight cities, fulfilling more than 2 million orders and was associated with 500 farmers and 300 temples.
After explaining the product and the importance of a company like theirs, the two founders informed the Sharks that they were seeking a Rs 80 lakh investment in exchange for 1% of the company. Given the high valuation it meant, the sharks were shocked.
That said, the Sharks were keen to know how they came up with the idea for this business. Yeshoda karuturi & Rhea Karuturi informed that their family business was also related to floriculture and they got the idea from seeing their mom using flowers for puja.
Namita was keen on understanding the scalability of the business and how the founders see competition from local vendors affecting their business. In response to Namita’s concern, Rhea informed that they do not see local vendors as competition but as a channel. She also informed that while the industry standard for wastage is 40%, Hoovu Fresh’s innovative approach has reduced this to 2-3%.
On being questioned about sales, Yeshoda informed them that they had done 1 crore in sales in the month of August for the first time, leaving Vineeta shocked. However, on average they do monthly sales of 60 to 65 lakhs. Anupam inquired about the channels they employ to sell. Yeshodha answered that they sell through quick commerce platforms like Big Basket, Zepto etc apart from supplying to temples directly.
After asking questions regarding previous years sales and sales projection for the next year, Vineeta and Namita together gave the Hoovu Fresh team an offer of 40 lakhs in equity for 4% of the business and 40 lakhs in debt at 12% interest. On hearing that Hoovu Fresh has already raised 3.5 crores at a valuation of 50 crores, Anupam says that he is out as he won’t be able to match that valuation.
Aman & Peyush make an offer of Rs 1 crore for 2%, matching the 50 crore valuation. Vineeta and Namita revise their offer to 50 lakhs for 1 percent and 30 lakhs debt at 12% interest.
With two offers on the table, the two sisters take some time to decide which offer to take and end up going with Aman & Peyush’s offer.
What Happened to Hoovu Fresh after Shark Tank ( Hoovu Fresh Shark Tank Update )
After the Hoovu Fresh Shark Tank appearance, the brand exposure from the show must have most likely given a boost in sales. Many publications covered the brand post their appearance and a lot of Twitter users also found the company interesting. At the time of writing, the company is in business.
You can watch the Hoovu Shark Tank Pitch saga here.
