Recode Studios is a beauty brand started by two men, Dheeraj Bansal and Rahul Sachdeva, who pitched their company in the first episode of Season 2 of Shark Tank India. While the Sharks were impressed with the business, none of them ended up investing due to one reason or the other.
In this piece, I will walk you through what exactly is Recode Studios, the Recode Studios Shark Tank Pitch and share updates on what happened with Recode Studios after their Shark Tank Appearance.
What is Recode Studios?
The core insight behind Recode Studios is simple — makeup is everywhere but it is expensive. One of the main reasons why it is expensive is that most sellers of makeup are international brands.
This is the main problem that Recode attempts to solve with its economical yet high quality line of makeup products.
Recode Studios Shark Tank Pitch & Deal
After entering the Shark Tank room, the two founders began by highlighting the problem they were attempting to solve, which was, as highlighted earlier, that makeup products in India are expensive.
After introducing the problem, the founders informed that their products are available all over India, in 250 shops, their own website and app. Recently, they also launched three franchises in Faridabad, Delhi & Raipur. In 2021, they also launched a marketplace which hosts products from 60 plus brands apart from Recode.
Post the initial company introduction, Dheeraj informed that they are seeking 1 crore investment in exchange for 1 percent of the company.
After the founders shared how the two met each other and started the company, Peyush questioned the two founders about their thoughts that their market was too crowded. In response, Rahul said that they do not see the 6 or 7 existing brands in the organized sector as competition since they are focussed on selling to consumers while Recode leverages education as a tool for selling.
After this, the two founders proceeded to show their products to the Sharks. Aman was extremely critical of the subpar packaging of one of the products.
Immediately post the product display, Namita shares that she is out as she does not want to invest in a company that is competing with one of her friends’ companies, making a reference to Vineeta’s Sugar Cosmetics.
On being asked about sales by Peyush, Dheeraj shares they sold products worth 15 crores last year(FY21- FY22) and had sold products worth 11.5 crores until this year(FY22- FY23). After hearing the sales, Anupam asks them to explain in detail how they leverage education as a tool for customer acquisition.
Dheeraj explains that they give grooming classes to college girls in 5 star hotels, wherein the class costs Rs 1500 and they attendees also get free products worth Rs 1500 along with free food. These grooming classes help popularize Recode among youngsters. This way, Recode reaches as many as 1000 in the off season. On hearing how this all works, Peyush shares that the founders have devised a brilliant customer acquisition model.
On being inquired by Aman if their business is profitable, Dheeraj shares they made a profit of 65-70 lakhs last year, leaving the Sharks impressed once again. But Aman says he will not invest in the company as he would prefer not to invest in a friends’ competitor.
While Anupam and Peyush disagree with Aman & Namita’s approach, both still refuse to invest citing different reasons. Peyush says he would not be able to add much value and Anupam says he is not comfortable with the way the founders make quick decisions.
Vineeta, obviously being the founder of Sugar cosmetics, says she will not be able to invest.
What Happened to Recode Studios after Shark Tank ( Recode Studios Shark Tank Update )
While Recode did not get a deal, all Sharks were impressed by the marketing tactics and the business. As is common with businesses that appear on Shark Tank, Recode got a large amount of brand exposure that must have possibly led to an increase in sales.
A large number of viewers also felt that the reasons given by Sharks for not investing in Shark Tank were not appropriate and shared their views on Twitter regarding the same.
You can watch the Recode Studios Shark Tank Pitch saga here.
