Gud Gum

Hailing from Bengaluru, their company quickly rose to national fame after making a splash on Shark Tank India in Season 3. Mayank noticed fierce competition in the food sector, but the chewing gum industry remained untouched. Mayank B Nagori and Bhuvan B Nagori are Season 3's most environmentally motivated brother founders. Mayank's food and beverage sales background gave him the specific industry insight to identify that the chewing gum category, unlike every other food segment, had seen virtually no clean-label disruption. Bhuvan's plastic awareness advocacy gave the founding its environmental mission: conventional chewing gum bases contain polyvinyl acetate, the same plastic compound used in tyres and glue, making every conventional gum non-biodegradable. The Gud Gum venture is bootstrapped, with the only loan taken being from their father, which they have already paid back.

Gud Gum is India's first plastic-free and 100% natural chewing gum. These are made from essential oils, fruit extracts, and natural sweeteners, making them kid-friendly and diabetic-friendly. Most importantly, they are biodegradable, unlike other gums. Gud Gum is India's first and only plastic-free, 100% natural, biodegradable chewing gum brand, made from chicle tree sap (a natural latex harvested sustainably from sapodilla trees) instead of the synthetic polyvinyl acetate plastic base used by every conventional chewing gum brand globally. The product is simultaneously a health innovation (no artificial chemicals entering the body), an environmental innovation (biodegradable rather than persisting for decades), and a cultural disruption (proving that chewing gum can be a clean-label, eco-conscious product).

Amount Asked: ₹50 lakhs Equity Offered: 5% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹10 crore

The founders started the pitch with the harmful effects of chewing gums prepared by other brands in the market. They also shared that most of the chewing gums available in the market contain plastic as an element which makes them non-biodegradable. Mayank and Bhuvan opened Season 3 Episode 11 with the most viscerally unsettling consumer product revelation of the season: the chewing gum you have been chewing your entire life is made from the same plastic compound as car tyres and industrial glue. The "you've been chewing plastic" shock moment was Season 3's most immediately behaviour-changing pitch opening. The product tasting confirmed the quality: the Sharks chewed Gud Gum and found the flavour genuinely good, the texture comparable to conventional gums, and the knowledge that they were chewing tree sap instead of plastic instantly transformative. Aman's immediate concern, however, was the ironic packaging: a plastic-free gum sold in plastic pouches.

Namita Thapar was the only Shark to exit. She found the gum too sweet for her personal taste and cited the high retail price relative to the small organised market size (₹300 crore) as insufficient for her investment returns framework. Aman Gupta liked the taste but criticised the plastic packaging as contradictory to the brand's mission. Anupam Mittal suggested launching a chewing gum with prolonged flavour retention. Ritesh Agarwal joined the Aman-Anupam coalition, adding his international scaling expertise and young consumer brand marketing capability to the investor group. Vineeta Singh also joined the coalition, recognising the clean-label consumer brand opportunity. She offered ₹50 lakhs for 5% equity plus 5% royalty separately before the four-Shark deal was consolidated.

After various negotiations, Gud Gum secured an investment of ₹80 lakhs for 10% equity along with a 4% royalty until ₹80 lakhs is recouped from 4 Sharks: Vineeta, Aman, Anupam, and Ritesh. The negotiation progressed through multiple rounds: Aman's solo offer (₹50L for 5% plus 5% royalty), Anupam joining Aman (₹50L for 10% plus 5% royalty), Ritesh joining, Vineeta joining, and the founders negotiating the royalty down from 5% to 4% while the total investment increased from ₹50 lakhs to ₹80 lakhs. The founders also cleverly asked Anupam on-air whether royalty structures were good for entrepreneurs, creating Season 3 Episode 11's most openly educational Shark-founder negotiation moment.

Mayank and Bhuvan Nagori accepted the four-Shark coalition of Aman Gupta, Vineeta Singh, Anupam Mittal, and Ritesh Agarwal at ₹80 lakhs for 10% equity plus 4% royalty until ₹80 lakhs is recouped, valuing Gud Gum at ₹8 crore. The deal brought four strategically diverse Sharks (consumer electronics, beauty brand, digital platform, hospitality scaling) into India's first plastic-free chewing gum brand, providing the broadest possible strategic network for a clean-label consumer product company.

"Sales increased by 25 to 30 times overnight. Within 12 hours of airing the episode, the founders received 1,000 orders across all marketplaces." "We received calls from friends, teachers, saying they were proud of us. We are grateful to have a supportive community around." Gud Gum has expanded dramatically post-Shark Tank. The product range has grown from the original 9 flavours to include Gud Gum+ (natural caffeine energy and focus gums), India's first remineralising dental chewing gum, Matcha gum, and Loveberry (rose-flavoured Valentine's edition). The brand has sold 500,000 plus pieces and continues preventing plastic from entering the environment with every pack sold.