JhaJi Store (JhaJi Achaar),Mithila Pickles and Chutneys Pvt. Ltd

The story of Kalpana Jha and Uma Jha is one of the most profoundly human entrepreneurial journeys to emerge from Shark Tank India. It is a story about two women in their 50s from a small Bihar town, with no prior business experience, who decided to build something from nothing — and succeeded spectacularly. Kalpana Jha registered her business at the age of 51 after her husband was preparing for retirement from his government job, and the COVID-19 pandemic had unfolded around them. Business Remedies She had spent her life as a homemaker — cooking, managing the household, and carrying forward the centuries-old pickle recipes of Mithilanchal that her mother and grandmother had passed down. Her 82-year-old mother was her recipe consultant.

JhaJi Store makes traditional, handcrafted, sun-dried pickles and chutneys (achaar) from the Mithilanchal region of Bihar — using authentic recipes passed down through generations, with zero artificial preservatives, zero artificial colours, and zero chemical additives. Their specialty: traditional homemade pickles, sun-dried in the most natural way without using any preservatives or chemicals. JhaJi Store The product range at the time of the pitch included mango, lemon, chilli, and garlic pickles. Since then the range has expanded dramatically to include stuffed mango achaar, stuffed red chilli, karonda mix, panchranga achaar (five vegetables — cauliflower, carrot, ginger, green chilli, and turnip), and other seasonal Mithilanchal specialities like sukhi vadis and makhana.

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

The JhaJi Store pitch was the second of Episode 4, following CosIQ, and it could not have been more different in tone and character. Where CosIQ was a sleek, science-led skincare pitch from educated urban entrepreneurs, JhaJi Store arrived as something far more elemental: two women from Darbhanga, Bihar, in their 50s, carrying handmade jars of achaar and the full weight of their culture's culinary heritage. The financial presentation was detailed and confident — remarkable for first-time entrepreneurs from a small Bihar town. Their last month's sales stood at ₹5.14 lakhs, of which ₹80,000 came from repeat customers. The average order value was ₹600, from which they spent ₹180 on marketing, ₹140 on shipping, and the cost of goods came to ₹170 — bringing the margin to ₹110 per order. The pitch also carried an unmistakable cultural weight. Kalpana and Uma were not just selling pickle — they were presenting Mithilanchal's culinary soul to a national audience.

Namita Thapar expressed admiration for the founders but ultimately stepped back, saying she lacked expertise in the food sector and did not feel she could meaningfully contribute. Vineeta Singh had similar hesitation. Vineeta couldn't see earlier how the nanad-bhabhi ki jodi would build a large brand. Aman Gupta was genuinely moved by the pitch and the founders' story. Aman loved the fact that they were doing all this from a small town in Bihar. Ashneer Grover offered perhaps the most actionable feedback. Ashneer went out with a suggestion that they should focus on their profit margin as well as their shareholding structure. Anupam Mittal praised the pitch and the unit economics but declined, wishing them well.

There was no formal negotiation phase. No Shark made an offer during the episode. The Sharks felt it was too early to be raising funds and nudged them to come back the next year with more traction.

No final deal