Moonshine Meads

Two childhood friends from Pune who discovered mead in 2014 through an in-flight magazine article about London's first modern meadery, started fermenting honey in Rohan's grandmother's kitchen out of sheer curiosity, spent four years refining recipes and obtaining government approval in an almost completely unregulated beverage category, and launched India's (and Asia's) first commercial meadery in 2018 — becoming the pioneers of a category that has existed for 9,000 years but had no modern Indian commercial producer. Rohan Rehani (Co-founder) graduated from Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune in 2012. He is the operational and product lead the hands-on brewer who managed recipe development from grandmother's kitchen to commercial scale, and who runs day-to-day operations at the meadery. Nitin Vishwas (Co-founder & Director) holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB) — India's most prestigious business school.

Moonshine Meads is India's and Asia's first commercial meadery — producing small-batch, handcrafted, gluten-free alcoholic beverages made by fermenting honey with water and an extensive range of natural Indian and global botanical ingredients (fruits, spices, herbs, coffee, chillies) to create a diverse portfolio of contemporary, carbonated, and traditionally styled meads that position mead as a premium craft alternative to beer and wine for Indian urban millennials — reviving the world's oldest fermented beverage in a modern, accessible format.

Amount Asked: ₹80 lakhs Equity Offered: 0.5% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹160 crore

Moonshine's pitch was the third of Episode 22 — arriving after Hair Originals' five-Shark bidding war and Poo de Cologne's no-deal. The meads were served to the Sharks for tasting — the single most effective pitch technique for any beverage company — with contemporary meads, carbonated variants, and the signature Guava Chilli Mead all presented. With their industry understanding and product, the founders pleased all of the Shark Tank India judges. The product quality impressed all five Sharks — an uncommon unanimous positive reaction that translated into all five Sharks wanting to invest. The pitch's challenge was not the product; it was the valuation. The founding story — grandmother's kitchen in 2014, in-flight magazine, four years to regulatory approval, India's first meadery — positioned Moonshine as both a category pioneer and a patient, disciplined company that had earned its position through regulatory groundwork rather than capital deployment.

All five Sharks were genuinely interested in Moonshine — a rare unanimous enthusiasm for both product and market. The breakdown came entirely on valuation. All five Sharks were interested in the company and offered ₹1 crore for 2.5% of the company, valuing the business at ₹40 crores. The founders discussed that they had already raised investment at a much higher valuation. The founders also commented that they were in talks to raise investment at thrice the valuation they were getting at Shark Tank India Peyush, Vineeta, and Aman moved out as they found the founders a bit rigid.

All five Sharks offered ₹1 crore for 2.5% (₹40 crore valuation). The entrepreneurs countered at ₹1.5 crores for 1% of the company (implying a ₹150 crore valuation). The counter at ₹1.5 crores for 1% was the founders' attempt to meet the Sharks partway — offering more capital access in exchange for less equity than the original 0.5%, while maintaining a valuation (₹150 crore) much closer to their ₹160 crore ask than the Sharks' ₹40 crore offer. The Sharks were not interested in a counter. No deal was made on the show and the pitch got closed.

On-Screen Deal: NO DEAL — Five-Shark offer made; founders rejected it; both sides walked away