Tiggle

Tiggle was founded by Anuva Kakkar, a young entrepreneur from Agra. She started the company in 2021 with a modest investment of around ₹20,000 after identifying a gap in India's beverage market. While coffee and tea brands had become mainstream, hot chocolate remained an underdeveloped category despite being one of the most popular café beverages. Before launching Tiggle, Anuva personally sold cups of hot chocolate at Delhi Metro stations and local events to validate customer demand. Her vision was to build India's first major hot chocolate-focused brand that could make premium chocolate beverages accessible at home. Through consistent branding, social media marketing, and product innovation, she gradually built a loyal customer base and transformed Tiggle into a fast-growing D2C beverage startup

Tiggle is a D2C premium hot chocolate and chocolate beverage brand that offers ready-to-make chocolate drink mixes made from high-quality cocoa sourced from certified farms in Tamil Nadu. The products are vegan, dairy-free, and use jaggery-based sweetening in several variants, differentiating them from traditional sugary chocolate drink brands. The company's portfolio includes dark hot chocolate, hazelnut hot chocolate, jaggery hot chocolate, light hot chocolate, and iced chocolate mixes. Tiggle primarily sells through its own website, Amazon, Blinkit, and various retail channels. The brand focuses on creating a café-like chocolate experience at home while positioning itself as a premium alternative to conventional chocolate beverage products.

Amount Asked: ₹50 Lakhs Equity Offered: 5% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹10 Crore

Anuva delivered one of the most polished consumer-brand pitches of the season. She began by explaining why hot chocolate deserved its own category rather than being treated as a small extension of coffee or tea. To demonstrate product superiority, she shared an experiment conducted before launch where consumers compared Tiggle products against competing formulations and consistently preferred Tiggle's offerings. The Sharks sampled the products and generally appreciated the taste, quality, and packaging. Anuva demonstrated strong command over her business metrics, discussing unit economics in detail. She revealed that the company had served over 37,000 customers and maintained a customer repeat rate of approximately 24–25%, which impressed the panel. She also highlighted that the products were vegan, dairy-free, and made using premium cocoa sourced directly from Tamil Nadu. The founder effectively combined storytelling, product knowledge, and financial understanding, which helped establish credibility despite operating in a relatively niche category.

Namita appreciated the founder's passion and product quality but felt that the hot chocolate category was relatively small compared to other food and beverage segments. Azhar liked the brand and presentation but was concerned about customer retention and long-term brand defensibility. Anupam appreciated Anuva's entrepreneurial journey and product positioning. However, he questioned whether hot chocolate alone could become a sufficiently large category to build a major consumer brand. Peyush was impressed by the founder's conviction and execution. Amit liked both the founder and the business fundamentals. He appreciated the company's profitability, unit economics, and product differentiation. He believed the founder had demonstrated strong execution ability and joined the investment offer.

The negotiations revolved around market size and valuation. While several Sharks appreciated the product, they remained skeptical about the long-term potential of the hot chocolate category. Amit Jain was the first to make a meaningful offer, proposing ₹20 lakhs for 5% equity along with ₹30 lakhs as debt at 15% interest for three years. Peyush Bansal then entered the discussion with a different structure, offering ₹50 lakhs for 20% equity along with a 1% royalty until ₹1 crore was recovered. Amit eventually joined Peyush, and together they revised the proposal to ₹50 lakhs for 20% equity with a 2% royalty until ₹1 crore was recouped. After carefully evaluating the available options and considering the strategic value of having two experienced consumer-business investors onboard, Anuva accepted the joint offer.

Tiggle successfully secured funding on Shark Tank India. The founder entered the Tank seeking ₹50 lakhs for 5% equity, valuing the company at ₹10 crore. After negotiations, Amit Jain and Peyush Bansal jointly invested ₹50 lakhs for 20% equity along with a 2% royalty until ₹1 crore was recovered. Although the final valuation was substantially lower than the original ask, Anuva accepted the deal because it provided access to two experienced investors who could help scale the brand, improve distribution, and strengthen business operations. The startup left the Tank with a deal and two strategic partners.

Following its appearance on Shark Tank India, Tiggle experienced a significant increase in brand awareness and online visibility. The company expanded its distribution through platforms such as Blinkit, Amazon, and retail partnerships while continuing to grow its direct-to-consumer presence. The brand gained recognition for creating a distinct hot chocolate category in India and continued launching new chocolate beverage variants. Shark Tank exposure helped Tiggle attract new customers and strengthen its position as one of India's emerging premium chocolate beverage brands.