Zoff

Akash Kumar Agrawal and Ashish Agrawal are Season 2's most manufacturing-technology-invested spice brand founders two brothers from Raipur, Chhattisgarh who invested ₹20 crore in building a 40,000 sq ft, 3-acre manufacturing plant with 200 employees before appearing on Shark Tank. Their decision to build manufacturing infrastructure at scale before seeking external equity is one of Season 2's most capital-committed pre-investment founder stories.Zoff experienced 400% growth in online selling in the last three years. The month before they appeared on Shark Tank India, their sales were INR 4.5 crore online and INR 2.5 crore offline. Their profit was around INR 70-80 lakhs. Their projected net profit for FY 22-23 was INR 5-6 crore. They have invested around INR 20 crore in their plant. Their plant is 40,000 sq ft on a 3-acre land with 200 employees.

Zoff is India's most technologically advanced D2C masala brand distinguishing itself from both unorganised local vendors (hygiene and adulteration issues) and conventional national brands (conventional grinding that loses aroma) through two proprietary manufacturing innovations: India's first Air Classifying Mill technology (cool grinding that preserves volatile aromatic compounds instead of destroying them through heat) and a 7-stage cleaning process (eliminating the dust, straw, chemical, and biological contaminants that define the unorganised spice market's quality problem).

Amount Asked: ₹1 crore Equity Offered: 0.5% Implied Pre-Money Valuation: ₹200 crore

Akash and Ashish walked into Season 2 Episode 28 with one of Season 2's most commercially grounded food pitches opening with the cultural observation about India's love for spices, then immediately pivoting to the hygiene horror story of what India's unorganised spice vendors were actually putting in those spices (dust, chemicals, straw, and worse), and presenting Zoff as the D2C brand that solved the spice quality crisis that 70 percent of India's ₹80,000 crore spice market had been creating for decades.The Air Classifying Mill demonstration showing how cool grinding preserved the aroma and colour of spices compared to conventional hot grinding was the pitch's most sensory-impactful product quality communication. The Sharks could smell the difference between Zoff's cool-ground spices and conventional alternatives.

Anupam Mittal was the most structurally demanding Shark offering ₹1 crore for 2% equity but with conditions attached. His conditional offer reflected respect for the business's commercial metrics while acknowledging the governance concern Namita had raised. Vineeta Singh made a competing offer individually attracted by the D2C brand potential in a massive food category. Amit Jain made the most governance-specific offer. Amit says that it's critical to appoint a CEO and offers ₹1 Crore for 1.5% of the company. His CEO appointment requirement echoed Namita's concern both investors saw the dual-founder governance gap as the specific commercial risk the investment needed to address. Business Today Aman Gupta made the final decisive offer ₹1 crore for 1.25% equity, the most valuation-favourable offer on the table for the founders.

Anupam offered ₹1 crore for 2% equity (conditional). Vineeta made a competing offer. Amit offered ₹1 crore for 1.5% equity (with CEO appointment condition). Aman offered ₹1 crore for 1.25% equity. After some discussion, founders come back with a counteroffer at ₹1 crore for 0.75% for everyone. Aman gives the last offer at ₹1 crore for 1.25%, which they accept in a heartbeat. The founders countered at 0.75% equity (implying ₹133 crore valuation) before accepting Aman's 1.25% (₹80 crore valuation) choosing Aman's offer over the three competing offers primarily because it represented the best combination of capital, equity terms, and strategic value without conditions.

Akash and Ashish Agrawal accepted Aman Gupta's offer of ₹1 crore for 1.25% equity valuing Zoff at ₹80 crore. They declined Anupam's conditional offer, Vineeta's competing offer, and Amit's CEO-appointment-conditional offer choosing Aman's unconditional offer at the most founder-favourable equity percentage among the competing bids. The deal was confirmed and formally closed after the episode aired.

Our research into the company reveals that the deal with Shark Aman Gupta closed, and the business is going great. Post Shark Tank, they have expanded their product line to include seasonings, dry fruits, and immunities, etc. According to their website, they have a turnover of over 700 crores and are growing. Aiming to be a ₹300 crores brand by 2025-26, it is eyeing to be the third largest national player in the spices category. Shark Tank Talks The ₹700 crore turnover claim on the website if accurate represents a dramatic scale-up from the ₹7 crore monthly (₹84 crore annualised) revenue at pitch time. The product range expansion to seasonings, dry fruits, and immunity products extends Zoff beyond masalas into a broader food and wellness category, leveraging the brand trust built through the spice quality narrative.