In the latest episode of Shark Tank Season 2, shark Namita Thapar, the executive director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, opened up about being body shamed during a pitch by Asana Riamei and Vishakha Bhaskar, the founders of Angrakhaa, a clothing brand that sells clothes in all sizes.
Namita said to the entrepreneurs that she has faced body shaming and was also called fat. She went on to ask them why they did not want to make an exclusive brand for plus-sized women instead of focusing on all sizes. Giving an honest response, the pitches said that the problem was that plus-size people are treated like outcasts. The idea of having an all inclusive brand is to make everyone feel included and not have any separate collections or size charts. This means that anyone can buy anything from the site, as everyone is part of the collection.
This in itself is a unique proposition by the brand which is not treating anyone as an outcast as everyone is welcome to make a purchase from them.
Namita Thapar shares her experience about body shaming
This wasn't the first time that Thapar spoke about body shaming. In an interview with Chetan Bhagat in August last year, she shared her experience, saying that when she was 21, she had low self-esteem and was bullied for her weight as well as her facial hair. She also said she was body shamed as a teenager and felt very ugly. Thapar added, "When your body shames you as a teenager, it leaves a lot of scars."
Angrakhaa Pitch
Talking about the pitch, the founders did not just focus on an all inclusive brand, they also spoke about 'fat tax' in the industry, referring to the practice that plus-sized customers are charged very high rates. The founders wish to inculcate the value of size inclusivity by normalising sizes instead of treating them as outcasts.
Discussing their sales, the Angrakhaa founders said that their sales have grown from Rs 14 lakhs in the financial year 2019-2020 to Rs 1.16 crores in the last financial year. Reaching the end of the pitch, they asked the sharks for an investment of Rs 40 lakh for 5 per cent equity.
The sales numbers surprised the sharks, but Peyush Bansal, founder and CEO of Lenskart.com, asks them to rethink whether they need funds or not, while Thapar and Aman Gupta, co-founders and CMO of boAt, back out, saying that their brand strategy is confusing. Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of Shaddi.com, also backs out, saying it is hard to further this business because they lack a unique selling proposition. But, Amit Jain, co-founder and CEO of CarDekho Group, offers them a deal of Rs 40 lakh and 20 per cent equity with additional guidance on digital marketing, which will help them increase their sales. This deal is eventually accepted by the founders.
