Shark Tank India S3: A diabetic safe ice cream brand Artinci from Bangalore secures funding!

Artinci is an ice cream and sweet brand from Bangalore which is trying to solve the problem of diabetes by offering sugar-free and diabetic-safe sweets. 

Generational diabetes is a significant problem in India, and the co-founders of Artinci—a sugar-free dessert and ice cream brand—also faced the same issue. Instead of avoiding sugar and resigning themselves to a life without sweets, they sought to find a solution for millions of people like them who have diabetes.

They considered launching a sugar-free ice cream brand, but with numerous brands already in the market for sugar-free confectioneries, they needed to stand out. How could Artinci distinguish itself and remove the problem from the market? After conducting research and studies, the co-founders discovered that sugar-free items don’t effectively control sugar spikes in the body. After 8 months of trials and tests, Aarti Laxman, the co-founder of the brand, developed a proprietary sweetener blend that caused negligible sugar spikes.

They began preparing their products using this proprietary stevia-based sweetener with a low glycemic index and observed excellent results, with almost no spike in sugar levels. Initially starting with ice cream, they now offer cookies, cakes, and Indian sweets, all of which they claim to be 100% sugar-free and safe for diabetics.

Experience in Shark Tank 

The co-founders of the brand Aarti Laxman and Sumit Rastogi came up with an initial pitch of 50 lakhs for 1.75% and 4 of the sharks backed out due to multiple reasons. Vineeta Singh, CEO and co-founder of Sugar Cosmetics showed interest in the deal with a revised offer of Rs. 50 lakhs for 5% equity plus 1% royalty until Rs. 75 lakhs are recouped and a few conditions such as rebranding the company, changing flagship product from ice creams to Indian sweets and improved packaging which were accepted by the co-founders. The experience on Shark Tank was warm and welcoming for them and the actual discussion inside the tank with the Sharks was also meaningful. “It resonated with what we had heard from our mentors and advisors in the past 6 months,” said the co-founders.