Shark Tank India: Pune's WITHOUT Lands Rs 75 Lakh for Recycled Sunglasses

While it is easy to look stylishly cool with the various shades of sunglasses, have you ever thought how wonderfully cool it could be to wear the ones that do not leave a carbon footprint as compared to other glasses? Well, if not, WITHOUT will let you ponder your choices of sunglasses made out of waste like chips packets, the brand that recently got funded in the third season of Shark Tank India. 

Started in Pune in 2021, Without brand is a material science company that recycles plastic waste like the packers of chips. The brand claims to have built the world's first recycled sunglasses, made from recycled plastic waste. "The idea behind the brand is that as we build the world without waste, we want you to wear our product without any worries," Anish Malpani, the founder, says, adding that it is about buying products without worries or guilt.

"We look forward to making the world sustainable for both environmental and social causes," he mentions.
By using advanced technology, Malpani extracts value from “impossible-to-recycle” plastic waste to convert it into a product with utility. The sunglasses by the brand come with a QR Code that also shares the stories behind the product; from where the waste comes from to the waste-pickers who have worked on it and how their lives have been improved. 

At Shark Tank 

The founder shared the details of the brand in his pitch to the Sharks, where he unfolded the story of his approach to recycling packets of chips. He started by highlighting the harmful effects of chip packets on the environment, noting that they are made of MLP (Multi-layered Plastic) and are almost impossible to recycle. Malpani also emphasized that the products are high-quality, durable, and lightweight.

The initial ask was 75 Lakhs for 1% equity. "The basic reason for this was that we are currently raising a larger round for about 1.4 million dollars or 10-11 crores. We were looking for the right sharks to come on board with us and just token investment for the journey we are trying to build," he explained.

After the pitch, discussions commenced among the sharks. Anupam Mittal asked about his career background, and Ronnie Screwvala asked why he chose sunglasses as a product out of waste. While the founder received multiple investment offers from the Sharks, he opted for a combined offer from Peyush and Ronnie.

"We wanted Sharks Ronnie and Peyush, and hence, we accepted the offer of Rs 75 lakh for 3%, even though the valuation was lower than what we had asked for," he noted.

Reflecting on the overall experience at Shark Tank India, the founder described it as quite "rewarding"."From the applications to the auditions and the shoots, everything had a lot of uncertainty, but we felt supported throughout the journey," he added.

Speaking about how it has helped the brand, Ronnie remarked, "It's nice to know that the sharks cared about the cause because we are trying to build an impact-first start-up that focuses on social and environmental problems, using profits to maximize impact."