Lil’ Goodness Startup Story – Business Model & Company Details
Lil’ Goodness Introduction
Snacks are one of the most consumed food types in India. Therefore, several businesses have taken the opportunity from the snack industry to make it into a much better one. Most of the snacks that are available today are unhealthy and can cause serious health issues in the long run. After the pandemic was over the majority of snack consumers in India and as well as in other parts of the globe have shifted to healthy snack products.
Lil’ Goodness is a healthy snack startup company that made its pitch even on the second season of Shark Tank India. founders, Harshvardhan Saseedran and Damanbir Singh represented their company in Shark Tank where they asked the investors to taste two kinds of chocolate with their eyes blindfolded. They were surprised to know about Lil’ Goodness’s chocolate and how it was made for the Indian market.
| Company Name | Lil’ Goodness |
| Founders | Harshvardhan Saseendran and Damanbir Singh |
| Headquarters | Bangalore |
| Industry Type | Food and beverages |
| Episode | Shark Tank Season 2 Episode 48 |
| Asked For | INR 1 crore in exchange for 1% Equity |
| Status | In-Business |
Lil’ Goodness Founders & Initial Days
Lil’ Goodness manufactures different types of chocolate products and different kinds of healthy beverages. The company founders had represented Lil’ Goodness in the second season of Shark Tank India and quickly impressed the investors with their chocolate products. Harshvardhan and Damanbir Singh are the co-founders of Lil’ Goodness where they are in the position of CEO and COO & Chief Product Officer respectively.
Founded back in the year 2020, both the co-founders of the company wanted to change the food habits of their children as they were very concerned about it. Thinking collectively about all the children in the world, both fathers wanted to change the eating habit of every kid in the country which was the reason for introducing Lil’ Goodness.
The company wanted to introduce healthy snacks for all age groups. The products will not just be healthy but will also be of great taste creating a strong future for healthy snacking in the country. Lil’ Goodness also wants to create nutritional awareness among its consumers throughout the country.
Harshavardhan is the co-founder of Lil’ Goodness and is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta. Damanbir Singh, on the other hand, is an experienced expert in health and nutrition. Both the founders had to struggle during their initial stages and had to work their way through the market to reach a certain level. The company raised INR 5 crore in its seed round funding from a Japan-based venture capital named Beyond Next Ventures (BNV) in the year 2020.
Lil’ Goodness Business Model
Lil’ Goodness has been quite fortunate enough to get some of the best investors during its seed round funding. The investments that were made during its seed round were one of the greatest reasons for the company to get a huge boost in its business. The business model of the company has been designed just as most of the other businesses in the country.
Lil’ Goodness has got an official website where they have given the opportunity for the consumers to order their favorite products and get them delivered right to their doorstep. The product category has also been named uniquely to grab the attention of consumers. Some of them are:
- Shark’s Favorite Milk Haldi Chocolates
- Avengers Chocolates
- Bounce Back With Milkshakes
The company has made its presence online and has also tied up its products with leading e-commerce platforms like Amazon. The products of the company are sold offline as well in more than 67 stores in Bangalore. Apart from that, the company has also tied up with educational institutions where 1800 order servings take place every day.
Lil’ Goodness Startup Story
The startup story of Lil’ Goodness was an interesting one because the co-founders of the company are not just great entrepreneurs but great fathers as well. During the early days of the company, both the founders were concerned about the snacking habits of their children which made them rethink the health and nutritional issues that they could face if such habit continued.
This is why Lil’ Goodness came into the market in the year 2020 and it was in the same year when the company had several huge investors receiving a decent amount in their funding round. The company was formed not just to introduce healthy snacks for all age groups but also to change the perception of unhealthy snacking.
It was also to create awareness about the health and nutritional issues that children could face by consuming unhealthy products. The company has its head office in Bangalore where it is functioning its business in a solid way and is looking strong to make it big in the upcoming days.
Lil’ Goodness Funding
Lil’ Goodness received seed funding from Beyond Next Ventures (BNV) in the year when the company was formulated. Japanese investors became a supportive hand during the funding stages in the early days of the company. BNV president, Tsuyoshi Ito, and Executive Office, Mayu Morishima were of the early investors of the company investing INR 5 crore.
However, apart from that, top Indian business leaders like Sanjan Pillai (former CEO-UST Global, and General Partner) were also one the early investors of Lil’ Goodness. Lalit Pai and Dr. Muthu Krishnan were some of the other investors who is a reputed names in entrepreneurship.
The company rolled out products that could easily catch the attention of the investors because investors know the significance of staying healthy in these recent times. The products of Lil’ Goodness included the benefits of vegetables, cereals, milk, yogurts, and many more.
Lil’ Goodness In Shark Tank
Lil’ Goodness was lucky enough to be a part of the second season of Shark tank India. The investors in the show were impressed with the products that the founders offered to them. The investors were asked by the founders to taste two types of chocolate blindly and the chocolate that Lil’ Goodness offered was different in taste. Later, Mr. Singh explained the ingredients of chocolate and the benefits it had in the human body.
Soon after the company had been represented in Shark Tank India, both the co-founders of the company decided to change its website design and make it more attractive. So, they showcased the logo of Shark Tank in their website along with introducing a new category that said ‘Shark’s Favorite Milk haldi Chocolates’.
The company did not fail to impress the investors once again because the chocolates with minimized sugar content in it impressed the taste buds of the investors. It was one of the first chocolate products to have the presence of Haldi in it which added more benefits.
Co-founders had asked for INR 1 crore in exchange for 1% equity. Even though the products that the company offered had health benefits in it but there was nothing much different in it. It was Mr. Anupam Mittal that had pointed out this point. The sales that the company is making was in crores but the loss was also a major issue as well.
In the end, everyone was out of the deal except for Peyush Bansal who wanted to go for half of the amount that was asked. Peyush invested INR 50 lacs in exchange for 1% equity and another half with 10% interest.
Lil’ Goodness Future Plans
The future of Lil’ Goodness seems pretty motivating because it is their mission to get to at least 20 million families with kids as soon as possible. It was during an interview when the co-founder, Harsha Vardhan had said that the company wants to raise a Series A round within the next 6 months.
By the year 2023 Sep, the company will be aiming to scale up to more than 10,000 stores and will also be expanding their online marketplace. The process of reaching such a target is enough for the company to make it in time only if they are able to work according to their plans.
Lil’ Goodness Competitors
- Happilo
- A Bushel & A Peck Bulk Foods
- GF Mall
- Mintel
- Wellbeing
Lil’ Goodness Valuation & Net Worth
The company had raised around $1.1M in its three founding rounds. The latest round of funding that the company received was in Mar 2023 by six investors. Venture Catalysts and beyond Next Ventures are two of the most recent investors of the company. The company aims to achieve a whopping turnover of INR 500 crore by the year 2026.
The company wants to raise funds with a valuation of $4 billion. The company is making aggressive sales by tying up with several e-commerce platforms and educational institutions. The future of the company seems pretty strong.
Conclusion
Lil’ Goodness is trying to impress the Indian audience by rolling out only healthy snack items. People in India eat snacks almost 4 times on average per day. However, the snack items are not as healthy because healthy snacks become a costly option for them which is why they end up eating unhealthy items. Lil’ Goodness wanted to resolve this issue for the majority of the Indian market including families with kids and they will be doing that within the upcoming years.