BeastLife: Complete Business Model Analysis

Analysis of BeastLife's business model featured on Shark Tank India.

We recently saw Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, and his Co-Founder Raj Vikram on Shark Tank India Season 4. We all know about Gaurav Taneja's life and recent controversy through his vlogs, but this website is about business and the private market, so let’s understand BeastLife's business model step-by-step.

Topic Cover: 1. Founder story  2. Business Model 3. Competitor Analysis 4. Funding Information 5. Conclusion

Let’s start.

Founder Story

Gaurav got the idea after the lockdown when he realized that his expertise in Fitness could be used to build a fitness supplement brand, but it was not easy. 

Gaurav has expertise in marketing and also he has a huge subscription base on YouTube which can be helpful to gain attention and generate revenue for its venture, but he lacks the expertise in operations and execution plans.

So, he was looking for a Co-Founder. He took multiple interviews for the role, but no perfect candidate was found. Mamaearth co-founders Ghazal and Varun Alagh are good friends of Gaurav Taneja and his wife. One day at a dinner, Varun Alagh introduced Raj Vikram. Vikram perfectly fit the role, and he became the co-founder of BeastLife. 

Gaurav Taneja completed his education at IIT Kharagpur, whereas Raj Vikram completed his at IIM Ahmedabad. Raj is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Board Member, while Gaurav is the Founder and holds only a Board Member position. Gaurav Taneja is also a founder of Rosier Foods, a dairy product company. He also holds a Board Member position in Rosier along with two other companies apart from BeastLife. 

Even though Gaurav holds only a Board Member position, we can see him promoting BeastLife on various social media platforms. It looks like he is also acting as Chief Marketing Officer.

Business Model

BeastLife operates in a kind of white-labeling business model. They import all the raw materials from manufacturers and prepare the final product in-house. In the end, the branding takes place and moves the product to distribution. For now, they don’t have their own distribution systems. 

Since Gaurav Taneja is a social media influencer and has followers of millions, it's natural that he will promote the products on its social media. And this is one of the biggest advantages that BeastLife has compared to other new startups. It can be a two-edged sword, leaving BeastLife and Gaurav Taneja with very limited scope for error. 

As per MCA company's start date is August 2024 and its primary headquarters are in New Delhi, India. BeastLife legal name is ”RAK FITNESS CONSUMER PRIVATE LIMITED”

Competitor Analysis

Before I start the competitor analysis, readers need to understand how we compare startups with their peers. We followed the SWOT model analysis and mentioned additional points at the end. 

BeastLife SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

• Diverse Product Portfolio: I don’t believe this is a strength because the majority of fitness supplement brands offer the same range of products, but still add in strength since it’s good to have a wide range of products that cater to a broad spectrum of fitness enthusiasts. 

• Targeted Market: As per the Grand View research report sports nutrition market size was estimated at USD 45.24 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2024 to 2030. BeastLife has targeted a growing market. 

• Brand Positioning: The company name ("BeastLife") resonates with fitness and bodybuilding enthusiasts, creating a strong identity.

Weakness:

• High Competition: The market is full of big and well-established players locally as well as globally. BeastLife can work on building its reputation apart from Gaurav Taneja's social media influences. 

• Dependence on Online Sales: BeastLife offers its product through BeastLife.in and other online platforms which limits the sales. The company can work to improve its offline presence.

• Pricing Sensitivity: Consumers in the fitness industry are price-sensitive, and larger competitors might offer competitive pricing.

Opportunities:

• Increasing Fitness Trends: Especially after Covid people are becoming fitness conscious which is increasing the overall fitness industry. BeastLife can attract new customers.

• Product Diversification: Expanding into other categories like vegan protein, pre-workout supplements, or snacks can attract a wider audience.

• Export Potential: Opportunity to expand to international markets where demand for supplements is growing.

Threats:

• Regulatory Challenges: Compliance with health and safety regulations can pose challenges, especially in international markets.

• Counterfeit Products: We’re all aware of fake supplement products. Dealing with this will be a big challenge. 

• Rising Raw Material Costs: Fluctuations in the cost of raw materials like whey protein can affect profitability.

Funding Information:

As per some social media reels, BeastLife has raised funding from Mama Earth Founders. But in one of the vlog videos of Gaurav Taneja, he mentions that no funding was raised.  

As per Tracxn, BeastLife has raised two angel funding in April and July 2024 and diluted 40% of the company and value at $597k.

Recently both the founders Gaurav Taneja and Raj Vikram, were seen on Shark Tank India Season 4 trying to raise funding and also for branding or marketing. 

As per the Shark Tank India Season 4 episode, the equity structure is divided among 3 persons as follows: Gaurav Taneja has 40%, Varun Alagh owns 30% as a partner, Raj Vikram owns 11% and 19% is ESOP.

Personal Take on Shark Tank India Episode:

What shows in the episode is a very small conversation between the founders and the sharks. I believe Shark has asked a tough question to the founder, which founders may not be able to answer and also there are a lot of questions regarding ownership and capital table of the company. If you notice the numbers are not disclosed properly compared to other episodes. But founders have achieved their target perfectly of brand awareness and marketing.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, BeastLife aka Gaurav Taneja and Raj Vikram brand are trying to build a space for them in a market that is already full of big players doing similar kinds of business and offering similar products. It will be interesting to see how Gaurav Taneja and Raj Vikram can create trust among consumers. 

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