Hey founder, every Indian home has a ₹10 lump of fitkari (alum) somewhere. One brand put it in a roll-on, priced it like premium skincare, and built a business valued at about ₹200 crore in roughly 18 months. Here's the move — and the parts a small brand can steal this week.
Phitku: an old desi remedy, rebuilt as a modern product
Phitku makes alum-crystal roll-on deodorants. It started operations on 16 January 2025 and says it crossed ₹14 crore in revenue in 10 months with 2 lakh+ units sold and a 4.8 rating (Business Standard). On Shark Tank India, the founders said monthly revenue grew from ₹1.4 crore in September 2025 to ₹1.98 crore in November, fully bootstrapped (Indian Express).
The idea came from co-founder Neha Marda's own post-pregnancy body-odour problem (Indian Express). The roll-on sells for ₹699–₹999, often with a "Buy 3, Pay for 2" bundle (Moneycontrol, Preqin). In 2026, Ananta Capital took a majority stake in a deal of about ₹100 crore, at a valuation of nearly ₹200 crore, and the brand now reports 6 lakh+ customers (Economic Times, Images BoF).
Trust was already built. Indians have used fitkari for generations. Phitku didn't have to convince anyone the ingredient works — only that the new format is better.
It fixed the annoying part. Nobody wants to wet and rub a rock every morning. A clean roll-on removes the friction and makes the remedy feel modern.
The founder explained, not endorsed. Neha told her own story and showed the "why." The brand reported 24.5 million organic Instagram views in a single month (CEOVine).
Priced on the outcome, not the input. A ₹10 commodity became a ₹699+ product because the promise is "odour-free all day," not "alum." Bundles lift order value.
The honest caveat: Neha brought about 1.2 million Instagram followers, and the Sharks openly questioned how much that helped and pushed back on transparency (Indian Express). You may not have her reach. The playbook below is the part that transfers without it.
Pick one nani-ka-nuskha your customers already trust — multani mitti, ubtan, kokum, ghee, haldi, alum. Write down why people believe in it.
List 3 annoyances of the old format (messy, slow, smells, hard to carry) and make your product remove all three.
Film the founder explaining the "why" — 3 Reels a week for 4 weeks: your story, the science in simple words, and how it's made. No hype claims.
Price for the result and add a bundle. Test "Buy 3, Pay for 2" against a single-unit price on your site for two weeks.
COST ≈ ₹20,000–₹50,000 FOR A FIRST TEST (OUR ESTIMATE) · EFFORT: MEDIUM · TIME: 4–6 WEEKS
Which ₹10 desi remedy in your category is waiting for a modern makeover? Hit reply — the best answers shape a future issue.
Sources: Business Standard · Indian Express · Economic Times · Images BoF · Moneycontrol · CEOVine · Preqin. Revenue figures are company-reported. Not sponsored.
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