This married couple quit their jobs to sell sugar-free candy and are now millionaires

Worldwide, diabetes is a serious health concern. On the other hand, Indians have an almost limitless affection for sweets. A husband-and-wife team took advantage of this opportunity and introduced a sugar-free sweet brand that guarantees no post-consumption surge in sugar levels.

The creators of this line of sugar-free candies and ice cream are Aarti Laxman and Sumit Rastogi. Artinci makes mouthwatering, scientifically and empirically verified, sugar-free dessert promises. A natural stevia mix is added to sweet items prepared with a lab-tested, low glycemic index sweetener under the brand Artinci, which was created by combining the names Sumit and Aarti.

According to the company’s website, this stevia mix is an invention from Artinci, designed to taste almost exactly like sugar without any carbohydrates. You’ll be surprised to hear, however, that the founders gave up their lucrative positions to launch this company. Their love of sweet food gave rise to the concept that has now made them millionaires. Following their product presentation on Season 3 of Shark Tank, they rose to fame.

Diabetes runs in Aarti Laxman’s and Sumit Rastogi’s families, going back three generations. In 2012, they received a pre-diabetic diagnosis. But there were no limits to their love of sweets. They thus began looking for sugar-free candy, but they were let down by the little selection available. Following this, they made the decision to create candies that were safe for diabetics, giving rise to the Artinci Candies brand.

Aarti, a professional in human resources, began experimenting with sugar-free sweets and producing a range of sugar-free goods. In addition, she has a hearing impairment that makes it difficult for her to detect noises that are far away. They purchased a countertop ice cream maker in 2012. Aarti began preparing desserts using the internet recipe. In 2015, Aarti created a recipe that doesn’t use any sugar. She then repeated a similar experiment with cakes and cookies, which the firm now sells as a variety of items.

The pair chose to quit their careers and turn to this company as their source of income after seeing the potential in the concept. Sumit and Aarti had both worked for large, international corporations. Based in Bengaluru, the pair invested Rs 25 lakh to launch Artinci in January 2020.

Aarti and Sumit also brought their company concept to Shark Tank. Artinci gained national notoriety as a result of this. The founder of Sugar Cosmetics, Vineeta Singh, made an offer of Rs 50 lakh for 5 percent stock plus 1 percent royalty, which they accepted, compared to their first pitch of Rs 50 lakh for 1.75 percent equity.

There was apparently a 700% surge in orders in only one day after the Shark Tank appearance. According to him, individuals from other nations, such as Australia and Britain, began asking for orders. In the fiscal year 2022-2023, Artinci, which began with savings of Rs 25 lakh, generated income of Rs 4.4 crore.