Shark Tank pitcher and founder of healthy eating brand Fit and Flex, Pathik Patel has sent a legal notice to Sony Entertainment alleging unjust action by the company.
Patel appeared on Shark Tank India season 3 on March 15, however, it has put him in a terrible spot ever since. Fit and Flex has just seen 50 days of zero D2C business, Patel wrote on LinkedIn.
“Feels really sad to see this, but wasn’t left with a choice either! It has been 50 days of zero D2C business and all we get to hear is – We won’t do anything,” he said.
“We recently aired on Shark Tank S3- on the 15th of March which was a dream come true, but what followed has turned into a nightmare. Despite our joy at being featured on national television, our happiness was short-lived,” he added.
According to Patel, Sony Entertainment Television has “unjustly targeted” and accused Fit and Flex of trademark infringement without issuing any prior notice.
Due to the action, Fit and Flex has faced severe repercussions. The brand’s social media posts that contained clips from the episode aired where removed, the brand’s ad account was blocked, its Facebook page was unpublished and the collaboration feature on both the brand’s as well as Patel’s account was disabled.
Patel said that there has been no solution despite communications with Meta and Sony. “The company has ceased using any clips for marketing and merely seeks the reinstatement of their original accounts,” he said.
Additionally, Patel shared that the growth projections for the business post Shark Tank were 7X. However, the business has faced significant losses and the downturn is around 10-12X