Shark Tank host and founder of health food brand Fit & Flex, Patel, has sent a legal notice to Sony Entertainment alleging unfair practices by the company.
Patel appeared on India’s third season of Shark Tank on March 15, but has been struggling ever since: Fit & Flex had zero DTC business for 50 days, Patel wrote on LinkedIn.
“It makes me really sad to see this, but we had no choice. It’s been 50 days with zero DTC business and all we hear is ‘we’re not doing anything,'” he said.
“We recently appeared on Shark Tank season 3 on March 15. It was a dream come true that turned into a nightmare. We were thrilled to be featured on national TV, but the happiness didn’t last long,” he added.
Patel said Sony Entertainment Television “unfairly targeted” Fit & Flex without prior notice and accused it of trademark infringement.
Fit n Flex faced harsh repercussions as a result of its actions: its social media posts that included clips from the aired episode were removed, its advertising accounts were blocked, its Facebook page was made private, and collaboration features were disabled on both the brand and Patel’s accounts.
Patel said that despite contacting Meta and Sony, no resolution has been forthcoming. “The company has stopped using the clip for marketing purposes and they only want the original account reinstated,” he said.
Additionally, Patel said the growth projection for the business post-Shark Tank was 7x. However, the business is facing heavy losses and the downside is around 10-12x.