Aquatein’s growth plan mixes wellness with numbers game

Bollywood actor and fitness entrepreneur Suniel Shetty has long cultivated an identity around health and functional living. In February 2022, he added another line to his investment portfolio when he came on board as investor and brand ambassador for Aquatein, a protein water startup founded by Ananth Prabhala and Mitisha Mehta.

The decision fits a pattern. Shetty’s investment history spans Klassroom Edutech, wellness player Vieroots Wellness Solutions, NFT marketplace Colexion, fitness platform Fittr, and grooming label Beardo, along with hospitality ventures.

Yet his screen test for new ventures follows a clear filter. “Faith, I only endorse what I consume, most of the time, especially in Aquatein's case, and I'm someone who's never abused my body in any way. I'm as pure as pure can be when it comes to health, fitness, and my journey with health and fitness. So that's what I believe Aquatein is all about. It's pure, it's real, and you can depend on it,” he told Campaign.

Spotting the gap

Walk into a grocery store today and one will find protein blended into everything from breads and drinks to desserts and snacks. The boom isn’t accidental—it reflects rising health awareness paired with greater spending power.

Food companies are betting on this shift, positioning protein-enriched staples as an easy fix for India’s nutrition deficit. The appeal lies in convenience: everyday foods, reimagined with added protein, promise better diets without demanding major lifestyle changes.

However, for Shetty, Aquatein addressed a strategic void. India’s protein market has historically been dominated by products, often criticised for taste and side effects.

“Aquatein was the first-ever protein water to come into India; a proudly Indian brand with two young founders.  I personally never consumed protein because it never suited me. Aquatein Protein Water suits me, doesn't give me the bloat, so it works brilliantly,” he said.

The “first-mover” angle mattered. Functional nutrition categories in India have struggled to build trust, often viewed as imports or gym-centric supplements. Aquatein’s promise of everyday convenience, packaged in a familiar bottled-water format, allowed it to widen its audience beyond hardcore fitness consumers. That made it a credible addition to Shetty’s broader portfolio of functional wellness startups, where his capital and celebrity endorsement double as category-building tools.

Creative instincts, performance discipline

However, authenticity alone doesn’t bridge the path to profitability. Aquatein’s co-founders, Ananth Prabhala and Mitisha Mehta, are trying to marry product positioning with measurable growth strategies in a market where customer acquisition costs are rising and digital shelves are crowded.

Here, Mehta’s background in design and brand strategy has been central. Transitioning from creative to leadership demanded balancing instinct with metrics.

“Leadership shifts your role from purely creative to one that combines creativity with performance, holding you accountable for the tangible results of your creativity. In today’s data-driven world, this transition is undeniable. The most significant change lies in the ability to direct your creativity according to data-driven metrics, a concept that likely resonates with many creators,” she told Campaign.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by AQUATEIN Protein Water (@aquatein)

Hence, the brand tracks customer acquisition cost (CAC), return on advertising spend (ROAS) and average order value (AOV) against defined benchmarks, aiming for a 1:3 ROAS while driving awareness through influencer collaborations, experiential marketing, and D2C campaigns. Mehta argued that this discipline avoids the trap of over-investing in vanity storytelling.

“Ultimately, the evolution from creator to creative leader is about cultivating a mindset that values both thought and practicality. Data helps you stay grounded in the facts of the market and recognising that true innovation stems from the seamless integration of imagination and insight,” she claimed.

The rebrand, and Shetty’s fingerprints

Aquatein’s rebrand in June 2025 was supposed to be a turning point for the startup. Shetty’s influence, by his own account, was practical. He claimed that when it comes to marketing, the young founders are “very conscious”.

“We discuss, and the only thing I've been talking about is the attractive packaging and the product, even more so” he laughingly claimed. “Because finally, the packaging will attract people, but it's the product itself that people have been talking about, and that's why it's also consumed so much. So, my contribution is probably approval of packaging, and once again, my personal consumption, thereby people having faith in the brand itself.”

Aquatein's founders Mitisha Mehta and Ananth Prabhala.

Packaging upgrades, designed to move Aquatein from a niche wellness label into mass retail visibility, became critical as the brand expanded distribution. His hands-on involvement reflects a larger role investors now play in shaping consumer-facing assets. For startups, such celebrity-driven rebrands can accelerate consideration—but they also raise questions about long-term distinctiveness once the initial spotlight fades.

Structuring agency collaborations

To professionalise its storytelling, Aquatein has been evaluating creative agency partners. Currently, performance is handled by Looqus Media, with Rainmaker Consults managing PR. The addition of a creative agency raises the risk of message fragmentation, but Mehta insists integration is the priority.

“From the beginning, we have been certain about one key principle: our brand vision must be communicated clearly and concisely. This is why we ensure that our brand essence remains consistent in India and other markets,” she noted.

To maintain this, the six-year-old company intends to form an in-house team that can work synergistically with our PR and performance teams. The PR team will share the brand story with the world, while its performance partner will calculate and maintain its ROAS.

This hybrid model—internal oversight with specialist agencies—reflects a broader industry shift, where startups must balance consistency of voice with platform-specific expertise. The challenge will be ensuring creative storytelling does not inflate CAC at a time when Aquatein is still chasing profitability.

Funding milestones and growth plans

Capital remains central to these ambitions. Aquatein last raised funds in FY23, bringing Shetty on board at a valuation of INR 50 crore. At the time, revenue stood at approximately INR 8 crore, largely fuelled by the demand for portable protein solutions. The company is now in advanced talks to close another round at a $10.9 million valuation. Funds will go toward manufacturing, new product innovation, offline expansion, and marketing.

Future growth levers include diversification into female wellness. That expansion pits Aquatein against a competitive set of D2C players who have targeted women’s nutrition and health supplements as the next major consumption vertical. How Aquatein differentiates—through product form, retail visibility, or pricing—will determine whether it avoids the commoditisation trap.

Aquatein’s current revenue mix is 60% offline and 40% online. Retail partnerships and gym tie-ups have been critical in building awareness, but the brand is consciously building its D2C and quick-commerce presence to increase accessibility.

Explaining the rationale, Prabhala stated that in the D2C landscape, Aquatein began as an offline-first brand, strategically bringing its products to consumers. This approach allowed it to manage its marketing effectively, ensuring economic efficiency.

“We structured our offline efforts around a POS (Point-of-Sweat) model,” he further added. “Moving forward, our strategy involves gradually enhancing our online presence and Q-commerce model to reach areas that are otherwise inaccessible, ultimately leading to higher order values from customers who are already familiar with us. This strategy has resulted in achieving an LTV of 5x CAC and an AOV of 3x CAC. Our expansion into targeted wellness will enable us to foster awareness that is centred around nutrition, rather than solely focusing on performance.”

Internationally, Aquatein has begun exploring demand pockets across markets with high diaspora populations. Global expansion, however, requires supply chain resilience and regulatory clarity, particularly for functional beverages. For now, domestic growth remains the immediate focus.

The INR 50 crore target

The company projects revenue to cross INR 50 crore by FY26. That would represent more than a six-fold jump in just three years. Achieving it will require scaling both distribution and repeat purchase. The numbers imply significant reliance on offline expansion, given that D2C penetration for functional nutrition in India remains limited outside metros.

The question is whether Aquatein can scale without diluting brand equity. Convenience formats like protein water risk being viewed as fads unless supported by strong clinical claims and sustained consumer education. For Shetty and the founders, the task is to build Aquatein into a lifestyle choice rather than a transient trend.

Aquatein’s story reflects the crossroads facing many Indian functional nutrition startups. Celebrity capital and creative storytelling can secure early traction.

But in an environment where CPMs are rising, offline distribution is costly, and consumers are fickle, the long game requires proof—proof of retention, proof of sustainable margins, proof that wellness can scale beyond the affluent urban set.

For Shetty, the investment aligned with his personal health philosophy and his portfolio’s tilt towards functional living. For Prabhala and Mehta, the next three years will test whether Aquatein can move from a promising niche player to a revenue-scaling enterprise.

If the INR 50 crore target is to be met, balancing offline scale with D2C agility—and marrying creative instinct with financial discipline—will determine whether Aquatein stays hydrated in a crowded market or evaporates under pressure.