When Tradition Meets Tenacity
It’s not every day that a centuries-old Indian tradition finds itself in the hands of a modern-day disruptor. But that’s exactly what Puneet Sharma set out to do when he reimagined paan—not as a street-side afterthought, but as a thoughtfully crafted, hygienic, and gourmet experience.
When I first met Puneet for this conversation, his energy was quiet but determined. He didn’t come across as someone trying to radically shake up a heritage food category. Instead, he seemed like someone on a deeply personal mission—rooted in nostalgia, yet driven by innovation. What followed was a conversation that unfolded the story of grit, creative clarity, and an entrepreneurial journey carved without a safety net.
Starting with a Spark, Not Capital
Puneet didn’t come from a family of entrepreneurs or have angel investors cheering him on. He started with zero external funding, just a clear vision and an appetite for risk. In his words, “I saw a beautiful part of our culture fading—not because it wasn’t loved, but because it wasn’t evolving.”
He immersed himself in every aspect of the business—taste testing ingredients, building out backend logistics, designing packaging, and even responding to early customer feedback himself. Within seven to eight months, this hands-on hustle birthed a direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand that clicked with a generation craving novelty wrapped in nostalgia.
And it wasn’t just about flavor. Puneet introduced fusion varieties—think paan with a health-conscious twist—that appealed to young, urban Indians. Today, nearly half of his customer base is made up of millennials and Gen Z consumers. That, for a brand rooted in an age-old offering, is no small feat.
Funding the Dream
But a dream like this doesn’t scale on passion alone. Puneet described the funding journey with raw honesty: “It was brutal.” Convincing investors to bet on a culturally niche product like paan took more than numbers. It took belief—in the idea, and more importantly, in himself.
What finally tipped the scale was clarity and conviction. With ₹1 crore in funding secured, Puneet and his co-founder Yashvi could breathe, plan, and build. “More than the money, it was the validation that we’re not crazy to think this could work,” he said, half-jokingly, but with a glint of relief.
Vision with a Flavorful Future
Puneet isn’t just stopping at good flavors or nice packaging. His broader vision is to elevate paan into the premium dessert category. “We want people to savor it, photograph it, gift it,” he explained.
To achieve that, the brand is scaling through a hybrid model—cloud kitchens combined with franchise partnerships. With four kitchens already operating in Mumbai, the plan is to double that footprint in the near future. The goal: to make quality paan as accessible as your favorite latte or gelato.
In a proud milestone, The Paan Legacy has successfully closed its first international franchise, marking a significant step in taking India’s beloved dessert Paan to global shores. The franchise is set to begin operations next month in the Maldives, introducing a fusion of tradition and innovation to a new audience.
–By Priyanka Chatterjee
