Cricketers and celebrities investing in brands, start-ups, and other businesses is not a novel development. Similarly, former India captain MS Dhoni, who has a net worth of around INR 950 crore, has also funded quite a few businesses during and after his international career.
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However, apart from spending a portion of his income in well-reputed and settled businesses, the veteran wicket-keeper batter also takes keen interest in endorsing some innovative start-ups which the young minds of the country have dared to introduce in the market. In fact, he has invested in a couple of such relatively fresh businesses of late, which are related to the food industry, in a way.
MS Dhoni Had Funded A Plant-Based Protein Brand Last Year
With adulterated products mostly devoid of protein-rich elements and occurrences of various illnesses and diseases becoming widespread, people are increasingly becoming much more fitness-conscious with each passing day. As a result, Dhoni made sure to cash in on an attractive opportunity and invested in a plant-based protein start-up named ‘Shaka Harry’ in October last year.
Shaka Harry, derived from the Hindi word ‘Shakahaari‘ (meaning vegetarian), indulges in the production of plant-based food products which serve as a substitute to meat.
Claiming their products to be healthier than meat without comprising on taste and nutritional value, the delicacies in their catalogue include nuggets, mutton samosa, spicy nuggets, chicken kebabs, mutton kebabs, chicken momos, chicken burger patties, mutton stuffed paranthas, chicken stuffed paranthas etc.
In 2022, Shaka Harry’s co-founder Anand Nagarajan had remarked that the company had already been serving over 30,000 customers across 10 Indian cities. Dhoni, who had announced his partnership with the brand in Bengaluru, had praised the range of healthy products Shaka Harry had to offer.
“I love everything chicken, but increasingly, I am looking at a more balanced diet. It is much easier with products from Shaka Harry, which has a wide range that delivers a healthier experience than traditional meat dishes. For a growing population, current protein sources aren’t sustainably scalable. We now have a choice to shift to smarter protein alternatives without compromising on taste and texture.”
MS Dhoni Had Invested In Chocolates And Beer Inspired By Helicopter Shot
18 months before investing in Shaka Harry, Dhoni was attracted towards a certain start-up which provided its customers a new range of artisan chocolates and beverages. The much more intriguing part was that the brand name was inspired by Dhoni’s signature helicopter shot.
7InkBrews, founded by Mohit Bhagchandani and co-founded by Adil Mistry and Kunal Patel, revere Dhoni just like millions of youngsters in the country. So when they launched the Copter7 brand, inspired by Dhoni’s ever-innovative shot and jersey number, the aim was to capitalise on his “undying ‘can’t stop, won’t stop’ spirit”.
“When you believe so strongly in the vision of a company, it makes the association that much more meaningful. I am truly elated to be a shareholder and brand ambassador for a company like 7Ink Brews,” Dhoni was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the company in April 2021.
Apart from Shaka Harry and 7InkBrews, Dhoni has also invested in several other notable start-ups including the Chennai-based Garuda Aerospace and Khatabook – a business app that helps MSMEs streamline business transactions online.
