The Story of Gyanendra Bharti, Co-founder of Badho Part #1 : Falling in love with FMCG
The Story of Gyanendra Bharti, Co-founder of Badho Part #1 : Falling in love with FMCG
The Story of Gyanendra Bharti, Co-founder of Badho Part #1 : Falling in love with FMCG
Gyanendra Bharti’s story as a co-founder began back in college with his senior, Rishi Singhal. Together, they launched Groctaurant, a recipe-kit startup aimed at reducing waste by providing exact quantities of ingredients. Despite its innovation, the business proved operationally heavy and complex, leading him to step away. His professional journey then took him into FMCG distribution, where he discovered his passion for understanding brands, distributors, and retailers—eventually paving the way for Badho.
Unique Features of Gyanendra’s Entrepreneurial Path
Unlike many founders, Gyanendra experienced failure early on but turned those lessons into stepping stones. His adaptability—whether shadowing salesmen in Kerala despite language barriers or experimenting with a retailer app—highlighted his strength in finding jugaad solutions. What stood out was his belief in not waiting for a perfect product but instead learning from real users and evolving with their needs.
Inside the FMCG Distribution Chain
Through his experiences with FieldAssist and later Badho, Gyanendra gained firsthand insights into India’s FMCG ecosystem. He closely observed how distributors, retailers, and sales officers interacted. He realized that while brands wanted tech adoption, retailers often lacked the training and support to implement it effectively. This gap inspired Badho’s mission: to empower retailers with easy-to-use sales technology backed by continuous handholding and training.
Challenges Along the Way
The journey wasn’t smooth. Convincing retailers to adopt tech was a massive hurdle in the early days. App resistance was high, and Badho had to invest heavily in training and on-ground support. Moreover, launching with zero downloads meant Gyanendra had to personally onboard retailers, going shop to shop. But these challenges also revealed what truly mattered to retailers and shaped Badho into a retailer-first platform.
Future-Proofing FMCG Retail
Badho’s strategy to expand beyond Tier-1 cities into semi-urban and rural regions was a forward-looking move. By focusing on underserved areas like Kanpur and Varanasi—where distribution networks existed but brand penetration was weak—Badho tapped into new growth opportunities. Their parallel experiments with Facebook and Google ads showcased how data-driven insights could further strengthen FMCG retail strategies for the future.
Top Distributors & Final Insights
From starting with a single distributor of Kapila Pashu Ahaar in Uttarakhand to onboarding 30–40 distributors within months, Badho quickly built strong roots in the FMCG chain. Gyanendra’s resilience, paired with his hands-on approach, helped establish Badho as the Indian retailer’s trusted ally. His story highlights that in FMCG, success comes not from waiting for perfection but from moving forward, experimenting, and building alongside the market.
