GO DESi begins on a mountain trail and not in a boardroom. In 2018, Vinay Kothari was hiking in the Western Ghats and a local seller gave him a jackfruit candy. Something went off as soon as he tried it. It was not only good, but it was, somehow, a familiar good in a way that would be almost emotional, the sort of good that lingers in the mind long after the experience is over. Vinay turned round and saw that these remarkable tastes, based on the centuries of Indian cooking tradition, were not to be found in any organized retail shelves. They were in the village markets and small villages, hand-made, sold loosely, frequently in unhygienic wrappings - and were quickly forgotten in the mainstream mind.
Instead of letting the time go by, Vinay Kothari chose to follow his gut. He experimented with the idea in a local Bengaluru flea market, where he established a small stall with traditionally inspired candies. The goods were sold within a few hours. The market had made its voice heard: they were literally and emotionally hungry of these flavors. Vinay was encouraged by the reaction and along with his sister Raksha Kothari , he co-founded GO DESi, a packaged food-based startup located in Bengaluru with the aim of modernizing and mainstreaming traditional Indian confectionery.
Since the inception, GO DESi was constructed on a very basic yet effective principle: traditional Indian candies, sweets, and snacks just need to be better packaged, with a higher level of hygiene, and distributed in a smart way in order to get to the intended location. The founders realized that it was never the product itself that was a problem. The Indian confectionery, prepared by tamarind, mango, coconut, jaggery, and 12 other natural ingredients, was naturally tasty, and was always adored. The absence of organized and scalable infrastructure to deliver it to consumers was what had restrained it before.
It is that very problem that GO DESi set about to solve. The brand created a product line with iconic Indian flavours: DESi Popz, which re-packaged traditional imli (tamarind) candy in a fun and modern way; fruit bars created with actual pulp; jaggery-based mints; and a selection of traditional sweets, made with natural ingredients and without artificial colors and preservatives. The products were aimed at attracting not only nostalgic consumers, but also younger consumers seeking a more authentic, clean-label snacking experience in a market that was getting overcrowded with artificial flavored products.
The particular strength of GO DESi does not have to do with what it sells, but with the way in which it sells it. Instead of concentrating on large-scale industrial facilities, the company constructed its supply chain on the basis of rural entrepreneurs, farmer cooperatives, and women-run-micro-manufacturing units. This decentralized model was a business strategy and social commitment. Collaborating with local manufacturers with centuries of experience in the field of traditional recipes and ingredients, GO DESi managed to be authentic and provide the quality of the product and its scalability.
This strategy established a vicious cycle. The rural population acquired access to regular income, expertise building, and formal economic involvement. GO DESi received a strong stable and affordable supply chain that is strongly related to the origin of Indian cuisine. And consumers received products of true traditional nature not produced as imitations of what the desi flavors should taste like but the actual one, produced with concern and with local knowledge. By doing so, GO DESi was able to become a social enterprise in a sense of a consumer brand, the production model of which already included purpose in it.
Since its inception as a direct-to-consumer business, GO DESi has expanded to become a brand with a solid presence in various retail outlets. The products can be found in the largest e-commerce, quick commerce apps with a delivery of a few minutes, and thousands of physical retail stores distributed throughout India. This online-offline strategy has enabled the brand to reach into various consumer behaviors the planned online buyer, the impulse buyer at the local store, and the quick commerce buyer.
GO DESi has also been lucky with timing. There is a growing demand among Indian consumers on snacks that are authentic and are produced using familiar ingredients. The clean-label and natural food trend has set the ideal stage on a brand that was established on such principles initially. GO DESi is at the crossroads of nostalgia, health awareness, and cultural pride a formula that is quite strong among the modern Indian consumers.
The plans of GO DESi go way beyond Indian shores. The brand is envisioned to bring traditional Indian tastes to the international markets and make international consumers experience the unbelievable diversity of desi confectionery. With the world being inquisitive about the true cultural food experiences, the range of tamarind, mango, and coconut products that GO DESi offers can cut its own truly unique global identity.
Vinay and Raksha Kothari have created more than a snack brand. They have forged a connection between the rich Indian culinary history and the rapid Indian consumer culture today - and it has been shown that tradition and modernity can be neither opposites, nor even that they are strong allies. GO DESi is ensuring that the flavors of childhood are never forgotten by one candy at a time.
Quick Share
