How Big Basket Grew To Become India's Leading E-grocer

Mubaashir Ansari interviews Hari Menon, Co-Founder & CEO, Big Basket

Corporate India is a melting pot of several spectacular achievements. We may not have the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zukerberg or Jack Ma but India will soon be there.

Internet led businesses are yet to become profitable but the media hype and the valuation game is not a true reflection of the state of the online business.

Hari Menon’s though is a remarkable story. While many e-grocers in the past have fallen by the wayside Big Basket has put paid to two of the biggest challenges that corporate India loves to talk about: one is harnessing the potential of rural India and the other is the poor infrastructure and connectivity in the country. Big Basket has not only mastered logistics and supply chain but is also helping thousands of farmers realizing a better price for their produce helping transform rural India.

Hari is an unassuming man going about his business quietly and diligently. In a frank and a perceptive interview Hari unravels his personality. A brilliant, communicative, yet media shy, Hari is today the most successful e-grocer in the world who has not only built a robust business but has made significant rural and social impact and generated employment.

So, was it really Hari who created Big Basket or is it the other way around? Read on…

You have been one of the first movers into ecommerce space in India at a time when there was very little by way of precedent and learning. What were your challenges back then and how did you manage to overcome them over the years? Can you briefly trace your personal journey and that of your enterprise?