E6 - Why Distribution Beats the Product Itself | Anshuman Goswami (NE Crafters)

Most founders think building the product is the hard part, Anshuman Goswami learned the real fight starts once you're trying to get it onto a shelf.  Anshuman is an engineer turned entrepreneur from Assam, India, and the founder of NE Crafters, a company built around ingredients from Northeast India. NE Crafters started out developing a protein rich breakfast mix, but a spice sample at a government startup event turned into the company's real product, a chili oil made from Bhut Jolokia, the ghost pepper that once held the Guinness World Record for the world's hottest chili. The company formed in 2023 and moved into full operations in 2024.  In this conversation we talk about:  * How a chili sample at a government event became unplanned market validation for the whole business * Why he tests packaging and labels by watching what people buy in real stores, not by asking what they'd say * Splitting into two brands, one premium and one mass market, instead of compromising on a single product * Why distribution, not the product itself, is the hardest part of selling in India * Handling rejection and self doubt during the slow months * Making five heat levels of chili oil so the spice fits the person, not the other way around  If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe for more honest conversations with founders, builders, and operators about what it really takes to build something worthwhile.  Get future episodes, insights, and lessons from people who chose to build anyway, it's genuinely worth it: https://goodbuildanyway.substack.com/  Connect with Anshuman:  * NE Crafters: https://www.necrafters.com/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anshumangoswami02/