From a Small Village of Bihar to Shark Tank India Season 4, Journey of a home away from home
In the fast-paced world of food entrepreneurship, where innovation meets tradition, a Bihar-based businessman has carved a niche with his cloud kitchen brand, Gaon. His vision is ambitious yet deeply rooted in Indian culinary heritage to bring regional flavors to the forefront of India’s food scene and, ultimately, the global stage.
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Who is the founder of Gaon?
Alok Ranjan founded a Delhi-based restaurant and cloud kitchen brand, GAON. It brings together a huge spread of delicacies from different parts of India. The menu includes Bihari, Rajasthani, Awadh, and rural Indian dishes. They capture the spirit of the village and ensure the perfect village experience is GAON. It is a unique village-themed restaurant. Alok founded Gaon with his brothers Rajesh Chandra, Aryan, and Deepak Kumar, and his friend Yashoo Verma. Shashank Shree later joined as a co-founder.
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Early Life and Education
Alok was born and raised in a small village, "Chintaman Pu,r" in Bihar's Champaran district. Coming from a financially struggling family, he completed his early education at a government school. His father ran a kirana store and later became a contractor, improving their financial situation. This allowed Alok and his siblings to join boarding at St. Michael’s High School. Like many middle-class families, his parents wanted him to become an engineer or doctor. However, academics never interested Alok. He even failed in Maths in Class 10.
His siblings were academically gifted and state toppers, so he and his Cousin Deepak prioritized their education over their own. His father sold land to fund their studies, and they moved to Delhi for higher education. Alok attempted the entrance exam, but his rank wasn’t high enough for a reputed college. He enrolled in a B.Tech program at HRIT but soon dropped out due to a lack of interest as he was not good at it. He convinced his father to let him pursue business studies; he completed a BBA from a private college.
Determined to improve his family’s financial situation, Alok explored various fields, from acting to cricket, but found no success. Despite his failures, his siblings supported him throughout. He also participated in business idea competitions and won, even without a team or a concrete business plan.
First Venture
After graduating in 2012, Alok decided to start his own venture, bookingarena.com. His mother invested all her savings. He launched an aggregation platform for booking hotels and restaurants. However, their focus on movie ticket bookings put them in direct competition with BookMyShow. Lacking market demand, the business shut down despite hard work.
After a period of financial stability in the family, Alok pursued an MBA and later worked at Microsoft, Zostel, and Little App. While working at Little App, he developed an interest in the food industry through his interactions with industry professionals. Around the same time, he and his siblings were facing difficulties finding authentic Bihari home-cooked food as they rarely had the time to visit home(Bihar). This realization planted the seed for his next entrepreneurial venture.
Second Venture and Founding GAON
In 2017, after earning enough money for business, he decided to start his own food business. Alok’s entrepreneurial journey began with a simple yet powerful idea: preserving and promoting the authentic flavors of Bihari, Rajasthani, Awadhi , and other states' rural cuisines. Alok’s love for food was deeply influenced by the rich culinary heritage of Bihar. Growing up, he saw how traditional dishes like little chokha remained confined to certain regions, often overlooked by mainstream Indian cuisine. With a dream to make these flavors accessible across the country, he started GAON.
In an era where fast food like pizza-burger dominates, he sought to introduce India’s rich, rustic flavor to a broader audience through Gaon. The brand takes immense pride in offering freshly prepared, authentic dishes like Champaran Handi Meat and Litti Chokha, blending tradition with modern sensibilities.
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GAON financials
Gaon Restaurant has seen remarkable financial growth over the past few years, soon expanding its presence with a focus on the quick-service restaurant (QSR) model and direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales through its new website, gaonrestaurant.com. Starting with a revenue of ₹90 lacks in FY 2020-21, the company grew to ₹1.62 crores in FY 2021-22, ₹3.86 crores in FY 2022-23, and ₹5.5 crores in FY 2023-24. By September 2024, Gaon had already reported ₹3.08 crore in revenue and is projected to reach ₹6.5 crore by the end of FY 2024-25.
These numbers reflect the increasing acceptance of traditional Indian food in the modern culinary landscape. According to the founder Alok Ranjan, the brand has set an ambitious target of reaching ₹250 crore in revenue over the next five years, aiming to become the first to achieve a ₹100 crore annual run rate solely from Litti sales.
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GAON in Shark Tank India
Recently, A, Lok was seen in Shark Tank India 4 and caught the attention of Sharks. Alok sought Rs 80 lakh in exchange for a 4% stake, valuing his business at Rs 20 crore.
Aman Gupta raised concerns about the complexities of running a cloud kitchen business with multiple moving parts. However, Namita Thapar saw potential and was intrigued by Alok’s approach. Alok assured her that he had already initiated the standardization process by cooking his signature handi meat in an oven, reducing human intervention significantly. Moreover, his meticulous planning included multiple backup vendors, ensuring a seamless supply chain. This level of preparedness won the confidence of the Sharks.
Despite his passion, Alok faced skepticism from Peyush Bansal, who felt he was spreading himself too thin by managing three brands simultaneously. Peyush advised him to focus on Litti and build the brand around it. Alok, however, remained firm in his vision, stating that he aimed to introduce multiple fillings for litti, transforming it into a versatile, widely accepted snack. Namita highlighted the rigorous R&D efforts of Wow Momo’s founder, a friend of hers, and questioned whether Gaon could match such operational efficiency. Alok confidently responded that his current Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) revenue was already outperforming Wow Momo.
Alok’s passion, strategic planning, and strong financials eventually led to a competitive Shark bidding war. While Namita made an offer, Anupam Mittal and Vineeta Singh teamed up to counter with Rs 80 lakh for 8% equity. After careful deliberation, Alok decided to lock in the deal with the duo, believing their combined expertise would be instrumental in scaling Gaon further. Alok’s journey from Bihar to Shark Tank India is nothing short of inspiring.
He is a testament to how perseverance, a deep-rooted vision, and strategic execution can turn a regional specialty into a national sensation. His dream of making little chokha as popular as momos may have seemed far-fetched initially, but with Gaon’s rapid growth and backing from experienced investors, that dream is quickly becoming a reality. For aspiring entrepreneurs, Alok’s story is a beacon of hope and proof that traditional businesses can thrive in the modern market with the right strategy, dedication, and willingness to innovate.
Written By Manvi
