In an era where trust, authenticity, and customer engagement define brand success, technology has become far more than a business enabler—it has become the foundation of meaningful consumer relationships. As brands navigate evolving customer expectations, digital transformation, AI-driven intelligence, and robust loyalty ecosystems are reshaping the future of business.
Ayush Jhawar, Founder and CEO of Genefied, shared his exclusive insights with Srajan Agarwal, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, News4Bharat at the first episode of The Bharat Dialogues Series.
From combating counterfeiting and building traceability solutions to leveraging artificial intelligence for smarter loyalty programmes, Genefied has emerged as a leading innovator in the brand-tech ecosystem.
In this exclusive conversation, Ayush Jhawar shares the entrepreneurial journey behind Genefied, the company's four-pillar approach to loyalty and brand protection, the transformative role of AI, the future of digital engagement, and the lessons he has learned while building one of India's fastest-growing SaaS platforms.
Q1. What inspired you to found Genefied, and what was the core problem you wanted to solve?
I think it was counterfeiting when I started because that was very near and dear to my heart. I really believe in authenticity. When we talk about authenticity, the major thing that comes to mind is whatever we are buying or consuming. People consume products from brands every day, and one of the biggest conversations today is whether a product is genuine or not.
That was always on my mind. We still continue working on it, but as an entrepreneur, you also have to survive and thrive. While exploring the market, I realized there were many gaps in the supply chain of consumer brands.
The idea that inspired me was both the need of the hour—which was counterfeiting—and the need of brands, which included supply chain visibility, track and trace, and loyalty management.
Before Genefied, I was running another company called Web Shuttle. We worked with a large automobile brand that sold vehicles through showrooms but distributed spare parts through the aftermarket. One of their biggest challenges was building loyalty among mechanics. While solving that, I remained focused on addressing counterfeiting for consumer brands because they operate at exponential scale.
Today, consumers are exposed to thousands of brands every day. Branding has become more important than ever, but brands also need visibility and trust. I realized there wasn't a single player solving traceability, product validation, authenticity, and loyalty together.
That's why Genefied was built on three core pillars—Trace, Validate and Share.
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Q2. What truly sets Genefied apart from other loyalty and brand-protection platforms?
What truly sets us apart is our holistic way of thinking.
When people talk about loyalty, we first talk about traceability. Most competitors haven't even entered that space. Traceability means tracking products from production to dispatch, distributor movement, and finally retailer delivery. You know exactly where every product is moving.
Because traceability is core to us, anti-counterfeiting naturally becomes part of the conversation, and then loyalty follows.
Today, we actually stand on four pillars:
- Traceability
- Anti-counterfeiting
- Loyalty
- Intellect
The fourth pillar—Intellect—is about understanding what brands can do with the data they collect. Once you have complete supply chain information, how can brands benefit? How can consumers benefit?
That is where artificial intelligence comes in.
While many competitors focus on one pillar, we combine all four into one integrated solution.
Q3. How is Genefied leveraging AI to help brands build stronger and smarter customer relationships?
Within our Intellect platform, AI adds another layer of value.
Our QR-code loyalty platform, instant rewards, anti-counterfeiting systems, digital warranty activation, and supply chain tracking generate enormous amounts of data.
But data sitting in silos isn't useful.
Brands need an intelligent system that tells them:
- which retailer is likely to churn in the next 30 days,
- which customer has stopped purchasing,
- where supply chain gaps exist,
- and where they are losing sales because products aren't available on shelves.
I'll give you an example.
A plumber may specifically ask for a trusted pump brand. But if that brand isn't available at the retailer, he'll purchase another one. So simply being available on the shelf is critical.
AI helps brands understand those gaps.
We also use AI for:
- creating demand,
- identifying supply chain inefficiencies,
- enabling chatbot interactions for consumers and retailers,
- and allowing brands themselves to interact with AI through our platform, Hybridotion.ai, to understand how their entire sales funnel is performing.
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Q4. What are the biggest challenges brands face in customer loyalty today, and how does Genefied address them?
Many people think loyalty simply means giving cashback or gifts.
I don't believe that.
Loyalty is primarily about recognition.
Recognition can take many forms.
It could mean becoming a Prime member, achieving Platinum status in an airline loyalty program, or receiving special treatment because of your relationship with a brand.
That emotional connection builds real loyalty.
At Genefied, we don't stop at QR-code rewards or vouchers. We focus on deeply understanding what customers actually want.
Instead of maintaining our own gifting warehouse, we decided to deliver virtually anything a retailer may need—from a motorcycle, television, refrigerator or mechanic's tools to even cattle feed for farmers.
Beyond cashback and gifting, we also built:
- tier-based loyalty programs,
- our own gaming ecosystem,
- and a white-labelled social engagement platform.
For example, during distributor meets, participants can click photographs and later access all their event memories within the brand's own platform. It gives them recognition and makes them feel connected.
Ultimately, loyalty is about making customers feel happier, more personalized and more connected.
What trends do you see shaping the future of brand engagement and digital loyalty?
We're making loyalty far more personal.
We've taken inspiration from platforms like Cred and Paytm that have brought digital experiences closer to consumers.
We're also launching Lemontart, an independent voucher platform to provide much richer redemption experiences.
Another area we're improving is our Spin & Win platform.
If brands don't exhaust their monthly promotional budget, our intelligence system can automatically carry that budget forward instead of letting it go unused.
Rather than designing campaigns for an entire year, technology now allows brands to optimize loyalty week by week.
AI will continue helping us understand exactly what customers want.
For example, customers may someday specify their dream reward—a particular car, gadget or experience—and the system will intelligently work toward helping brands engage them around those aspirations.
Technology continues evolving, and so do we.
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Q6. What has been your biggest learning while building and scaling Genefied?
One of my biggest learnings and my personal theory is that you should ride one boat. Earlier in my career, I tried doing many different things.
Eventually I realized that true success comes from focusing on one area consistently over a long period.
I've spent seven to eight years building Genefied, developing more than 10,000 industry relationships, and staying focused on loyalty, traceability and authenticity.
Another important lesson has been hiring.
At Genefied, we believe in moving from good to great.
We don't look for people who simply want comfortable jobs. We look for people who aspire to achieve something extraordinary.
Everyone wants money, but greatness comes from building a great team.
Internally, we call this philosophy MADROTHS, where every department—Marketing, Accounts, Development, Retention, Operations, Testing, HR and Sales.
That how I look at it internally and that is what inspires me everyday.
Q7. What advice would you give to businesses looking to accelerate their digital transformation journey?
Find your niche. That's the biggest advice I can give.
I found mine in consumer brands.
Consumption is never going away. Packaging, products and consumer demand will continue to exist.
People should discover what they're passionate about—but also ensure their passion aligns with their long-term goals and strengths.
Goals are personal.
Some people want financial success.
Some want to inspire others.
Some simply want to create impact within their own family.
Your goals, your energy, your niche and your passion should all align.
Passion can also be built.
Although I've worked in technology since 2013, I developed my passion for consumer brands only over the last seven years because it aligned with my broader vision of creating impact, influencing people and building something meaningful.
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Q8. What is your long-term vision for Genefied over the next five to ten years?
I have a very vivid imagination.
One number stays in my mind every single day—₹1,000 crore in revenue.
Whether it takes five years, ten years or fifteen years, I know we'll get there.
The important part is how we get there.
We want to build that success authentically—not through shortcuts, but by doing great work on the ground.
Not just good work.
Great work.
That's the vision that drives us every day.
