How a Poor Marwari Boy Built Haldiram's
Summary
TLDRThe video script narrates the inspiring journey of Haldiram's, India's leading snack brand, from humble beginnings in 1919 to a global empire. Starting with a young boy selling bhujia for two paisa, the brand innovated with unique recipes and packaging, expanding across India and overseas. The story showcases Haldiram's resilience, strategic branding, and commitment to quality, which led to a diverse product range and widespread recognition, achieving a business turnover of over 9,000 crore.
Takeaways
- 📚 Haldiram's began in 1919 when a 12-year-old boy in Bikaner started selling bhujia, which would later become the foundation of a snacking empire.
- 👦 Haldiram was born in 1908 into a poor family and developed a keen interest in bhujia from a young age, leading him to master the craft by the age of 12.
- 🔍 Haldiram innovated his bhujia by mixing moth dal with gram flour, which was a hit among the people of Rajasthan and significantly expanded his business.
- 🍴 He further enhanced the bhujia by making it thin and crispy, which improved the eating experience and led to exponential sales growth.
- 🏷 Haldiram was a branding genius, naming his bhujia 'Dungar Sev' after a popular king, which differentiated his product and commanded a premium price.
- 👨👦👦 Haldiram's business was established with his two brothers, but personal issues led to a split, forcing Haldiram to start over with his family.
- 💡 With 100 rupees from a friend, Haldiram rented a house and started a moong dal business, which eventually led to the reintroduction of his bhujia.
- 📈 After regaining his status as a local bhujia king, Haldiram expanded to Kolkata, where his products were well received and led to significant growth.
- 🌏 The decision to open a branch in Nagpur was pivotal, as it introduced Haldiram's to sweets and expanded the brand's offerings beyond snacks.
- 🍽 The transformation of Haldiram's from a shop to a restaurant in Nagpur, offering South Indian dishes, was a strategic move to attract customers and diversify the menu.
- 📦 The introduction of nitrogen packaging extended the shelf life of Haldiram's products, allowing them to reach a national audience and become a household name.
- 🚀 Haldiram's diversified product range and strategic distribution through numerous distributors and retailers have made it one of the most popular Indian snack brands globally.
Q & A
In what year did Haldiram start selling bhujia at the age of twelve?
-Haldiram started selling bhujia in the year 1919.
What was the initial selling price of Haldiram's bhujia?
-The initial selling price of Haldiram's bhujia was just two paisa.
What was the unique ingredient Haldiram added to his bhujia to make it more appealing to the people of Rajasthan?
-Haldiram added moth dal to his bhujia, as it was a popular ingredient in Rajasthan.
How did Haldiram innovate the texture of his bhujia to enhance the customer's eating experience?
-Haldiram made his bhujia thin and crispy by making the batter thin and using a mesh with smaller holes than a standard one.
What branding strategy did Haldiram use to differentiate his bhujia from others in the market?
-Haldiram named his bhujia 'Dungar Sev' after Maharaja Dungar Singh, a popular king of Bikaner, to give it a premium positioning and stand out from other bhujias.
What significant event in 1944 led to Haldiram having to start his business anew?
-In 1944, deteriorating relations between the women of Haldiram's household forced him to leave home and part ways with the family business.
How did Haldiram's childhood friend help him during his time of need after leaving the family business?
-Haldiram's childhood friend returned a part of the 200 rupees Haldiram had once lent him, which helped Haldiram to rent a small house and start thinking of new business ideas.
What product did Haldiram decide to sell after starting over with the 100 rupees he received from his friend?
-Haldiram decided to sell moong dal, a dish his wife Champa Devi made well and was a staple for the people of Bikaner.
What was the turning point for Haldiram's business in the 1950s that led to expansion outside of Bikaner?
-The turning point was when Haldiram attended a wedding in Kolkata and received bulk orders for his bhujia, realizing the potential for business expansion in a city with little competition.
How did Haldiram's expansion strategy in Nagpur differ from the original bhujia business?
-In Nagpur, Haldiram's expansion strategy included selling sweets like kaju katli and later transforming the business into a restaurant offering South Indian dishes and Bikaner's popular snacks.
What packaging innovation did Haldiram's adopt to increase the shelf life of their snacks and expand their reach across India?
-Haldiram's adopted nitrogen packaging for their products, which increased the shelf life from a few days to a few months, allowing them to be sold across India.
How did Haldiram's diversify their product range to cater to different consumer preferences and purchasing power?
-Haldiram's diversified their product range by offering more than 400 packaged food items, including sweets, snacks, and pickles, in different pack sizes ranging from 5 rupees to over 200 rupees.
Outlines
🚀 Founding Haldiram's Bhujia Empire
The script narrates the humble beginnings of Haldiram's, India's leading snack brand, in 1919 Bikaner. A twelve-year-old boy, inspired by his grandfather's small bhujia business, starts selling bhujia for two paisa. Unbeknownst to him, this endeavor would lay the groundwork for a future empire. Born in 1908 into a poor family, Haldiram's early interest in bhujia led him to master the craft by the age of 12. He innovated by mixing moth dal with gram flour, creating a hit product. Further, he revolutionized the bhujia by making it thin and crispy, which significantly boosted sales. Recognizing the importance of branding, Haldiram named his bhujia 'Dungar Sev' after the popular Maharaja Dungar Singh, differentiating his product and securing a premium market position.
🌏 Expansion and Innovation of Haldiram's
The script describes Haldiram's journey from a local favorite to a national brand. After attending a wedding in Kolkata and receiving overwhelming praise for his bhujia, Haldiram saw an opportunity for expansion. In 1955, he sent his son and grandson to establish a business in Kolkata, which grew rapidly through word-of-mouth and innovative products like the 'Bengali Mixture'. By 1968, Haldiram's business was thriving in multiple locations, managed by different family members. The introduction of sweets to the product line in Nagpur, starting with kaju katli, marked a significant shift towards becoming a major player in the Indian sweet industry. The innovative move to offer free samples overcame initial hesitation and led to a surge in demand. This period also saw the transformation of Haldiram's from a shop to a restaurant, catering to local tastes while introducing Bikaner's popular snacks to a wider audience.
🔄 Resilience and Global Reach of Haldiram's
The final paragraph details Haldiram's resilience in the face of adversity and its strategic expansion to become a global brand. After a family dispute forced Haldiram out of his own business, he started anew with a small loan and the support of his family's culinary skills. His grandson Shivkishan's vision led to the opening of a restaurant in Nagpur, which eventually expanded to Delhi and beyond. The tragic anti-Sikh riots of 1984 in Delhi temporarily halted business, but Haldiram's grandson Manohar Lal rebuilt and expanded the operation. Recognizing a gap in the market for packaged Indian snacks, Haldiram's introduced nitrogen packaging, significantly increasing the shelf life of their products. This innovation, along with diversification into a wide range of packaged food items and strategic distribution, enabled Haldiram's to become a household name across India and gain popularity in over 80 countries. The story of Haldiram's is a testament to the power of customer delight, innovation, and adaptability in building a successful business from modest beginnings.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Bikaner
💡Bhujia
💡Innovation
💡Branding
💡Expansion
💡Nitrogen Packaging
💡Diversification
💡Market Demand
💡Entrepreneurship
💡Customer Loyalty
💡Liberalization
Highlights
In 1919, a twelve-year-old boy in Bikaner began selling bhujia, unknowingly laying the foundation for a future business empire.
Haldiram, born in 1908, showed early interest in bhujia and mastered the making process at the age of 12.
Haldiram innovated by mixing moth dal with gram flour to create a new bhujia variety that became popular.
He improved the bhujia by making it thin and crispy, enhancing the customer's eating experience.
Haldiram collaborated with mesh makers to create a perfect thin bhujia through experimentation.
Haldiram was a branding genius, using the name of Maharaja Dungar Singh to distinguish his bhujia.
The Dungar Sev branding led to premium positioning and increased sales for Haldiram's bhujia.
Haldiram faced a personal crisis in 1944, which forced him to leave his home and start anew.
With 100 rupees, Haldiram started over by renting a house and considering new business ideas.
Haldiram's wife, Champa Devi, made delicious moong dal, which became their new business venture.
Haldiram's bhujia and moong dal gained popularity, leading to the opening of a small shop.
Haldiram's business expanded to Kolkata, where his products received bulk orders and praise.
In Kolkata, Haldiram introduced the Bengali mixture, a snack tailored to local tastes, which became successful.
Haldiram's grandson, Shivkishan, opened a branch in Nagpur, introducing sweets like kaju katli to the local market.
Shivkishan's strategy of offering free samples led to the skyrocketing demand for kaju katli.
Haldiram's transitioned from a shop to a restaurant in Nagpur, offering South Indian dishes to attract customers.
The Nagpur branch's success led to multiple outlets and the expansion of Haldiram's product range.
Haldiram's adopted nitrogen packaging to extend the shelf life of their snacks, making them accessible nationwide.
Haldiram's diversified into over 400 packaged food items, catering to various consumer preferences and budgets.
The brand's attractive packaging and widespread distribution made Haldiram's snacks a household name in India.
Haldiram's is now a global brand, popular in over 80 countries, with a business turnover exceeding 9,000 crore.
The story of Haldiram's demonstrates the potential for building a large business through customer delight and innovation.
Transcripts
Year 1919.
On the streets of Bikaner,
a twelve-year-old boy
learns to make bhujia from his aunt
and starts selling it for just two paisa.
Completely unaware of the fact
that one day this bhujia
would become the foundation
of a business empire worth thousands of crores
and one day his name Haldiram would be printed
on millions of bhujia packets sold all over the world.
This is the story of India's biggest snacking brand, Haldiram's.
Haldiram was born in 1908
in a poor family in Bikaner.
His grandfather used to sell bhujia in his small shop in the bhujia market
and since childhood, Haldiram had a lot of interest in bhujia,
that is why at the age of just 12,
he worked hard for hours every day
and mastered the bhujia making process
and very soon started sitting in his grandfather's shop regularly
but like his grandfather,
he was not satisfied with just earning some extra money from bhujia.
He wanted to expand his business.
The bhujia that Haldiram was selling
was made from gram flour
but he noticed that the people of Rajasthan
liked moth dal very much.
People there used moth dal in many dishes.
That's why Haldiram also started making his bhujia
by mixing moth dal with gram flour.
People found his new bhujia quite delicious
and became an instant hit
but he did not stop here.
He realized that his current bhujia
was quite thick and soft
but if he could make it thin and crispy
then the eating experience of the customers
would become quite satisfying.
To achieve this,
he had to first make his batter thin
and also needed a mesh whose holes
were smaller than a standard mesh
for it to produce a thin bhujia.
He collaborated with many mesh makers in the market
to make a perfect mesh
and also tried many iterations of his batter.
Finally, after several months of experimentation,
he made a perfectly thin and crispy bhujia.
This new bhujia increased sales exponentially
but Haldiram's innovation
was not limited to the recipe of bhujia only.
Turns out that Haldiram was secretly a branding genius too.
There were many other shops in the market which sold bhujia
but Haldiram wanted that the importance of his bhujia in the minds of customers
should be many times than that of a normal bhujia.
Haldiram knew that Maharaja Dungar Singh
was the most popular king of Bikaner
and people respected him a lot,
that is why Haldiram named his bhujia
after Maharaja Dungar Singh, Dungar Sev.
Labelled with the Maharaja's name,
his bhujia stood out from all the other normal bhujias
and also got a premium positioning.
With this new branding, he also increased the prices
and customers happily accepted that price.
In the next few years, Haldiram, along with his two brothers,
had established the business well.
And now at the age of 36,
he also had a wife and three sons.
Rising from extreme poverty
everything was going very well for Haldiram,
when in 1944 a big twist came in his life.
Relations between the women of the house started deteriorating.
The situation got so bad that Haldiram finally
had to leave home and part ways.
But the problem was that along with the house,
Haldiram was also taken out of the business.
The business which Haldiram had built with all his heart,
today the same business didn't even pay him a penny
and overnight he was on the road with his family.
But due to his responsibilities he had no time to be emotional.
Haldiram quickly pulled himself together
and started looking for work.
One day while looking for work in the market,
someone called his name.
When Haldiram looked back,
one of his childhood friends was standing behind him.
This friend of his had returned to Bikaner after many years
and Haldiram told him everything about his situation.
Years ago, Haldiram had helped his friend by giving him 200 rupees
and fortunately he had not forgotten this favor.
He returned 100 rupees to Haldiram the same day
and these 100 rupees proved to be a lifeline for Haldiram.
First of all, he took a small house on rent for his family
and then started thinking of business ideas.
His wife, Champa Devi used to make delicious moong dal
and moong dal was a staple dish for the people of Bikaner too.
Then what? He decided to do business of moong dal.
With the remaining money,
he bought moong dal, spices and other items
and also set up a makeshift kitchen.
Both would wake up early in the morning and prepare moong dal
and then Haldiram roamed around the market the whole day
and started selling this dish to local workers and office goers.
Within a short time, he started selling his original passion
that is bhujia along with Moong Dal.
Due to his hard work, taste and quality,
he developed a loyal customer base
and within a short time,
he gathered money to rent a small shop.
Within a short time of opening the shop, word spread in the market
that Haldiram and his Dungar Sev were back.
People started lining up in his shop
and within no time Haldiram again
became the local bhujia king.
In the next few years,
Haldiram focused only on growing this shop,
but then something happened in the 1950s
which proved to be a big turning point for him.
Haldiram had gone to Kolkata for the wedding of his friend's daughter.
There he had prepared bhujiya for all the guests
and when he saw the reaction of the guests after eating bhujiya,
he was quite surprised.
Those people liked bhujia so much
that they were not only praising it
but were also giving bulk orders to Haldiram.
Haldiram had understood
that expanding his business in Kolkata
was a huge opportunity especially because
there was no big competition there who sold bhujia.
In 1955, Haldiram sent his younger son Rameshwar Lal
and his eldest grandson Shivkishan
to set up business in Kolkata.
Here too he started with a small house
and a shop of only 8 square feet.
The beginning was slow but eventually
even in Kolkata his business
started growing due to word of mouth
and within no time he started selling 150 to 200 kilos of bhujiya a day.
Also, to attract Bengalis, according to their taste,
he launched a salty snack named Bengali mixture,
which became quite successful.
In the next 12 years,
his shop grew from 8 square feet
to 25 square feet
and the business was also doubling every year.
Being a big city,
the business of Kolkata branch
had now become bigger than that of Bikaner branch.
By 1968, all three sons of Haldiram were settled,
his elder son, Moolchand
was handling the business of Bikaner,
Sati Das had separated from the family
and opened independent shops
and Rameshwar Lal
was running the Kolkata business.
In view of this, Haldiram took semi-retirement from the business
and he used to visit only occasionally to supervise the business.
Business was already going well
but what happened after this
was going to prove to be a golden chapter in Haldiram's business journey.
Haldiram's eldest grandson, Shivkishan,
who was till now working with his uncle in Kolkata business,
decided to open a branch of Haldiram in Nagpur in 1968.
After coming to Nagpur, Shivkishan saw
that the people there loved sweets like balushas,
Gujarati peda, Mysore pak and laddus.
Meaning, the people there loved sweets but till now
they were not exposed much to sweets from other parts of India.
Seeing this opportunity,
Shivkishan started selling his favorite
kaju katli along with bhujia in Nagpur.
Initially customers were hesitant in buying it,
hence Shivkishan started offering
free samples to his customers.
Once tasted, people went crazy for the kaju katli
and the demand skyrocketed.
Seeing this success,
Shivkishan also started offering sweets
like malai laddu, rasgulla, and ras malai
and knowingly or unknowingly this was the beginning
of Haldiram's becoming the biggest player in the Indian sweet industry.
By 1971, two outlets of Haldiram's had opened in Nagpur
but Shivkishan did not want to stay here.
One day Shivkishan went to a restaurant named Kirti
which opened his eyes.
That restaurant offered only dosa and lassi
and there was always a crowd of customers.
It was from here that Shivkishan got the idea
of converting Haldiram's from a shop into a restaurant.
After discerning the market, he realized that Maharashtrians
prefer South Indian dishes like dosa and idli more.
Now he wanted to offer Bikaner's popular snacks
like samosa and kachori in his restaurant,
but before that he had to bring customers to his restaurant,
that is why he started with those dishes
which were in demand that is dosa and idli.
Shivkishan opened a 30-seater restaurant
and very soon all the seats in his restaurant
started being occupied.
Seeing this, they doubled their seating capacity
and also added samosa and kachori to the menu.
The customers who came to eat dosa and idli,
Shivkishan would ask them
to try samosa and kachori
and as it happened with Kaju Katli,
the same happened now.
Most of the the customers who tasted their samosa and kachori once,
became their regular consumers.
In the next few years, multiple outlets
of Haldiram's were opened in Nagpur
and due to this, Haldiram's in Nagpur
had transformed from just a bhujia business
to an Indian snacks, sweets
and restaurant business.
In 1975, Kolkata branch's Rameshwar Lal
separated from the family business structure
and became independent.
An agreement is made
according to which Rameshwar Lal
will not do business outside West Bengal
and Moolchand and his sons will not enter West Bengal.
By this time, the Nagpur branch of Haldiram's was doing very well
but Shivkishan had bigger plans than this in his mind.
He wanted to expand in a city
which would make Haldiram's a national level brand
and that city was Delhi, the capital of India.
Shivkishan chose his younger brother Manohar Lal to expand in Delhi.
By then Manohar Lal was working in Bikaner business
and Shivkishan was seeing a lot of potential in him.
In 1982, Manohar Lal came to Delhi with his younger brother Madhusudan
and saw that Chandni Chowk was full of famous snacks vendors.
He had never seen so much competition in his life.
But the good thing was that along with the competition,
there was also a lot of demand.
Manohar Lal bought a place for his shop with the help of Shivkishan
and started the business in 1983.
For the next one year, working day and night,
he built his reputation in the market
and started breaking even,
when a big tragedy hit him.
The terrible anti-Sikh riots of 1984
had scorched Delhi
and during this time Manohar Lal's
workshop and house too got burned down.
For the next 2 months,
Haldiram's business in Delhi had come to zero.
But Manohar Lal did not give up,
he took financial help from Nagpur and Bikaner
and acquired a new 300-square feet workshop in Delhi
and restarted the business.
The reputation he had built came in handy
and the business started picking up again.
Over the next few years, he not only expanded his current workshop
but also established a new 2,000-square feet factory
and also opened new outlets.
Business was continuously growing
but even after all this,
Haldiram's was still a medium-sized local business
but Shivkishan and Manohar Lal
wanted Haldiram's to become
a world class consumer brand.
People of every household in India
should consume their products.
He observed that after liberalization,
brands like PepsiCo, Kellogg's and Nestle
have started selling convenience foods in India.
Basically, packaged and ready to eat food.
But Haldiram's spotted a huge gap here.
All these foreign brands
were investing thousands of crores in marketing
packaged food of western culture to Indians
but at that time
no brand was selling Indian snacks
in long shelf-life packaging.
Seeing this opportunity, Haldiram's first
started selling its products like Bikaneri Bhujia and aloo bhujia
in nitrogen packaging, due to which their shelf life
increased from a few days to a few months.
Due to this new packaging, Haldiram's business
was no longer limited to Nagpur or Delhi.
Now people in even the smallest cities of India
could buy Haldiram's bhujiya.
After the launch, customers responded
very well to these products
and hence Haldiram's diversified its packaged food segment
into rasgulla, sonpapdi, pickles, kachori and even bhelpuri.
Within no time, Haldiram's started selling
more than 400 packaged food items.
To target consumers with different purchasing power,
they offered their products in different pack sizes.
Like, small packs of many of their products
are available for only 5 rupees
and big packs go up to 200 rupees plus.
Also, he knew that snacks are an impulsive purchase.
Therefore, Haldiram's, using the color psychology
made its packaging attractive
and finally, to reach every corner of India,
Haldiram's onboarded more than a hundred
distributors and lakhs of retailers.
Due to these strategies,
today people eat Haldiram's snacks
in almost every house in India.
And even in more than 80 countries like US, Singapore and UK,
Haldiram's is one of the most popular
Indian snacks brand.
About a 100 years ago,
Haldiram's started
by selling bhujia for two paise
and today the same Haldiram's
has done a business of more than 9,000 crore.
The story of Haldiram's proves
that by delighting customers,
constantly innovating products,
and changing with time
any big business can be built,
no matter how small the beginning.
If you liked this video,
then I would recommend
that you watch this video next.
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