Ganga Bhishen Agarwal (1908–1985), also known as Haldiram Ji, was an Indian entrepreneur from Bikaner, Rajasthan. He founded the Haldiram Snacks Food, a leading brand in Indian snack food industry.[1][2][3]
Early life and background
editGanga Bhishen Agarwal was born in Bikaner, Rajasthan. His entrepreneurial journey began at a young age. He started working in his father’s bhujia shop, where he developed a keen interest in the snack food business. In 1937, he established his own small shop in Bikaner, selling traditional Indian sweets and snacks, particularly Bhujiya. His innovative approach to making bhujia, using moth ki dal instead of besan, and his focus on quality quickly made his products popular.[4]
Career
editIn the 1980s, Haldiram's opened outlets in Delhi, Nagpur, and Kolkata as part of its expansion into bigger markets. Eventually, the family firm divided into three separate companies, each run by a different Agarwal family branch: Haldiram's Bhujiawala in Kolkata, Haldiram's Prabhuji in Kolkata, and Haldiram's in Nagpur and Delhi.[5] By the 1990s, Haldiram's had made a big name for itself in India and started exporting its goods to other countries. With goods available in more than 80 countries, Haldiram serves snack lovers and the Indian diaspora globally. [6][7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "From Bikaner to Blackstone: The success story of humble Haldiram's". The Economic Times. 2024-05-14. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
- ^ "Who is Ganga Bishan Agarwal, the man behind Haldiram's success? Exploring the family legacy of this Indian brand". Financialexpress. 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
- ^ "How iconic Indian snack brand Haldiram's became a global investment target". Business Standard.
- ^ "India's Richest 2019: Haldiram's Incredible Success Story". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-11-03. “ At the age of 12, when most children went to school and were busy copying notes off a dusty blackboard, Ganga Bhishen Agarwal spent his days in Bikaner inventing the ubiquitous snack we today know as Haldiram’s bhujia and reiterating the product to make it more irresistible to customers. The most important changes he made to the bhujia was making it out of moth ki dal rather than besan, which made it a delicacy overnight as moth is very popular and easily available in Rajasthan.”
- ^ "Shiv Kishan Agrawal". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-11-03. “The business was eventually divided among the patriarch's grandsons into three separate companies, operating out of Nagpur, Delhi and Kolkata.”
- ^ "Haldiram & Bikaji: Story of the brothers who control half of India's namkeen market - CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 2022-11-19. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
- ^ Srivastava, Varnika. "Meet man who used to sell bhujia, then built Rs 8330 crore company, his business is..." DNA India. Retrieved 2024-11-03.