Balaji Wafers

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Balaji Wafers Private Limited
Balaji Wafers
Company typePrivate limited
Industry Food products
Founded1974;51 years ago (1974)
Founder
  • Chandubhai Virani
  • Kanubhai Virani
  • Bhikhubhai Virani
Headquarters
Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Key people
  • Chandubhai Virani
  • Bhikhubhai Virani
  • Keyur Virani
  • Mihir Virani
  • Pranay Virani
  • Shyam Virani
Products
Revenue₹5,500 crore (US$640 million) (2023) [1]
Number of employees
5,000 [2]
Website balajiwafers.com

Balaji Wafers is a snack food manufacturer and distributor in India. Founded in 1974, it produces and distributes a variety of potato chips and other grain-based snack foods.

Contents

History

The company is owned by Chandubhai Virani, who was born into a family of farmers in Gujarat. At the age of 15, Chandubhai and his brothers Bhikhubhai and Meghjibhai migrated to Dhundhoraji, a small village in Kalavad Taluka, Jamnagar district of Gujarat. [3] [4] Their father, Popatbhai Virani, was a farmer who sold ancestral agricultural land and gave the brothers ₹ 20,000 (US$230) to venture into business. [4]

The family chose the name because there was a Balaji temple just outside the cinema where they started their wafer business. [5]

The Viranis invested in farm equipment but did not succeed and lost the money. The brothers then started a wafer business from a canteen at Astron Cinema in Rajkot, Gujarat, in 1974. [6] Until 1989, the wafers were produced at the Viranis' house and distributed in and around Rajkot city.

In 1989, the brothers set up their potato wafer facility near Rajkot at Aji G.I.D.C. (Industrial Zone). Balaji Wafers Private Limited was established in 1992 with four facilities spread across the nation. [4] Balaji Wafers then set up a fully automatic plant near Metoda G.I.D.C. which is in the area of the village Vajdi, outside Rajkot. [7]

Market shares

Balaji's share of the local potato and vegetable chips market [8] grew from 9.5% in 2008 to 13.7% in 2012, according to Euromonitor International. Balaji has a share of 71% in the western market. In Gujarat, it has a share of 90%. [9] The Economic Times recognized Balaji Wafers as Sultan of Wafers. [10]

The company posted sales of 5010 Crore Rupees for fiscal year 2023. [11]

Balaji Wafers is also a member of the Federation of Sweets & Namkeen Manufacturers (FSNM). [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Bikaneri Namkeen hits $1 billion sweet spot". Economic Times. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  2. ↑ "Madison wins Balaji Wafers' media duties worth Rs 20 crore". The Economic Times . Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. ↑ "Meet Chandubhai Virani, man who almost had no money, built Rs 4,000 crore company". DNA India. 19 July 2023. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Who is Chandubhai Virani? Meet the man who had nothing but now runs Rs 4000 crore company. How he started Balaji wafers and his journey". The Financial Express. 22 July 2023. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  5. ↑ Misra, Shubhangi (9 December 2023). "More chips, less air: How Gujarat's Balaji Wafers, which turned down Pepsi offer, became a snack giant". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  6. ↑ Zaman, Sumaila, ed. (22 July 2023). "Meet Chandubhai Virani, A Canteen Worker Who Built Rs 4,000-Crore Potato Wafers Brand". india.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "1". Share-pdf.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Singh, Rajiv (17 March 2021). "Balaji Wafers: Building A Rs 2,000 Crore-plus Brand With Stubbornness". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "PepsiCo said to be exploring offer for Balaji Wafers". Mint. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Shramana Ganguly Mehta (23 December 2009). "Balaji Wafers a name to reckon with in Gujarat snacks market - Economic Times". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Malviya, Sagar (1 December 2023). "Balaji Wafers: How this Rajkot-based company is challenging the likes of Haldiram's and PepsiCo". The Economic Times. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  12. ↑ "Balaji Wafers: Member of FSNM". Archived from the original on 14 February 2022.
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