Haldiram’s Success Story: A Taste of Tradition, A Legacy of Success
🔍Insights
Whenever we talk about food companies, international brand names like Dominos, McDonald's, or KFC come into our mind. However, we have an Indian brand that has surpassed all these brands by selling Indian products. Yes, the brand is none other than Haldiram's. Haldiram's had started as a small shop in Bikaner. It has now become the largest snack seller, selling its products in over 80 countries around the world.
Haldiram's is a name that started in the city of Bikaner in Rajasthan with its delicious Bhujia, but its great business strategies and introduction of new products from time to time made it a global brand today. The brand has grown and expanded and made a huge place for itself in our hearts.
Temasek acquired about 10% of Haldiram Snacks Foods (HSFPL) for over INR 8,000 crore (~$1 billion), valuing the company at $9 billion as of 11 March 2025. This major deal follows interest from Blackstone and Bain Capital. HSFPL, formed by merging the FMCG operations of Haldiram’s Delhi and Nagpur branches, holds a 13% share in India’s $6.2 billion savory snacks market. Besides snacks, Haldiram’s runs restaurants in India and abroad.
The success story of Haldiram's is not only an achievement for itself but also a great source of inspiration for many.
Haldiram's Story
The Success Story and Business Strategies of Haldiram's
Chapter 1: Ganga Bishan Agarwal Changed the Fate of Haldiram's Forever
Chapter 2: Shiv Kishan Agarwal, The Second Mastermind Behind the Success
Chapter 3: Manohar Lal Agarwal's Smart Strategies Made the Brand One of a Kind
- Giving Importance to the Packaging of the Products
- Opening More Stores and Spreading Across Cities
- Haldiram's Funding
The Success Story and Business Strategies of Haldiram's
Haldiram's owes its success to the contributions, dedication, and strategies of mainly three people, Ganga Bishan Agarwal, Shiv Kishan Agarwal, and Manohar Lal Agarwal. These three are responsible for implementing great strategies that make the brand a lovable preference for many.
Chapter 1: Ganga Bishan Agarwal Changed the Fate of Haldiram's Forever
The history of Haldiram's starts in 1941. Ganga Bishan Agarwal, also known as Haldiram Ji, established the foundation of Haldiram's in that year. He belonged to a Marwari family in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
Haldiram's dream of establishing this company dates back to 1919 when he was only 11 years old. He had started working at his father's bhujia shop in his childhood. Haldiram used to do odd jobs there but he always tried to learn how to make bhujia. At that time, bhujia was in demand. So, most shops in the market used to sell it. Every seller's bhujia had the same quality and taste. Thus, the only competition was on the money.
Haldiram was the only person who was neither satisfied with the business nor with the taste of the bhujia. He wanted to make a bhujia that would be unique in the market. To achieve this, he started preparing bhujia with different ingredients. After many failed attempts, he succeeded in making a different kind of bhujia, the kind that the people of Bikaner had never tasted.
Here are the three changes that Haldiram brought that eventually changed the destiny of their business:
- He started making bhujia with moth beans instead of gram flour. It changed its taste and made it more crispy.
- Every seller was selling their bhujia at 2 paise/kg but Haldiram set his rate at 5 paise/kg. This made his bhujia a premium product in the eyes of the buyers.
- He set his bhujia's name to Dongar Sev, the name of Bikaner's king. There was no relation between the two but that name served as a brand ambassador and people started believing it was a premium product.
Haldiram's Dongar Sev became popular among the masses and its sales reached the sky. This was how Haldiram established his business, which is now known by his name. However, this was only the start.
Chapter 2: Shiv Kishan Agarwal, The Second Mastermind Behind the Success
The second chapter of the company's growth started at the end of 1960 through Shiv Kishan Agarwal. He was the grandson of Haldiram.
At that time, in the 1960s, the Agarwal family was divided into three parts. Each lived in the cities of Bikaner, Kolkata, and Nagpur respectively. Their business in Kolkata and Bikaner was running well. However, Shri Krishan struggled a lot in Nagpur. In the 1960s, there was no demand for bhujia, not only in Nagpur but in entire Maharashtra.
So, he made it his determination to learn more about the food habits of the Maharashtrians. He organized market research and surveyed the entire Nagpur market. Through the survey, he found two big opportunities in the market.
- The people of Maharashtra were not aware of the different types of snacks. Thus, he could introduce new snacks into the market.
- There was a gap in the sweets market and only a few sweets were available in the market. Thus, he could introduce other sweets to the people.
He launched his favorite 'Kaju Katli' in the market. As it was a new sweet for the people of Maharashtra, he started giving out free samples. Due to this strategy, Kaju Katli became famous in Nagpur within just a few days. People loved the taste and the sales started reaching new heights. He then introduced many other sweets of Bikaner and Kolkata in Nagpur. This was how the sales increased by 400% in three years.
Soon enough, he realized that Nagpur people liked South Indian snacks like Idli and Dosa. This made him start a South Indian restaurant to attract more customers. Then, he started adding new snacks like samosa, kachori, and chole bhature to the menu.
If we examine it from a business perspective, when he entered the Nagpur market, he was a strange shopkeeper who was selling strange products to people. That's why people didn't trust him. So first, he won the trust of the Maharashtrians by selling the products they liked to win their trust, and then, he introduced his own products. This was how Shiv Kishan Agarwal contributed to Haldiram's growth.
Lakshya Singh
Chapter 3: Manohar Lal Agarwal's Smart Strategies Made the Brand One of a Kind
The person who took this business even higher was Manohar Lal Agarwal. He is the current chairman of Haldiram.
When he joined Haldiram in 1973, Haldiram had only three shops in India - in Kolkata, Nagpur, and Bikaner respectively. Manohar Lal Agarwal opened another outlet in Delhi's Chandni Chowk.
He adopted two major strategies for the growth of the business that proved to be the game-changer in this story. The strategies were:
Giving Importance to the Packaging of the Products
During the 1990s, snack companies used to sell their products without any proper packaging. Haldiram was the first Indian company that gave great priority to the packaging and presentation of its snacks. It was Manohar Lal Agarwal who inspired the modern-day packaging methods including zip pouch, standee pouch packaging, and four-layer structure flexible packaging. This not only increased their brand awareness but also made the brand trustworthy and more popular amongst the masses. Haldiram stood out from the crowd and became a one-of-a-kind destination for sweets and snacks.
To expand its presence, Haldiram’s introduced sub-brands like Minute Khanna, Cup Shup, and Cookie Heaven, catering to different snack segments. Minute Khaana, for instance, focuses on the frozen food market. With a strong commitment to quality and market insights, Haldiram’s has grown from a small local shop into a globally recognized brand.
Opening More Stores and Spreading Across Cities
The second strategy was that he opened stores in various cities. He first targeted all the major cities and then moved on to the smaller ones as well. Having stores in pan-India hugely increased its popularity. People came to know more and more about the brand. The strategy increased the sales by a huge margin and made the business spread throughout the whole country.
Haldiram’s didn’t stop at domestic success and expanded globally. Today, it operates in over 60 countries, including key markets like the UK, Thailand, Australia, UAE, and Japan, solidifying its position as an international food brand.
Haldiram's Funding
Temasek has finalized a deal to acquire nearly 10% of Haldiram Snacks Foods (HSFPL) for approximately $1 billion, reinforcing its focus on India’s growing consumer sector as of 11 March 2025. The transaction, one of the largest in India’s FMCG industry, follows months of negotiations. Blackstone also made a bid for a 20% stake but at a lower valuation.
HSFPL represents the combined FMCG businesses of Haldiram’s Delhi and Nagpur branches, making it a dominant player in India’s snacks market. The broader Haldiram brand operates through three separate family-run entities in Delhi, Nagpur, and Kolkata. This deal reflects the increasing interest of global investors in India's food and beverage sector, particularly in the savory snacks category. The Haldiram story showcases how a family-run business evolved into a dominant player in India's snacks market, with Haldiram Snacks Foods (HSFPL) now attracting global investors like Temasek.
Baishali Das Adhikari
Conclusion
Thus, this is how Haldiram's has grown from a small shop in Bikaner to one of the most renowned snacks sellers in the world. The above-mentioned were the three founding pillars of Haldiram. Each held an important position in its foundation.
Today, Haldiram's valuation has crossed $3 Billion and the business now has spread to 80+ countries. It was due to the efforts of these three generations of Agarwals that converted their small shop into the big business it is today. We surely have a lot to learn from the marketing strategies that each of them implemented along the way.
FAQ
When and where Haldiram's was founded?
Haldiram's was founded in Bikaner in the year 1937 by Ganga Bishan Agarwal (Haldiram Ji).
What is Haldiram most famous for?
Haldiram is the most famous for its Bhujias and Soan Papdi.
Who is the present Chairman of Haldiram?
Manohar Lal Agarwal is the present chairman of Haldiram.
Is Haldiram planning to launch its IPO (Initial Public Offering)?
Haldiram is likely to launch its IPO in 2025 according to various media reports.
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