HALDIRAM'S GROUP - SEEKING THE 'RIGHT'
MARKETING MIX
 <<Previous
BACKGROUND NOTE
In 1937, Ganga Bishen Agarwal, (popularly known as
Haldiram), opened a small sweet shop in Bikaner, a small district in Rajasthan.
Bikaner had a large number of sweet shops selling sweets as well as namkeens. 'Bhujia
sev,' a salty snack prepared by Ganga Bishen, was very popular among the
residents of Bikaner and was also purchased by tourists coming to Bikaner. In
1941, the name 'Haldiram's Bhujiawala' was used for the first time.
|
In 1950, Prabhu Shankar Agarwal (Prabhu), along with his
father Rameshwar Lal Agarwal (son of Ganga Bishen), expanded the business by
establishing a small manufacturing unit for sweets and namkeens in Kolkata. The
success of this unit motivated Prabhu to upgrade its machinery to improve the
quality of its products. As demand for Haldiram's products increased, it was
decided to scale up the company's manufacturing and distribution activities.
In
1970, a large manufacturing unit was set up in Nagpur in the state of
Maharashtra (India). In 1983, a retail outlet was set up in New Delhi. The
outlet became very popular not only among the Delhiites but also among tourists
visiting Delhi.
Haldiram's was able to achieve significant growth during
the 1980s and 1990s. In 1992, a manufacturing unit with a retail outlet attached
to it was set up in the outskirts of Delhi. A year later, Haldiram's syrups and
crushes were successfully launched in the Indian market. In 1995, a restaurant
was opened in New Delhi. In 1997, realizing the potential of namkeens, the
company set up a manufacturing unit in Delhi exclusively for making namkeens. |
|
To add potato products to its existing
product portfolio, machinery was imported from the US. Haldiram's maintained high quality standards at every stage of the
production process. All its food items were prepared and packaged in a very
hygienic environment.
In the mid 1990s, Haldiram's added bakery items, dairy products, sharbats and
ice creams to its portfolio. At the beginning of the 21st century, Haldiram's
products reached millions of consumers not only in India, but also in several
other countries, including the US, Canada, UK, UAE, Australia, New Zealand, Sri
Lanka, Nepal, Japan and Thailand.
Analysts felt that the growing popularity of Haldiram's products could be
attributed to its constant focus on all the elements of the marketing mix. An
article posted on the website apeda.com[1] quoted some of the company's strengths,
"To sustain in the competitive market, Haldiram's has endeavored stress on its
product quality, packaging, shelf life, competitive price with a special
emphasis on consumers satisfaction and its lingering taste is amongst the best
available in the world."
THE MARKETING MIX
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
[1] Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) is an autonomous institution, which provides financial, logistics related and promotional assistance to exporters of processed food items from India. Through its website apeda.com,
it enables exporters to give a brief account of the company and their products.
2003, ICMR (IBS Center for Management Research).All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted
in any form or by any means - electronic or mechanical, without permission.
To order copies, call +91- 8417- 236667 or write to ICMR,
Survey No. 156/157, Dontanapalli Village, Shankerpalli Mandal,
Ranga Reddy District,
Hyderabad-501504.
Andhra Pradesh, INDIA.
Ph: +91- 8417- 236667,
Fax: +91- 8417- 236668
E-mail: info@icmrindia.org
Website: www.icmrindia.org
|
More Classifications...