Wafer King ; When the Chips Were Down, Chandubhai Virani of Balaji Wafers Decided to Start Selling Them.

Summary

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The tailor-made suit is a necessity that he would rather do without. Chandubhai Virani might be the managing director of Balaji Wafers, Gujarat's leading packaged-snacks manufacturer, but he prefers to keep things simple. From running a small canteen in a cinema hall in Rajkot to running a business empire worth Rs 250 crore, 52-year-old Virani's has been an inspiring story. We (Virani and his brothers Bhikubhai and Kanubhai) came to Rajkot from Dhundhoraji village in search of work in the early 1970s. We lost our initial capital while trying out several business options, but somehow managed to get a job at a cinema canteen in 1974, he says.

It was here that the brothers began introducing innovative ideas to keep their customers happy. They would bring in home-made sandwiches and potato wafers which eventually became their USP. By 1982, we realised that the demand for wafers was growing in leaps and bounds, so we decided to have our own manufacturing set-up from home. By 1989, we had bought a 1,000-square-metre plot for production and a vehicle for distribution. After acquiring more land and better investment, by 1992, Virani and his brothers decided to bring in technology and speed up the production process. Automisation was a big risk, but it was the turning point for the business. The decision to introduce updated technology was good but we incurred heavy losses in the beginning. Since we didn't have any technical or engineering background, we ended up wasting a lot of time, says Virani.

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Wafer King ; When the Chips Were Down, Chandubhai Virani of Balaji Wafers Decided to Start Selling Them.

Today, after almost two decades and with the support of the second generation, Balaji Wafers is a brand that's moved beyond regional market...

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