Produced by: Bhoomika Designed by: Mohsin Shaikh
Lala Kedarnath Aggarwal, Chairman of leading snack brand in India, Bikanervala, passed away at the age of 86. He has left behind an unparalleled legacy in the retail in industry of India by helping to build country's topmost sweets and snacks company
The demise of Aggarwal, fondly known as Kakaji, ''marked the end of an era that has enriched palates and touched countless lives,'' Bikanervala said in a statement. Let us take a look at the humble journey of Aggarwal family from Rajasthan which built massive snacks and sweets brand
Lal Chand Agarwal used to run a local snack shop in Bikanervala, Rajasthan. Founded 115 years ago, Bikaner Namkeen Bhandar in Bikaner's old city area of Kote Gate used to sell snacks and sweets in the desert-city. Though, as the next generation grew up, his sons Late Kedarnath Aggarwal and Satyanarayan Aggarwal decided to take forward their father's business and expand it across the country
With not much financial support and a single aim in mind to build their family business into a successful venture, both the brothers shifted to Old Delhi - a place famous for its market called Khari Baoli, which sells traditional snacks and sweets. In 1950, the Aggarwal brothers started selling bhujiya and rasgullas in small buckets with a hope to make the ends meet
After a few years, they opened a dainty stall in Chandni Chowk by the name of Bikaner Bhujia Bhandar in Paranthe Wali Gali. Owing to their unique taste and freshness, Bikaner Bhujia Bhandar's sweets and snacks started gaining prominence. Some of the famous products were Moong Dal Halwa, Bikaneri Bhujia and Kaju Katli
With the increasing sales, the profit margins grew as well, and both the brothers increased their line of products by including more varieties of traditional sweets and namkeens. In the following years, they opened a few more shops in prominent areas of Delhi such as Karol Bagh. Delhiites, who are known for their sweet tooth, started referring the two brothers as Bikanervalas and, thus,led to the re-branding of this business venture as Bikanervala
To cater to the increasing demand, the two brothers expanded the offerings from sweets and snacks to vegetarian meals. They were soon joined by their next generation who started bringing in fresh ideas for the expansion of the business
The present Managing Director of Bikanervala Foods Pvt Ltd, Shyam Sundar Aggarwal, joined the family business in 1968. At the age of 16, after completing his high school, Shyam learnt the art of making sweets. Radhe Mohan Aggarwal, son of Kedarnath Aggarwal, also joined him. By 1980s, the western fast foods, including pizza, and burgers started becoming popular in India. To capitalise on the changing taste buds of the country, both of them decided to take the brand globally
They ditched the ordinary plastic packets for air-tight packets to help sell sweets and namkeens abroad. They named this new line of product as Bikano. In 1995, Bikanervala entered into an exclusive agreement to produce namkeens for PepsiCo’s brand Lehar, opening a new plant in Faridabad, Haryana
Later on, they ventured into Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) business where they served vegetarian meals and snacks along with the Bikano packaged products. Presently, there are more than 42 Bikanervala outlets in Delhi/NCR alone, 12 outlets in UAE and 7 in Nepal. Bikanervala is also present in New Zealand and Singapore and the United States of America (two outlets each). With recent opening in Qatar, Bikanervala established itself in the Middle East