To build a successful business empire, entrepreneurs embark on a journey filled with years of hard work, struggle, and sacrifice. With continued efforts and the ability to overcome numerous challenges, there comes a point in an entrepreneur’s journey where all the hard work and perseverance pay off, propelling them to mammoth success. The story of Chandubhai Virani who is the Founder and Managing Director of Balaji Wafer is also similar. His unwavering commitment and persistent drive to excel led him to build a business empire worth a whopping Rs 5000 crore.

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Hailing from Gujarat, Chandubhai comes from a family of farmers. In 1974, Chandubhai along with his brothers moved from Jamnagar to Rajkot in search for a job. Initially, they were financially assisted by their father who sold farmland and arranged Rs 20,000 for them to start a business. With the help of this money, they started a small business that involved selling farming supplies. However, due to unfavorable circumstances, the business failed and was shut down within two years.

The failed business incurred a lot of debt which forced the three brothers to end up doing odd jobs to run the family expenses.  As the financial condition of the family became very bad, they did everything from repairing cinema hall seats to pasting film posters and working in the canteen. 

When the debt increased, they were unable to pay even the rent of the house. Despite such difficult circumstances, they never gave up and accepted these challenges. Chandubhai, along with his brother finally found a job at the Astron Cinema canteen. Initially, Chandubhai earned Rs 90 per month working in the canteen. But later, Chandubhai and his brother secured a contract of Rs 1,000. Thanks to his steady income, Chandubhai from his small shed in the courtyard began making chips.

During this time, Chandubhai saw the immense demand for wafers among the public coming there. Seeing the opportunity, he started making chips at home. Later, Chandubhai borrowed Rs 1.5 lakh as a loan from a bank and opened the first factory for his potato wafer business in 1982. 

After tasting success with this first factory, Chandubhai, alongside his siblings, established Balaji Wafers Private Limited in 1992. Their new enterprise had an impressive production capacity, churning out 6.5 million kilograms of potatoes and a staggering 10 million kilograms of namkeens daily.

Today 'Balaji Wafers' has reached a remarkable level of success. It currently operates as one of the largest snack-selling companies in the country. At present, Balaji Wafers is a thriving company that has around 7000 employees working for them, half of whom are women. The company reached a massive turnover of around Rs 5000 crore for FY23.

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