Chandubhai Virani is a known name in the Indian FMCG sector that is dominated by international players. He is the man behind one of the biggest chips brands in India. Although many may know Chandubhai Virani as a successful entrepreneur who established a Rs 40000000000 brand, only a few know about his inspirational journey. Chandubhai Virani was born into a family of farmers that was forced to sell the farming land after a drought. Chandubhai Virani’s father Popatbhai Virani sold the land for Rs 20,000 and gave that money to his sons to start a business. With an aim to get a steady livelihood, Chandubhai Virani and his brothers ventured into the fertiliser and farm equipment business. The business failed and after facing the loss, the brothers were forced to take up work at Astron Cinema. After working for a few years, the Virani brothers got hold of the canteen and started selling their homemade wafers which became popular overtime. The wafers were named after a temple located in the premises of the cinema.
Chandubhai Virani and his brothers used to make wafers or chips at their home only for the first 15 years, The chips were quite popular in and around Rajkot city. Gradually, the chips’ business grew, Chandubhai Virani decided to set up a potato wafer facility near Rajkot city and after tasting the initial success, Balaji Wafers Private Limited was established in 1992 with four facilities in different parts of the country.
Chandubhai's determination and vision made him a potato wafer mogul. Recoginsed as ‘Sultan of Wafers’, Balaji Wafers dominates in the western market and has a huge market share in its home state. The quality and variety of chips even got the attention of PepsiCo, the company that makes Lay’s chips, which was reportedly exploring an offer to get a stake in Balaji Wafers/ As of FY21, Balaji Wafers' revenue reportedly stood at a staggering Rs 4,000 crore. Now, Balaji Wafers employs 5,000 individuals, with an impressive 50 percent of the workforce comprising women.
