Section 37
Case Studies
Real Indian businesses, told the way a business school would: the problem, the decision, the result and what a small founder should take from it.
- Successes
- 14
- Turnarounds
- 4
- Failures
- 6
Successes
What they did right
- Success1946-2025How Amul let farmers own the whole chainAmul (Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union / GCMMF) · DairyHow can thousands of small milk producers get a fair price without a middleman taking the margin?Read the case →
- Success1959-2013How seven women built Lijjat on Rs 80Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad · Packaged food (papad)How do homemakers with almost no capital build a national food brand?Read the case →
- Success2010-2014How Mumbai's dabbawalas deliver without technologyMumbai dabbawalas · Logistics and deliveryHow can a low-cost team deliver lakhs of items on time every day without computers?Read the case →
- Success1969-1988How Nirma beat Surf on priceNirma · Detergents (FMCG)Can a one-man brand beat a multinational by serving the buyers it ignores?Read the case →
- Success2016-2017How Jio used a free launch to win 100 million usersReliance Jio Infocomm · TelecomHow does a late entrant get customers to switch from operators they already use?Read the case →
- Success1937-2025How Haldiram's grew from one Bikaner shopHaldiram's · Snacks and sweetsHow does a local snack shop turn a common product into a brand people ask for by name?Read the case →
- Success1983-2011How Ujala grew a company on one productJyothy Laboratories (Ujala) · Fabric care (FMCG)Can a small company win a national category with just one product?Read the case →
- Success2001-2023How HUL reached small villages through women sellersHindustan Unilever (Project Shakti) · FMCG distributionHow do you sell in villages too small for a regular distributor to visit?Read the case →
- Success2001How Asian Paints used forecasting to stock dealersAsian Paints · PaintsHow do you keep thousands of shades in stock across India without drowning in inventory?Read the case →
- Success1976-2019How Aravind made free eye surgery pay for itselfAravind Eye Care System · HealthcareHow can a hospital treat the poor for free and still stay financially healthy?Read the case →
- Success2020-2023How Parle-G protected its low price pointParle Products (Parle-G) · Biscuits (FMCG)When costs rise, should a low-price brand raise its price or change the pack?Read the case →
- Success1959-2004How Fevicol won by selling to carpenters firstPidilite Industries (Fevicol) · AdhesivesHow do you get tradespeople to switch from a product they have used for generations?Read the case →
- Success1969-2023How Bisleri built bottled water after selling its soft drinksBisleri International (Parle Exports) · Packaged drinking waterWhen you cannot win one fight, can you put everything into another category?Read the case →
- Success2011-2016How Paper Boat found its market after a first product struggledHector Beverages (Paper Boat) · BeveragesWhat do you do when your first product does not take off?Read the case →
Turnarounds
Fell, then came back
- Turnaround2015-2016How Maggi came back after the 2015 banNestle India (Maggi) · Packaged foodWhat should a food company do when a regulator bans its biggest product?Read the case →
- Turnaround2009-2025How Royal Enfield turned around by fixing the productRoyal Enfield (Eicher Motors) · MotorcyclesShould you sell a loved but loss-making brand, or fix it?Read the case →
- Turnaround1996-2002How Tanishq won trust with the KaratmeterTitan Company (Tanishq) · JewelleryHow does a new brand win customers in a market run on family trust?Read the case →
- Turnaround2021-2023How Zomato went from listing to its first profitZomato · Food delivery (internet)How does a loss-making growth company prove it can make money?Read the case →
Failures
What went wrong, so you avoid it
- Failure2008-2018What went wrong with the Tata NanoTata Motors (Nano) · Passenger carsWhy did a car built to be the most affordable in the world fail to sell?Read the case →
- Failure2005-2019Why Kingfisher Airlines was groundedKingfisher Airlines · AviationWhat happens when a business never earns a full-year profit but keeps borrowing?Read the case →
- Failure2019-2024Why Jet Airways could not be revivedJet Airways · AviationWhat happens when a company runs out of cash and a rescue deal is never completed?Read the case →
- Failure2009-2017What the Satyam fraud case teaches about honest booksSatyam Computer Services · IT servicesWhat happens when a company's reported profits and cash are not real?Read the case →
- Failure2019-2023What the Café Coffee Day crisis shows about related-party moneyCoffee Day Enterprises Ltd (Café Coffee Day) · Cafés and holding companyWhat goes wrong when a listed company's money flows to a promoter-linked firm?Read the case →
- Failure2014-2018How Micromax rose to No. 1 and then lost the marketMicromax Informatics · Mobile phonesWhat happens when a market leader is slow to move to the next technology?Read the case →