Section 37
How Haldiram's grew from one Bikaner shop
How does a local snack shop turn a common product into a brand people ask for by name?
- case
- Success
- years
- 1937-2025
- 1937
- Year the first shop opened · 1937
- 20% at an estimated $10 billion valuation
- Stake bought by Temasek-led consortium · 2025
- 01
The situation
Bhujia was a common snack in Bikaner, made by many shops. In 1937 Ganga Bishan Agarwal, known as Haldiram, opened his own small shop in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
- 02
The decision
He made his bhujia different: thinner, crisper and slightly spicier, using moth beans instead of gram flour, according to Storyboard18. Over the next generations the family took the business to Nagpur, Kolkata and Delhi, and grew from bhujia into sweets, packaged snacks and restaurants.
- 03
The outcome
The business was later split among the founder's grandsons into separate companies based in Nagpur, Delhi and Kolkata. Forbes reports that in 2023 the Nagpur and Delhi businesses merged to form Haldiram Snacks Food, and that in 2025 a consortium led by Singapore's Temasek bought a 20 per cent stake at an estimated $10 billion valuation.