Section 36
Chandubhai Virani
Balaji Wafers · A village in Gujarat; moved to Rajkot
- Over ₹5,000 crore
- Annual sales · 2022-23
The story
Chandubhai Virani's family farmed in a drought-hit village in Gujarat. When the land could no longer support them, they sold it. With the money from the sale, Chandubhai and his brothers moved to Rajkot and started a fertiliser and farm-equipment business. They were cheated and lost everything.
From 1974 they took odd jobs at Rajkot's Astron Cinema, hanging posters and making sandwiches for moviegoers. Over time they were given the canteen to run. In 1981 they noticed that customers were unhappy with the wafers from their supplier, so they began frying their own and called them Balaji Wafers.
By 1984 they were supplying nearby shops, and in 1989 they took a loan to build a semi-automated factory in Rajkot. The company became a private limited company in 1995, opened large plants in Rajkot, Valsad and Indore, and added namkeens. The company says it crossed ₹5,000 crore in annual sales in the year ending March 2023.
Timeline
- 1974Takes odd jobs at Astron Cinema, Rajkot; later runs its canteen.
- 1981Starts making his own wafers, named Balaji Wafers.
- 1989Takes a loan to build a semi-automated factory in Rajkot.
- 1995Becomes a private limited company with a fully automated factory.
- 2008Opens a plant in Valsad.
- 2023Annual sales cross ₹5,000 crore (year ending March 2023).