Meet Chandubhai Virani, A Canteen Worker Who Built Rs 4,000-Crore Potato Wafers Brand
There are several tales of people who went from nothing to becoming millionaires. One such inspirational story is that of Chandubhai Virani, a mere 10-class pass man who founded the potato wafer brand “Balaji Wafers,” worth Rs. 4,000 crore.
When he was 15, Chandubhai Virani moved to Dhundoraji (Jamnagar), which is around 79 kilometres from Rajkot along with his family. Later in 1972, Virani along with his brothers — Meghjibhai and Bhikhubhai — were given Rs 20,000 to start a new life, by their father, the late Popat Virani who sold parched land.
Using the funds, the brothers established a new agricultural products and farm equipment firm in Rajkot. However, within two years, the venture failed miserably. Following this, the brothers, including Chandubhai, a Class X pass, started working in the Astron Cinema’s canteen.
In addition to working in the canteen, Chandubhai Virani also did miscellaneous other jobs including door-keeping, sticking posters, and ushering for a wage of Rs 90 per month. In exchange for a plate of chorafari, a Gujarati snack, he also fixed broken seats.
The Virani family was under such severe financial strain that they were forced to leave the rented home one night as they lacked the Rs. 50 needed to cover the rent. But he later reimbursed the rent.
As a result of his outstanding performance at the canteen, his brothers and Chandubhai Virani received a contract for Rs 1,000 per month. By 1982, his entire family moved to Rajkot. Ramjibhai, his brother, had purchased a house with a sizable garden.
While serving at the canteen, Virani saw wafers as a potential product as they were in high demand at the theatre. Taking the concept from here, Virani built a modest hut in the courtyard for an estimated Rs 10,000 and began his trials with chips from his one-room home. The trial idea worked! The startup business started getting a great response. There was a great demand for chips not only in the theatre but outside the world too. The small wafer business soon turned into an empire and there was no looking back.
In 1989, as the company’s sales increased, Chandubhai built the then-largest potato wafer facility in Gujarat in the Rajkot neighbourhood of Aji GIDC. It started with a little bank loan of roughly Rs. 50 lakh and modest revenue. Later, the trio brothers launched Balaji Wafers Private Ltd in 1992. A small glass statue of Lord Hanuman that was placed in the Viranis’ room served as the inspiration for the name of his business, Balaji Wafers. With a combined capacity of 6.5 million kg of potatoes and 10 million kg of namkeen per day, the company now operates four plants in the nation.
As of FY21, Balaji Wafers’ revenue reportedly stood at Rs 4,000 crore. The startup company got a buyout offer worth Rs 4,000 crore, which it declined. The total number of employees at Balaji is 5,000. Nearly 50 per cent of the workforce are women.
Today, the company offers its customers over 13 different flavors of wafers, 22 flavors of Namkeens, and 15 flavors of Western Snacks manufactured at different units and outlets.
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