Desi flavors from a Bikaner shop ascend to the cosmos by Haldiram's
Haldiram's: From a Small Shop in Bikaner to a $10-Billion Snack Empire
Haldiram's, the renowned Indian snack and sweets brand, has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a small shop in Bikaner, Rajasthan, in 1937. Founded by Ganga Bhishen Agarwal, better known as "Haldiram Ji," the brand has grown into a leading snack empire valued at around $10 billion.
The growth of Haldiram's can be traced back to strategic factory expansions, product innovations, regional diversification, and consolidation of family-run branches. The first factory was opened in Kolkata in the 1970s, followed by larger factories in Jaipur and New Delhi in the early 1990s, enabling mass production and wider distribution.
Moator Lal Agarwal joined the business in 1973, expanding the retail presence from three shops into a growing network including Kolkata and Nagpur. Innovations like chickpea flour bhujia helped position Haldiram’s as a premium brand.
Post-2000s, the brand broadened its product range to include convenience foods, frozen foods, and quick-service restaurants, responding to modern consumer trends domestically and internationally. By 2017, Haldiram's had become India’s largest snack company, with a significant market share and trusted brand status.
The brand's operations are now overseen by regional wings covering north, west/south, east India, and expanding overseas markets. Haldiram's consistent emphasis on quality, innovation in product offerings, and strategic investments in manufacturing and retail formats have underpinned its remarkable growth.
In 2022, the Delhi-based Haldiram Snacks and Nagpur-based Haldiram Foods International merged into Haldiram Snacks Food, creating unified operations and ownership split between Manohar and Madhusudan Agarwal (56%) and Shiv Kishan Agarwal (44%). In 2025, Temasek, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, acquired over 9-10% stake at a $10 billion valuation.
Today, Haldiram's portfolio includes over 400 products such as Aloo Bhujia, Navratan Mix, Rasgulla, Kaju Katli, frozen snacks, bakery goods, beverages, and millet-based health lines. The brand sells its products in the USA, UK, UAE, Australia, Japan, and more, with namkeens contributing roughly 60% of its total revenue.
Haldiram's products are tailored to local tastes, including healthier baked snacks. The brand's products are sold through exclusive outlets, supermarkets, convenience stores, e-commerce platforms, and food aggregators. In FY24, Haldiram's posted revenues of Rs 12,800 crore and net profits of around Rs 1,400 crore.
Manufacturing hubs in Kolkata, Nagpur, Delhi, and beyond support both domestic scale and export precision. Haldiram's holds an estimated 13% share of India's organised savoury snack market. The brand's products have even reached space, with astronaut Sunita Williams carrying Haldiram's samosas on a NASA mission.
Despite its growth, Haldiram's remains rooted in its Indian culinary heritage. The small sweets and namkeen shop in Bikaner, which became Haldiram's, was founded in 1937, and the Agarwal family branched into multiple units, with Ganga Bishan's descendants expanding into Kolkata in the 1950s and the youngest brothers, Manohar Lal and Madhusudan Agarwal, taking the brand to Delhi by the 1980s.
The legal disputes over the "Haldiram" name split the businesses into four entities by the 1990s, but the brand's commitment to quality and innovation has kept it at the forefront of the Indian snack industry. Today, Haldiram's is a $10-billion snack empire with a footprint in over 80 countries.
- The finance sector could learn from Haldiram's journey, a $10-billion snack empire, which started as a small shop in Bikaner.
- Amidst the bustling market of entrepreneurship, Haldiram's has managed to stand out as a prominent name in the global-cuisines industry.
- Strategic investments in manufacturing and retail formats have played a significant role in Haldiram's growth, making it India’s largest snack company.
- As Haldiram's diversified its product range, it ventured into small-business domains such as convenience foods, frozen foods, and quick-service restaurants.
- Haldiram's consistent focus on quality, regional diversification, and product innovations have helped it maintain a trusted brand status in the finance industry.
- In response to modern consumer trends, Haldiram's expanded its portfolio to include healthier baked snacks, catering to evolving lifestyle preferences and food-and-drink trends.
- By tapping into various global markets, Haldiram's has managed to generate a substantial portion of its revenue from exports, making a significant impact on the housing-market through job creation and economic growth.
- Despite its massive size, Haldiram's has remained true to its roots, maintaining a strong connection with its Indian culinary heritage, demonstrating the intertwining of business and cooking in its journey from a humble small shop to a global snack empire.
