Haldiram’s: The Rs 13,000 crore brand that rarely advertises

Few Indian brands are synonymous with their categories; you can count them on your fingers. There’s glucose biscuit and Parle-G, bottled mineral water and Bisleri, and Haldiram’s takes the proverbial cake with Indian namkeen.

Now, what is striking is that, unlike the first two brands, Haldiram’s road to Indian household ubiquity was paved with little to no advertising. Can you recall a splashy ad from the snack brand, a big celebrity selling its mithai and bhujiya to you?

Its close rival, Bikaji, has Amitabh Bachchan as its face, while Prabhuji Sweets and Namkeens has Shah Rukh Khan and Rashmika Mandanna on its roster.

Despite this lack of advertising, Haldiram’s, as per an Economic Times report, posted a revenue of nearly Rs 12,800 crore in FY24 and a profit after tax of Rs 1,400 crore.

A Reuters report from 31 March states that investors Alpha Wave Global and International Holding Co (IHC) picked up a stake in the Indian snacks company weeks after Singapore's Temasek acquired a 10% stake.

What started as a small store in Bikaner, Rajasthan, in 1937 today not only sells hundreds of namkeen and mithai variants but also boasts a restaurant business and a burgeoning global presence.

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“One of its big successes is its single taste formula for a single product, and yet it has made it universally acceptable all across India. The Haldiram’s you get in Delhi or Mumbai—the taste remains the same, which has endeared the brand to the public,” remarks Sandeep Goyal, chairman of the advertising agency Rediffusion.

He also credits Haldiram’s “price consistency” across India, which has fuelled a “devout fan base,” and wonders, “When you have such deep-rooted loyalty to a brand, then why do you need advertising?”

Nothing speaks more about brand loyalty than a family complaining if your brand is unavailable, and Goyal feels the same about Haldiram’s. The whole family starts doing “chook-chook” if a different bhujiya is served, he states, adding, “Advertising is just a product story. Here, your product is telling the product story.”

Setting up a legacy

When you have been in business since 1937, you learn a trick or two about dominating your category. Haldiram’s is no different. “It has established a strong legacy position, starting with bhujiya and a variety of other ethnic products and savouries,” says KS Narayanan, a food and beverage industry expert (formerly with McCain Foods and Unilever).

He divides India’s snack segment into the potato chips/wafer category, created by the likes of Lay’s, and the second major segment, the extruded category, dominated by Kurkure and various other extruded players. Haldiram’s has built its credibility in Indian namkeen, which “includes both sweet and savoury items, with the latter forming the core of its snacking range.”

For him, what Haldiram’s did exactly right was to set up large landmark outlets on the outskirts of Delhi and Gurgaon and sell all its offerings. “It placed significant emphasis on ethnic snacks and food items such as kachoris, chole bhature, and samosas, which integrated well with the brand.”

The magic of pricing

Haldiram’s ubiquity applies not only to distribution but also to its pricing, making it doubly appealing to consumers. Narayanan believes the brand invested heavily in packaging, elevating it to world-class standards. “This allowed it to penetrate the FMCG market, offering products at various price points—from small packs costing ₹5–₹10 to bulk packs of half a kilo, one kilo, and beyond.”

Restaurant love

An increasingly loved aspect of the Haldiram’s brand is its restaurants, where one can savour North Indian and Punjabi cuisines as well as chaat. Such is its popularity that viral, meat-loving food critic Uncle Roger visited a Haldiram’s restaurant in Delhi after his performance in the capital. 

“Uncle Roger in Delhi, India, and I try my favourite local food place,” he says, pointing to a Haldiram’s Delhi signboard in an Instagram post. “This is the only vegetarian food Uncle Roger likes.”

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“Its restaurants sell everyday items at value-for-money prices, rather than positioning themselves as premium or overly expensive. Additionally, Haldiram’s supplements these sales with sweets, namkeen, and mithai, which do very well during the festive seasons,” remarks Narayanan.

Not everything is sweet?

For all its legacy, love, and little to no need for advertising, the Haldiram’s brand may not be for everyone. Some people grow out of it. Former Schbang co-founder Akshay Gurnani grew up around this brand and credits its legacy and solid distribution—especially in non-metros—for its success.

However, he sees the brand facing heat from young direct-to-consumer brands pitching themselves as healthier alternatives to namkeens. “But I think that this healthy phenomenon is still a more metro-urban phenomenon,” he remarks.

He believes Haldiram’s lack of need to advertise heavily is something to be envious of.

Narayanan feels it has just started. “I am certain it has barely scratched the surface when it comes to ethnic snacks. As it expands further into regions such as Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, the opportunities will only increase,” he believes.

And whether that happens or not, a serving of the brand’s aloo bhujia wouldn’t go amiss right now.