During late 1980s in Gujarat, poverty was at a peak, as massive droughts impacted people. Those times, Chandubai's father sold his ancestral property and divided that wealth between 3 sons. Chandu bai received that money and started doing a fertilizer business, were he got cheated by few dealers. Devastating circumstances have created a struggle for chandubai for years. Finally, he finds a job in a movie theatre. He worked relentlessly, it was a job, but it turned out to be an opportunity for Chandubai. He observed all the audience of the movie, were most of the people loved potato chips. Then he realized how to make potato chips, which are affordable and easy to prepare. After planning and estimating, he quit the job.
The Journey of Balaji Wafers.
He began his journey with minimal resources, along with his brothers at his home. He used to do all the work alone, from peeling potatoes to packaging and distributing. Initially it was extremely difficult. Without proper resources and experience, the business kept on delaying. Few people felt that the taste was not authentic and few said this brand does not exist or locally made. Some said packaging had problems which spoiled the chips quickly. These humiliations and criticism made Chandubai even stronger and more stubborn about his goals.
Finally, business started gaining customers and orders. Slowly people admired it. Still, things were not in the right place. He gained courage and took a loan of 50 lakhs and started his own manufacturing unit. It was not that easy but not impossible. They began to manage machines for employees and products further.
Balaji Wafers Success Mantra.
* Focused on taste, quality and quantity. Compared to others. He compared all the brands which were popular back then and identified what mistakes they made.
* The target audience were school children and their initial business began near a high school.
* They tested all the Indian chat masalas which were popular and brought those and mixed into their chips.
* They launched multiple types of chips state wise. It quickly expanded in Gujarat with 90% share of potato chips across Gujarat.
*Based on age, they created products. With unique names like pop rings, yum sticks, and Gippi. These names gave great promotions for the products.
* Advertisements and slogans comparing other brands and flavours. Hawa kam, wafers jyada, flavours wah wah. These unique slogans created waves in the markets and children tasting those unique Indian-style potato chips made them joyful.
* On all those wafer packets, they used to promote new products which they launched.
* Organized events near malls, local stores and asked everyone for feedback.
Today, it is one of the top Indian chips across India. They supply almost to 25 countries with a revenue of 5000 crore per annum. This Indian brand has given tough competition to other chip brands, Balaji wafers is a true example of Self-reliant India.
