Balaji Wafers, once a small canteen operation in Rajkot, now commands a valuation of nearly ₹40,000 crore. Its stellar rise has drawn global heavyweights, ITC, PepsiCo, Temasek, and TPG, all competing for a stake in this Indian company.
Reports suggest that discussions are underway for up to a 20% stake sale, although talks remain in the early stages. For PepsiCo, this is déjà vu; it tried to buy nearly 51% of Balaji back in 2013, only to be turned down by the Virani family. Today, it returns with a more modest bid for a 10% share.
Balaji’s story began in the 1970s with the Virani brothers, Chandubhai, Bhikhubhai, and Kanubhai, in Rajkot, Gujarat. After facing losses in their small farming business, the brothers turned to running a canteen in a cinema hall. What started as frying and selling potato wafers for moviegoers quickly gained popularity.
By the early 1980s, the Viranis decided to establish their own potato wafer-making business, laying the groundwork for Balaji Wafers.
Unlike PepsiCo, which came with global capital and brand power, Balaji grew slowly but steadily, rooted in local markets. The brothers focused on quality at affordable prices, a key reason why Balaji became a beloved name in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
But this is not simply business. It is a revealing moment in the battle between global multinationals and Indian local brands. Balaji’s success story is proof that India’s food market is not waiting to be “rescued” by foreign capital. Instead, it shows that local brands built on trust, affordability, and cultural intimacy can outpace global giants at their own game.
A Second Knock On Balaji’s Door
PepsiCo’s repeated attempts to enter Balaji’s books highlight its frustration. In 2013, the American giant tried to buy a controlling 49–51% stake. The Virani family refused, unwilling to hand over majority power. Twelve years later, PepsiCo has returned, but this time it is forced to settle for the role of a minority player.
This shift is telling. Despite being one of the world’s largest FMCG companies, PepsiCo has failed to establish dominance in India’s snacking market, especially in Balaji’s strongholds of western and central India. The company’s global model of uniform flavours and big-budget branding simply cannot compete with Balaji’s finely tuned regional strategy.
In a market where taste is identity, PepsiCo is the outsider knocking at the door, again.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Balaji’s financials underline its strength. In FY24, the company’s revenue climbed 11% to ₹5,453.7 crore, while profits jumped 41% to ₹578.8 crore. What makes this growth more remarkable is the near absence of advertising spend.
While multinationals like PepsiCo and ITC dedicate 8–12% of their sales to flashy marketing campaigns, Balaji relies on pricing discipline and a tight distribution network. Its products are priced 20–30% lower than national brands, allowing it to reach deep into Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities where affordability is non-negotiable.
This strategy is not just profitable; it is sustainable.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when supply chains collapsed and margins shrank for many FMCG players, Balaji doubled its sales. The lesson is obvious: rooted distribution and cost-consciousness are worth more than marketing gloss in the Indian market.
The Indian potato chips market, worth nearly ₹80,000 crore, has long been dominated by PepsiCo’s Lay’s. But Balaji has carved out a 13–15% market share, especially strong in western India. Unlike Lay’s, which spends heavily on advertising and celebrity endorsements, Balaji relies on affordability and regional taste preferences.
For instance, Balaji’s wafers often retail for ₹5 or ₹10, sizes that Lay’s struggles to profitably sustain. This pricing strategy has made Balaji the snack of choice for small-town India, where affordability trumps branding glitz.
The Global Chase For Local Flavour
Foreign investors have long been circling Indian snack brands. In 2018, Singapore’s Temasek quietly acquired a 3–4% stake in Balaji, valuing the company at around ₹13,000 crore at the time. Temasek’s $675 million (₹5,600 crore) investment values Balaji at around $2.5 billion.
Since then, Balaji’s valuation has tripled, vindicating Temasek’s bet on India’s consumer appetite. Meanwhile, Temasek also participated in the 2023 deal for Haldiram’s, alongside IHC and Alpha Wave Global, collectively picking up about 10% of the brand at a valuation of over $10 billion.
These moves show a clear pattern: global investors know they cannot recreate India’s food culture from scratch. Instead, they are trying to buy into companies that already dominate the market. Yet this should raise questions. Should Indian food culture, painstakingly built by family-run businesses over decades, become just another line item in global portfolios?
Why Global Conglomerates Keep Losing Ground
The Indian snacks market, estimated at ₹42,694.9 crore in 2023, is expected to more than double to ₹95,521.8 crore by 2032, according to Emark Group. Multinationals should have been in pole position to capture this growth. Instead, they are losing ground to regional champions like Balaji.
The reason is simple: India is not a homogeneous market. A flavour that sells in Maharashtra may fail in Gujarat; what thrives in Kolkata may be ignored in Chennai. Multinationals thrive on scale and uniformity, but this very scale blinds them to the diversity of Indian tastes.
Local brands adapt quickly, experiment in small batches, and respond directly to local feedback. Global players, by contrast, try to impose a one-size-fits-all model, and in India, that model rarely fits.
From Rajkot To The World
Balaji’s story is not just about defending turf at home. It also speaks to the global potential of Indian flavours. Haldiram’s is already a fixture in supermarkets from London to New Jersey. Balaji, too, has begun to tap export markets, driven by diaspora demand and the growing global appetite for authentic ethnic snacks.
According to Euromonitor, the ethnic snacks market worldwide is projected to grow 8% annually, with Indian brands leading the charge. This is an opportunity for Indian companies to expand abroad on their own terms, not by surrendering control to multinational giants.
The question is whether India will back its own champions, or allow them to be quietly absorbed into global portfolios.
Also Read: Ashneer Grover Posts About Haldiram’s Real Success Vs What Startups Are Doing, Comments Agree
Protecting Indian Snacks From Global Overreach
For consumers, protection starts with everyday choices. Buying Balaji wafers, Haldiram’s bhujia, or Bikaji namkeen over multinational offerings is not only about taste, it is an act of loyalty to Indian enterprise. Shoppers must remain alert to recipe changes or sudden price hikes that often follow foreign stake sales and call them out publicly when they occur.
Abroad, the Indian diaspora can demand these homegrown brands in supermarkets, ensuring that Balaji and Haldiram’s expand globally without compromising their independence. Supporting local snacks is more than nostalgia; it is resistance against the flattening of India’s food culture.
For policymakers, the task is more urgent. Foreign stakes in iconic Indian food brands should be capped at minority levels, and promoters must retain control over recipes, sourcing, and pricing. Custodianship clauses, binding agreements that prevent cultural dilution, should be mandatory in stake sales.
Regulators such as SEBI must enforce greater transparency, making deal terms public whenever global investors buy into culturally significant companies.
At the same time, India should incentivise domestic investors, private equity funds, cooperatives, and sovereign vehicles to step in before foreign giants do. Food companies like Balaji and Haldiram’s are not just profit machines; they are cultural custodians, and their stewardship must remain firmly Indian.
The scramble for Balaji Wafers is more than a corporate tug-of-war; it is a test of India’s economic sovereignty. Global giants that once dismissed Indian regional brands now line up to buy slivers of them. But every stake sale chips away at independence and control.
If Balaji’s journey from a Rajkot cinema canteen to a ₹40,000 crore powerhouse proves anything, it is that India does not need foreign hand-holding to succeed.
The Indian snacks market is booming, but its future should not be mortgaged to global capital. It should remain in the hands of those who built it, flavour by flavour, state by state.
In a world where taste is identity, allowing foreign conglomerates to dictate India’s snacks is not just bad economics; it is cultural erasure. The next time you open a packet of wafers, ask yourself: Is this just food, or is it a piece of India worth protecting?
Images: Google Images
Sources: Finshots, Live Mint, Moneycontrol
Find the blogger: Katyayani Joshi
This post is tagged under: Balaji Wafers, Temasek India, Indian snack industry, PepsiCo Lays, FMCG India, Consumer economy, Indian entrepreneurship, Gujarat success story, Made in India, Tier 2 India, Small town India, Global investors India, Indian food brands, Local vs global, Business growth India, Investment news India, Indian economy, Startup success India, Food industry news, India consumption story
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