https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Ganga_Bhishen_AgarwalGanga Bhishen Agarwal - Revision history2026-08-01T02:56:42ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Ganga_Bhishen_Agarwal&diff=499802&oldid=prevAuroraMackellar at 22:19, 13 July 20252025-07-13T22:19:33Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Founder of Haldiram}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}<br />
'''Ganga Bhishen Agarwal''' (1908–1985), also known as '''Haldiram Ji''', was an Indian entrepreneur from [[Bikaner|Bikaner, Rajasthan]]. He founded the [[Haldiram's|Haldiram Snacks Food]], a leading brand in Indian snack food industry.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2024-05-14 |title=From Bikaner to Blackstone: The success story of humble Haldiram's |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/food/from-bikaner-to-blackstone-the-success-story-of-humble-haldirams/articleshow/110123349.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2024-11-03 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-20 |title=Who is Ganga Bishan Agarwal, the man behind Haldiram’s success? Exploring the family legacy of this Indian brand |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/life/lifestyle-who-is-ganga-bishan-agarwal-the-man-behind-haldirams-success-exploring-the-family-legacy-of-this-indian-brand-3493706/ |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Financialexpress |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=How iconic Indian snack brand Haldiram's became a global investment target |url=https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/how-iconic-indian-snack-brand-haldiram-s-became-a-global-investment-target-124052100775_1.html |newspaper=Business Standard | first=Vasudha | last=Mukherjee | date=21 May 2024 | accessdate=13 July 2025}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Early life and background==<br />
<br />
Ganga Bhishen Agarwal was born in [[Bikaner|Bikaner, Rajasthan]]. His entrepreneurial journey began at a young age. He started working in his father’s bhujia shop, where he developed a keen interest in the snack food business. In 1937, he established his own small shop in [[Bikaner]], selling traditional Indian sweets and snacks, particularly [[Bikaneri bhujia|Bhujiya]]. His innovative approach to making bhujia, using [[Vigna aconitifolia|moth ki dal]] instead of [[Gram flour|besan]], and his focus on quality quickly made his products popular.<ref>{{Cite web |title=India's Richest 2019: Haldiram's Incredible Success Story |url=https://www.forbesindia.com/article/india-rich-list-2019/india039s-richest-2019-haldiram039s-incredible-success-story/56469/1 |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Forbes India |language=en}} " ''At the age of 12, when most children went to school and were busy copying notes off a dusty blackboard, Ganga Bhishen Agarwal spent his days in Bikaner inventing the ubiquitous snack we today know as Haldiram’s bhujia and reiterating the product to make it more irresistible to customers. The most important changes he made to the bhujia was making it out of moth ki dal rather than besan, which made it a delicacy overnight as moth is very popular and easily available in Rajasthan''."</ref><br />
==Career==<br />
<br />
In the 1980s, Haldiram's opened outlets in Delhi, Nagpur, and Kolkata as part of its expansion into bigger markets. Eventually, the family firm divided into three separate companies, each run by a different Agarwal family branch: Haldiram's Bhujiawala in Kolkata, Haldiram's Prabhuji in Kolkata, and Haldiram's in Nagpur and Delhi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shiv Kishan Agrawal |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/shiv-kishan-agrawal/ |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=Forbes |language=en}} "''The business was eventually divided among the patriarch's grandsons into three separate companies, operating out of Nagpur, Delhi and Kolkata''."</ref> By the 1990s, Haldiram's had made a big name for itself in India and started exporting its goods to other countries. With goods available in more than 80 countries, Haldiram serves snack lovers and the Indian diaspora globally.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-19 |title=Haldiram & Bikaji: Story of the brothers who control half of India's namkeen market - CNBC TV18 |url=https://www.cnbctv18.com/news/haldiram-ipo-bikaji-listing-agarwal-brothers-delhi-nagpur-kolkata-bikaner-15209031.htm |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=CNBCTV18 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Srivastava |first=Varnika |title=Meet man who used to sell bhujia, then built Rs 8330 crore company, his business is... |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-meet-man-who-used-to-sell-bhujia-now-runs-rs-8330-crore-company-he-is-from-3090081 |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=DNA India |language=en}}</ref><br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
* [[Indian Entrepreneurs]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agarwal, Ganga Bishan}}<br />
[[Category:1908 births]]<br />
[[Category:1985 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople]]<br />
[[Category:People from Bikaner]]<br />
[[Category:Marwari people]]<br />
[[Category:Businesspeople from Rajasthan]]</div>AuroraMackellar