MDH Masala, the first thing that one visualizes are the interesting commercials that feature across various TV channels. But behind these commercials lie a hugely inspirational success story of how a humble beginning as a small shop ‘Deggi Mirch Wale’ with a sum of mere Rs.1,500 in Pakistan has today grown to an empire of Rs. 250 crore business in the spices market.
‘Deggi Mirch Wale’ was founded by Mahashay Chunni Lal who handed over its operation to his son Mahashay Dharam Pal Gulati after partition of the country in 1947.
Circa 1948, Mahashay Dharam Pal Gulati (a fifth grade school dropout), moved to Delhi and bought a Tonga to earn his livelihood. However, he did not find flavour in that business, so he ventured into his family business of manufacturing and selling spices. Since then he has not looked back.
Gulati told SMEpost.com ‘Mahashian Di Hatti is a leader in the North India in spices market with 7% market share”. He further added that only 3-4 spices such as ‘Garam Masala’, ‘Chunky Chaat Masala’ and ‘Deggi Mirch’ contribute towards 75% of its sales.
India is the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices producing about 75 of the 109 varieties listed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and accounts for half of the global trading in spices.
India exports US$3 billion worth of spices every year. United States, West Asia, China, Malaysia, and United Kingdom are among the major consumers of Indian spices, Commerce Ministry data showed.
As per the research conducted by Technopak, “the total spice market in India is pegged at about Rs 40,000 crore, which is mostly in the MSME sector. Of which Rs 5,500 crore is estimated in branded segment, growing 14% annually. In the branded segment, MDH is a leader in North India with a seven per cent market share.”
MDH offers variety of products ranging from Garam Masala, Tea Masala, and Pav Bhaji Masala to Pani Puri Masala to meet the needs of the present generation.
With the change in lifestyle of Indian consumers, the company had earlier focused only on grounded spices and later shifted to Ready-made mixes such as Biryani Masala, Raita Masala and Sabzi Masala, Gulati said.
In conversation with SMEpost.com, Dharam Pal Gulati said “To create a competitive advantage in the unorganized spices market, I decided to sell packaged spices which were not approved by customers initially who preferred garden – fresh ground spices. To emphasize the quality standards, I decided to imprint my own face on the packaging. This practice has helped the company to increase the sales.”
“I am the exclusive brand ambassador of a renowned brand and perhaps the oldest brand ambassador as well”, says Dharam Pal Gulati.
He further added that the spices are manufactured taking into account the cultural difference, pointing out the Sambar Masala. It has the ingredients keeping into account the taste of North Indians.
He had also incorporated another company ‘R-pure’ which his son Rajeev Gulati heads to test new products ranging from Soyabean, Vermicelli, Macaroni, and Suzi Toast. If there is demand for them, then he will add them to MDH’s portfolio.
The company has manufacturing plants in Delhi, Gurgaon and Rajasthan, with branches in Ghaziabad, Amritsar and Ludhiana. It has annual turnover of over Rs. 250 crore providing employment to more than 10,000 women workers, Gulati said.
As per the information provided by MDH’s official, the company procures raw material directly from the farmers (centers of production) to maintain uniform taste and quality. The raw material is first cleaned, dried and tested with the help of special machines. It is then carefully grounded into the finished product passing through various stages.
Quality standard of spices are ensured to such an extent that they are tested twice in quality control laboratories without human touch.
Preliminary focusing on the labour-intensive practices, the company shifted to automatic machines to meet the growing demand of customer, MDH’s official told to SMEpost.com.
“The machines have a capacity of producing 30 tons of spices in a day” Gulati added.
Today the company sells not only in India but export to the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, South East Asia, Japan, U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia as many Indians are settled over there.
Though MDH wants to maintain its presence in Indian kitchens with no plans for opening up of Restaurant in the coming years, Atlantis hotel resort in Dubai uses its spices.
The company is expecting to increase its presence in the world in the next five years, exporting fifty percent of its total production.
