India has always been a keen lover of sweets. Whether it is a traditional laddoo or a cold ice cream on a hot summer’s day, we Indians are known to have a sweet tooth.
While Cadbury and Amul have been leading the confectionery industry in India for decades, there is one name that has been here before any other brand came to the market.
Vadilal has been a household name in India for over a century now. The company has been serving some of the most loved ice creams ever. But have you ever wondered how the brand became such a huge success?
The Beginning of Something New
It was in 1902 that Vadilal Gandhi decided to start ‘Vadilal Ice Cream’ in Gujarat, India. He started his small business by producing and selling his own ice creams to local businesses and residents as well.
Vadilal Gandhi had started his business career by selling soda. However, the business did not take off as expected and he decided to sell ice cream as well. In 1907, Gandhi’s ice cream became popular as he would make it in a traditional ‘Kothi’. It is a hand-held indigenous ice cream machine in which milk was churned with ice and salt.
In 1926 his son Ranchodlal Gandhi decided to join his father’s business. Under his guidance, Vadilal started expanding. He opened the first retail store in Ahmedabad – Vadilal Soda Fountain.
Company’s tremendous Growth
Since Ranchodlal Gandhi joined the company, its popularity increased so much that in no time 4 more outlets of Vadilal Ice Cream were opened in Ahmedabad. In the next 50 years, there were around ten outlets in the city.
Today, Vadilal is India’s second-biggest seller of ice-cream products after Amul. The Vadilal Group not only deals with ice cream it has spread its roots in other products as well like, flavored milk, Italian-style ice cream, and totally unconnected divisions including reality, chemicals as well as foreign exchange.
However, Vadilal’s 80 percent sales derive from the ice-cream section.
Achievement
Vadilal was one of the first ice-cream manufacturers that undertook all the major global standards. It was also one of the first companies to completely mechanize the production course.
Vadila has high-tech facilities situated at Pundhra in the Gandhinagar region, Gujarat, and Bareilly (UP). In 2011, it established the nation’s fastest cone-making device and set up high-tech extrusion machinery for the creation of the best ice-creams.
