Success Story: Started from the ancestral shop of selling oil, today became FMCG giant, turnover of 55,00,00,00,000 – started from the ancestral shop of oil became big player in fmcg turnover 5500 crore

had a dream to do something big

Ghanshyam Khandelwal gets emotional when you ask him about his business journey. It seems as if he has returned to his school-college days. He tells that it must have been the year 1972. He used to study in college. During his studies, he also used to sit at his ancestral shop. Shyamganj is a market in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. There he had an ancestral shop selling mustard oil. All types of edible oil were sold at this shop. But mustard oil used to sell more. At that time, he used to think that if he continues to do business like this, then when will he do something big. At that time he was doing B.Sc. from Bareilly College. When he was a student of science, he used to see and understand things scientifically. And in the meanwhile drew the blueprint of the future.

huge potential in mustard oil

Khandelwal says that in those days the situation was not like today. There was a great scarcity of food and drink in the country. As much as was produced in the fields, it was not enough. People were dependent not only for food grains but also for oil etc., on the cheap government ration shops. There were not enough goods in the market, so there was no talk of quality. People used to buy whatever they could get. In such a situation, he envisioned a company that would be known for its quality. At that time he saw huge potential in mustard oil among all edible oils. That’s why it started with this.

Foundation laid for new factory

He tells that in the year 1981 he went to Delhi. Meet people in the trade. Know what is going on in the market. Then in 1983 started a new shop. Although that too was an oil shop. But she was different from before. He used to take oil from the factory. Used to examine him. The study of chemistry came in handy in this. If the emphasis was on quality, then the work was done. After this, in 1984, the foundation of the first factory was laid in Madhobari. This factory was for the packaging of mustard oil. Mustard oil used to come from the oil mill of Rajasthan. Here it was filtered and packed. Work accumulated and then in 1986 the Bail Kolhu brand was registered.

come in consumer pack

When Bail Kolhu became a brand, the trust of the customers increased. Then the work area left Bareilly and reached other places also. Demand started increasing in the market. After this, in 1990, a consumer pack of mustard oil was introduced. Packing started in tins of 200 ml to half litre, one litre, two litre, five liter and 15 kg. Earlier only mustard oil used to work. Later work also started in palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower and groundnut oil. When the work increased, a new factory also opened.

own refinery

Khandelwal explains that there is no need for refining in mustard oil. But it is necessary to refine palmolein, soybean, sunflower etc. oil. Initially, they used to get refining done from outside. But it was not only expensive but also the quality could not be controlled. That’s why in the year 2006, he set up his own refinery. There were two benefits from this, firstly there was control over the quality. Secondly, the work of refining started getting from outside also. This helped in increasing the turnover.

Nourish brand launched

When the name was established in edible oils, BL Agro started FMCG products under the brand Nourish. With this brand name, the company started the work of pulses, rice, flour, maida, semolina, porridge, dry fruits etc. It also got good response from the market. The situation is that now the turnover of BL Agro Group has reached Rs 5500 crore.

Now the command of the company is in the hands of the son.

Currently, Ghanshyam Agarwal continues to be the chairman of the group, but his son Ashish Khandelwal is running the company. Ashish is currently the Managing Director of the company. He is leading the company, so the decisions related to expansion are also taken by him. Ashish says that the company belongs to Babuji only. The goal is also the same, to deliver the best product to the people. Focusing on this is going on.