Startup Stories: Nirma Washing Powder
Startup Stories: In our society, people used to be sad when they had daughters but now the time has changed and people nowadays celebrate the birth of a girl child. The daughter is welcomed into the house with great pomp. With her lovely pranks, a daughter fascinates everyone. Most of the daughters are the beloved of the father. In our today’s article, you will get to know about such a story depicting the deep bonding of a father and daughter who has kept his beloved daughter alive even after her death.
We are going to tell about a person who left his government job to make his dream come true and started selling his product from door to door on a bicycle. Today his name is among the billionaires of the country. This company group is also operating in Jamshedpur and this group is giving employment to 18 thousand people across the country. The turnover of the company has also gone up to 70,000 million tonnes.
Sabki Pasand Nirma (Translated, Everyone Likes Nirma)
When Ramayana used to come in the 90s, you must have often seen an advertisement. “Hema, Rekha, Jaya aur Sushma, sabki pasand Nirma” Remember something? One person is behind this advertisement and he is Karsan Bhai Patel, owner of “Hum Nirma” Company. Born in Mehsana village of Gujarat, Karsan Bhai’s father Khodi Das Patel was a very simple person. But he got his son Karsan to graduate in chemistry. After his studies, like other people of Gujarat, Karsan Bhai also wanted to start his own business but the financial condition of the family was not good to start his own business. In such a situation, he took the job of an assistant in a lab. Later he got a government job in the Department of Mining and Geology, Government of Gujarat.
Startup Stories – One incident that changes his life
After getting the government job, Karsan Bhai was definitely happy with his family but not satisfied. The desire to do something different was buried in his mind. Then an incident happened, his daughter died in an accident. This incident broke Karsan Bhai Patel from inside. He wanted his daughter to grow up and make her name bright. But this dream was completed by her father.
And the company started – The Startup Stories
Karsan’s daughter’s name was Nirupama, whom everyone affectionately called Nirma. Karsan started a company to keep the name of his deceased daughter alive. In the year 1969, Karsan started making washing powder behind his house. It was not so difficult for Karsan, a graduate in science. He mixed some chemicals with soda ash and formed his formula with a yellowish powder. To sell his product, he started selling his product from door to door by bicycle. But when the demand started increasing, it was not possible to have a government job and a business together. In such a situation, Karsan Bhai took the risk of leaving the government job, which was not easy at that time but Karsan Bhai had full faith in his formula.
The Surf in the budget of the middle-class family
At that time, only Hindustan Lever or surfs of foreign companies in the country were sold in the market, which used to be Rs 13 per kg at that time which was not in the budget of the middle-class family. In such a situation, people used to wash their clothes with ordinary soap, but there was a fear of damaging their hands. Then Karsan Bhai started selling his Nirma surf for just three rupees a kg which was approx four times less than the surf of foreign companies. Along with this, Karsan Bhai gave a guarantee to the people that if the clothes were not cleaned, they would also return the money. In such a situation, people took it by hand.
Advertisement on TV
When Karsan Bhai’s business started, he did not want to limit it only to Mehsana. He wanted to spread the name of his daughter to the whole world. In such a situation, he advertised Nirma on TV and it became a hit. Soon it became the first choice of the middle-class family.
A technique to capture the market
Karsan Bhai’s product Nirma’s Jingle, “Sabki Pasand Nirma” was spread all over the country through TV. Then there was a rush of customers to buy Nirma surf in the local markets. Then Karsan Bhai adopted a new method to capture the market. According to the demand in the market, Karsan Bhai should have increased the supply of his product but he withdrew 90% of the stock from his market strategy. For a month, customers would only watch advertisements of Nirma and demand surf in the market, which they did not get. In such a situation, wholesale and retail traders across the country requested Karsan Bhai to supply Nirma. After that, taking advantage of the demand in the market, he started supplying. As a result, Nirma became the biggest brand in the country and beat all its rivals. Also, it made his daughter’s name famous all over the world.
775th richest person in the world
According to Forbes magazine, Karsan Bhai Patel’s net worth is $ 4.1 billion. He is ranked 775th in the list of the richest person in the world while he is ranked 39th in the list of India’s Richest People.
Nirma’s company in Jamshedpur
Let us tell you that one of the companies of Nirma Group of Companies is “Vistas Corp Ltd”. Because, after the Nirma industry, the company tried its hand in other businesses also. Today Nirma Group of Companies also produces ready-to-use concrete cement.
By:-
Prakhar Sharma
Founder, Upgrading India
