Nirma Ltd.

Nirma is one of the most recognizable Indian brands. Its story is a classic example of the success of Indian entrepreneurship in the face of stiff competition. Nirma took on the might of giant multinationals and wrote a new chapter in the Indian corporate history. Starting as a one-man operation in 1969, today, Nirma has about 14, 000 employee-base and annual turnover of more than Rs. 25, 00 crores.

Founder of Nirma is Dr. Karsanbhai Patel, son of a small-time farmer and a qualified Science graduate. In 1969, the year he founded Nirma, Karsanbhai Patel was working as junior chemist in Government laboratory. In the night Karsanbhai used to make detergent in the 100 Sq. Ft. back yard of his home, using bare hands and bucket. In 1960s and 1970s, the domestic detergent market had only premium segment, with very few players and was dominated by MNCs. After making the detergent Karsanbhai used to pack it in polythene bag and sold it door-to-door. He priced the detergent at Rs. 3 per kg, when the available cheapest brand in the market was Rs. 13 per kg. In a short span of time, with indigenous process, packaging and low-profiled marketing, Nirma created an entirely new market segment in domestic marketplace and quickly emerged as dominant market player. Nirma rewrote the marking rules and its success story became one of the widely discussed case studies in the B-schools across the world.

In the 1980s Nirma catapulted Surf, which was a well-established detergent product by Hindustan Lever, and occupied the top slot in the detergent products segment-a slot it has made its own. In 1990, Nirma entered the toilet soap market and today it is the second largest toilet soap brand in India. Today, Nirma has one of the largest volume sales with a single brand name in the world.

Products of Nirma:

1. Consumer Products

Note: The above information was last updated on 21-07-2007