Tata Salt’s Promotional Strategies

Tata Salt was manufactured by TCL, the history of which dated back to the 1920s. At that time, foreign companies had a virtual monopoly over salt and salt-related products and ordinary salt was imported from Aden for domestic consumption in India. These companies closely controlled the know-how and technology of soda ash production. During that period, Kapil Ram Vakil (Vakil), a chemical engineer, established the Okhamandal Salt Works and decided to set up his plant near Okha at the westernmost tip of India where the Arabian Sea meets the Rann of Kutch. However, due to lack of adequate finances, Vakil approached Sayaji Rao, the then Maharaja of Baroda, who helped him by writing to the Tatas asking for their involvement in a project of national importance. The Tatas saw the potential in the salt industry and agreed to invest in the project. TCL was established in 1939 but salt production started at the Mithapur site only in 1979. The Mithapur site, spread over 60 square kilometers, was among the largest single-location salt facilities in the world. Annually it could generate over two million tonnes of solar salt, which was the raw material for most of the chemicals that the company manufactured...