DS Group's Entry Into Food and Beverages Sector

Background

Dharampalji Sugandhi (Dharampalji) set up the Dharmapal Satyapal Group (DS Group) in 1929, as a manufacturer of fragrances. In 1935, it diversified into flavored chewing tobacco. By 1950, Dharampalji's sons had introduced many varieties of chewing tobacco. In 1965, they launched the first branded chewing tobacco in India. This was the first saffron flavored chewing tobacco in the world. In 1979, the DS Group launched Tulsi Zafrani Zarda (tobacco powder) and Rajnigandha gutka (tobacco powder mixed with beetle-nut powder).

By the mid, the DS Group became a leader in tobacco-based products with brands like Baba, Tulsi and Rajnigandha. In 1983, the DS Group entered the food and beverages market when it acquired the Noida-based Hi Tech Foods Ltd., (Hi Tech).

In 1987, Hi Tech created a niche market for tabletop salt with its 'Catch Salt Shaker.' Satyapal, the then proprietor of the DS Group, felt that branded free-flowing table salt was exactly what many Indian homes were looking for.

Getting cooking salt out of a 1-kg bag, and putting a portion into a shaker, was an inconvenience for the workingwomen.

By the early 1990s, Catch, as a brand, had achieved the distinction of having made it to the up market Indian dining tables. In 1991, 100 gms shaker packs of Catch black salt, garlic salt, chat masala,⁵ garam masala,⁶ and turmeric powder were introduced. In 1998, Hi Tech launched sambhar powder⁷. The costlier commodities such as pepper, garlic salt and chat masala were launched in 50-gm shaker packs (See Table I for price). In the same year, white pepper was also launched at Rs 93 per 100gm shaker pack.

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5] Masala is a mixture of spices ground into a paste/powder used to flavor Indian dishes

6] A mixture of spices used in Indian cooking to impart a hot pungent flavor to a dish

7] Sambhar is a spicy curry of South India made of chilli, spices, tamarind juice, tomato, onion and other vegetables.
Sambhar powder is the ready-to-use powder of spices.

Case Details

Case Code : BSTR024
Themes: Brand Management
Case Length : 10 Pages
Period : 1998-2002
Organization : DS Foods
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note : Available
Countries : India
Industry : Foods, Beverage and Tobacco

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