ORIGIN STORIES. (Left) Shibasish Bandyopadhyay, research scholar, and Diptangshu Mondal, proprietor, Deep Prakashan, unveil Brands of Bengal at Brand Chorcha in Kolkata
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In 1892, a small biscuit venture began in Calcutta, now Kolkata, with an investment of ₹295. The founders bet on the city’s growing appetite, fuelled by booming trade and an expanding middle class. That bet paid off. Over the next few decades, the company, Britannia, revolutionised India’s snacking sector, being the first firm east of the Suez Canal to install industrial gas ovens. Later, it pioneered high-quality sliced and wrapped bread.Britannia Industries’ turnover crossed ₹18,000 crore in the last financial year. What’s more, the born-in-Bengal biscuit and bread maker’s products are today exported to over 80 countries. And the FMCG major continues to build strong consumer connection through a portfolio of bold, creative and culturally resonant campaigns.Britannia’s story features in Brands of Bengal: 90 Not Out, a compendium that chronicles brands that originated in the State and are older than nine decades.Another gripping story in the book is that of Dabur. The year 1884, eight years before brand Britannia began its journey, saw ayurveda embrace modernity for the first time, in the bylanes of Calcutta. “Dr SK Burman was deeply concerned about how inaccessible medicine was in rural Bengal, and was gripped by a desire to provide affordable cures to people living in remote villages. Thus, he started preparing ayurvedic remedies for malaria and cholera, and cycling to deliver them to people’s homes. Dabur, an abbreviation of ‘Daktar Burman’, became the name for this mission,” recounts the chapter on the company.Timeless talesThe book captures the spirit of Bengal’s entrepreneurial legacy and timeless brands.
