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A brand based on faith, purity and taste!
When hydrogenated oil from the Netherlands' Dada & Co. arrived in India in the 1930s, it began to be sold as a cheaper alternative to pure desi ghee. In collaboration with Hussain Kassim of Dada & Co. from the Netherlands, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company (today Hindustan Unilever Limited) agreed to manufacture and sell vegetable oil in India under its own brand name. At the same time, Hindustan Lever's 'L' was also added to Dada, so it became 'Dalda.'
If we look at the history of Dalda in our country, the success and criticism in the company's journey so far have gone hand in hand. There was a time when even a low-income family in India insisted on cooking pure ghee on a social occasion even if it exceeded their limits. Under such events, the proponents of pure desi ghee opposed Dalda Ghee in such a way that before sitting down to a meal on any occasion, they asked if the meal was made in pure desi ghee or foreign ghee (Dalda ghee).
Then in the 1950s, MP Thakurdas Bhargava introduced a bill in Parliament saying that the government should ban the production of vegetable ghee and oil in the country. There was a heated debate in Parliament that more than 47 ghee factories in the country where more than 30,000 people are employed. Even after a lengthy discussion, the ban on vegetable ghee was rejected. Dalda then became so popular that it became synonymous with vegetable ghee.
Unilever organized roadshows to promote Dalda as a cheap alternative to desi ghee in India. Stalls were set up in crowded areas like Novelty Cinema in Mumbai. Dalda remained a global brand until the 90s, but Indian families adopted it in the form of cooking oil. In the '90s, Dalda's reputation was tarnished by refined cooking oil, and its sales began to decline.
Even today, Dalda's share in the vegetable ghee market is 12 percent, while in the refined oil market, it is only 2 percent. USA-based food company Bunje Ltd, which bought Dalda from Hindustan Lever almost a decade ago, has re-invested in it today. Through these efforts, the company has linked the brand to health and even without compromising taste.
Gerson Cunha, the former CEO of one of the best agencies in the world, Lintas, said, "Dalda is a very personal and favorite brand for me. In 1956, when I was the copy chief in Lintas, the company was handling Dalda's work. We were asked to create advertisements in 10 local Indian languages. They did not want a translation. People could not afford pure ghee, so they bought Dalda. We created various taglines with this in our mind, such as 'Dalda is good for you' in English. The same thing was presented more strongly in Hindi, such as 'Mamta ki kasauti par khara.' This campaign has proved to be a milestone in the Indian industry.'
For the first time in its history, the company has changed the look and feel of its products. Today, Dalda is in the market with soybeans, mustard, sunflower, and peanut oil under the Husband's Choice series. All these efforts are helping the brand to emerge from the image of heritage and establish itself as a global new-age brand.
When hydrogenated oil from the Netherlands' Dada & Co. arrived in India in the 1930s, it began to be sold as a cheaper alternative to pure desi ghee. In collaboration with Hussain Kassim of Dada & Co. from the Netherlands, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company (today Hindustan Unilever Limited) agreed to manufacture and sell vegetable oil in India under its own brand name. At the same time, Hindustan Lever's 'L' was also added to Dada, so it became 'Dalda.'
If we look at the history of Dalda in our country, the success and criticism in the company's journey so far have gone hand in hand. There was a time when even a low-income family in India insisted on cooking pure ghee on a social occasion even if it exceeded their limits. Under such events, the proponents of pure desi ghee opposed Dalda Ghee in such a way that before sitting down to a meal on any occasion, they asked if the meal was made in pure desi ghee or foreign ghee (Dalda ghee).
Then in the 1950s, MP Thakurdas Bhargava introduced a bill in Parliament saying that the government should ban the production of vegetable ghee and oil in the country. There was a heated debate in Parliament that there are more than 47 ghee factories in the country where more than 30,000 people are employed. Even after a lengthy discussion, the ban on vegetable ghee was rejected. Dalda then became so popular that it became synonymous with vegetable ghee.
Unilever organized roadshows to promote Dalda as a cheap alternative to desi ghee in India. Stalls were set up in crowded areas like Novelty Cinema in Mumbai. Dalda remained a global brand until the 90s, but Indian families adopted it in the form of cooking oil. In the '90s, Dalda's reputation was tarnished by refined cooking oil, and its sales began to decline.
Even today, Dalda's share in the vegetable ghee market is 12 percent, while in the refined oil market, it is only 2 percent. USA-based food company Bunje Ltd, which bought Dalda from Hindustan Lever almost a decade ago, has re-invested in it today. Through these efforts, the company has linked the brand to health and even without compromising taste.
Gerson Cunha, the former CEO of one of the best agencies in the world, Lintas, said, "Dalda is a very personal and favorite brand for me. In 1956, when I was the copy chief in Lintas, the company was handling Dalda's work. We were asked to create advertisements in 10 local Indian languages. They did not want a translation. People could not afford pure ghee, so they bought Dalda. We created various taglines with this in our mind, such as 'Dalda is good for you' in English. The same thing was presented more strongly in Hindi, such as 'Mamta ki kasauti par khara.' This campaign has proved to be a milestone in the Indian industry.'
For the first time in its history, the company has changed the look and feel of its products. Today, Dalda is in the market with soybeans, mustard, sunflower, and peanut oil under the Husband's Choice series. All these efforts are helping the brand to emerge from the image of heritage and establish itself as a global new-age brand.
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