Jubilant’s Bhartias now eye a bigger slice of the chemicals pie

Why read this story?

Editor's note: The late 1980s saw Vamicol try to take on Fevicol, the established market leader in synthetic adhesives. The battle that ensued, one of India’s earliest brand wars, was pitched, with each brand owner spending big advertising bucks to outwit the other. Vamicol tried to entice buyers by sticking five rupee coins in tubs of adhesive, which worked for a while, but in the end it lost out as Fevicol proved unshakeable; it continues to be one of India’s best known home-grown brands. The entrepreneurs who dared take on Fevicol, the Delhi-based Bhartia brothers—Shyam and Hari—are today better known for operating India’s most successful quick service restaurant (QSR) chain, Domino’s, and less for manufacturing chemicals, their original business, which is now more than four decades old. While the chemicals business is no pushover, its success has simply been eclipsed by that of the food business. In the last one year, Jubilant FoodWorks’ valuation has increased 100%, as investors likened it to tech-driven food delivery companies like Zomato and Swiggy, placing a premium on its ability to deliver a pizza within half …