Professional branding and packaging marks Ganesh products. It was the first to innovate and introduce traditional seasonal drinks like thandai and sherbets in returnable bottles

From a 200-sq-ft hole-in-the-wall mudi shop in Burrabazar to a Rs 200-crore turnover enterprise in 75 years.

In these times of buoyant biz buzz and outstation, even overseas overtures, Ganesh?s is a home-grown success saga of sharp minds. The trade trek flagged off by the late Chand Ratan Mimani in the shape of the tiny Ganesh Stores at 6, Burtola Street, opposite Satyanarayan Park, has been ferried forward by the second and third generations with panache.

?He started off selling general grocery and provisions on a very small scale, just like so many other Burrabazar vendors trying out their fate and future in Calcutta. But there was rare spark in his early endeavour, which set us on our way and today, Ganesh is a household name in provisions and sherbets,? Chand Ratan?s grandson Ajay Mimani tells Metro.

When Ajay?s father Kewal Chand and his brothers took the baton, Ganesh was still just a fledgling kirana corner. But they kept running and between 1950 and ?56, there were six more stores in the Burrabazar area. Next step was supplying provisions to hospitality addresses like Airport Hotel and HHI, besides restaurants on Park Street and large caterers.

The first steps towards corporatisation were taken by Ajay?s elder brother Vijay Kumar Mimani in 1985, when he formed Ganesh Products Pvt Ltd (GPPL), concentrating on natural sherbets and fruit-based products like jams, jellies and pickles.

?He foresaw the future of retail business and realised the need for professional branding and packaging to go with product quality. It?s a pity we lost him to a brain attack in his prime,? laments B.K. Mantry, Vijay?s childhood friend and partner, now CEO of GPPL.

The late Vijay had received the Nirula?s Foundation Award in 2000 from the All India Food Processors? Association for being the ?first to innovate and introduce traditional seasonal drinks like thandai and sherbets in returnable bottles, which could be placed on shop shelves?.

In a market then ruled by Ralli?s Rose sherbet and Guruji?s thandai, Vijay carved out a niche with his own ?badam sherbet?, and later, with his mocktail ?twisters?, branded as substitute for all carbonated beverages.

He also set up a ?first-of-its-kind? departmental store (Convenio) at The Calcutta Club, says Mantry.

In a parallel push since 1995, Vijay?s cousin Manish Mimani had propelled the family?s provisions business ahead with his Ganesh Wheat Group, which now feeds the racks of most leading supermarkets and convenience stores in the country.

After Vijay?s untimely demise, both GPPL and Ganesh Wheat have come together to leverage each other?s strengths and keep the Ganesh family flag flying high.

?We are planning a chain of departmental stores in the city. While at least two will be up and running in the next two years, we are looking at 10 outlets eventually,? says Mantry.

The Ganesh brand, which now boasts a pan-India presence, is fostered through captive sales teams and ?super-stockists? catering to large zones, while GPPL has started exporting its products to Poland and Dubai.

?While the main distribution hub remains in Burrabazar, we now have our factory in Bandhaghat, Salkia, and our own research lab in Howrah, and we employ over 400 people,? beams Ajay, dreaming of a global retail rostrum for Ganesh.