MDH-The King of Indian Spices

MDH, also known as Mahashian Di Hatti is one of the leading brand in spices industry of India. It has a wide portfolio of 62 products which includes ground spices, blend spices and few other products in 150 different packages. But wait… Do you know how it all started?

Journey of MDH

Foundation of Mahashian Di Hatti

Every common man believes that the journey of an entrepreneur is tough and strangled. Yes he thinks it correctly. As was the case of MDH. Back in 1919, Mahashay Chuni Lal, father of Mahashay Dharam Pal used to sell spices in Pansariya market of Sialkot, India. He ran his shop with a name of “Mahashian di hatti” which is now a very renowned brand as MDH. Very soon, they became famous because of their special “Deggi mirch” blend. It was the quality and the right mix of spices which make them popular. One will say that Mahashay Chuni Lal had the right knowledge of consumer requirement which drives their demand for spices.

Mahashay Dharam Pal’s early experience of business

Mahashay Dharam Pal was born in 1923 in Sialkot. He has a family with 7 siblings. He left the school without completing 5th standard. After leaving school, he worked 8 months as a carpenter. He also worked in soap factory, rice factory, garments and hardware shops. He sold mehndi but at last he assisted his father in his family business of spices. In initial days, he grounded spices with his own hands but as the business evolved they bought chakki for pulverizing the spices. He believed that quality is the ultimate goal to attract the customer.

Hurdle of Independence

They were famous in Sialkot but the partition 1947 of India also affected Mahashay Dharam Pal and their business. After Independence, he came to Delhi, India with Rs 1500. He spent Rs 650 to purchase a horse and cart. He drove his horse cart at Delhi railway station for earning. But being a business man he didn’t liked it and left it after 2 months. They again started grinding spices at their home. They opened a small shop in Karol Bagh with same name “Mahashian Di Hatti- Sialkot Deggi Mirch Wale”. Advertisements in newspapers helped them to grow their business. As the business grew, Mahashay Dharaml Pal purchased a shop in Punjabi Bagh followed by Khari Bawli and many more shops.

Wings to MDH

As the business grew, In 1959 they decided to open their factory in Kirti Nagar to ground their own spices blend. It gave wings to MDH by producing quality spices and avoiding any instances of adulteration in spices. Slowly MDH grew which helped Mahashay to open many more factories in Indian and abroad. There are more than 1000 distributors in India. He believes that it was the honesty, hard-work, politeness, god’s blessing, parents blessing and love of the people which made him successful and MDH a global brand.

MDH at Present

Mahashay Dharam Pal always dream to become a renowned person which came true by his consistent efforts. Despite his age, he works around 12-14 hrs a day and visit his factories frequently. He is a perfect example for hard-work, perseverance and discipline.

In financial year 2015-16, MDH earned a profit of 213 crore rupees with a revenue of 924 crores. He holds 80% shares of the company and is one of the highest paid CEO in the FMCG segment of India. In 2017, he was the top paid CEO of the FMCG. It was the hardwork of a school dropout which made him not only successful but also the highest paid FMCG CEO of India. His contribution to the Indian spices industry is remarkable and will always be praised.

Awards

• Padma Bhushan by President of India, 2019
• “Arch of Europe” Award for excellence in quality
• ITID Quality Excellence Award
• Dadabhai Naoroji Award