Inside 88-Year-Old Jagdish Farshan’s ₹43.5 Cr Bet On Quick Commerce

For nearly nine decades, Vadodara-based Jagdish Farshan has built its business on physical stores selling Gujarati snacks and sweets. Now, the legacy brand is turning to quick commerce to power its next phase of growth. 

Jagdish Farshan has raised ₹43.5 Cr (about $4.6 Mn) in a Series A funding round led by Sharrp Ventures, the investment office of Marico founder Harsh Mariwala, along with a group of angel investors. The fundraise marks its first institutional capital raise since it was established in 1938. 

The company plans to use the capital to expand its manufacturing capacity and retail distribution, and deepen its presence across quick commerce as it looks to take Gujarati snacks beyond its home market. 

Jagdish Farshan currently operates 27 retail outlets, largely concentrated in central Gujarat, besides two outlets in North America. It plans to add 30-40 stores over the next two years, initially deepening its presence across Gujarat before expanding its distribution network to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and other markets. 

The larger ambition, however, is to build a pan-India presence through quick commerce.

The company is already present on Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart in Gujarat, and on BigBasket in Gujarat, Mumbai, and Pune. It also sells through its D2C website. Digital sales and exports currently account for around 15% of its revenue, while its retail business contributes the remaining 85%.

Jagdish Farshan CEO Aakash Kandoi told Inc42 that the company sees a larger opportunity in quick commerce, particularly because the longer delivery timelines associated with conventional ecommerce and D2C are less suited to impulse-led snack purchases. 

“Food is something which is more like craving based. You want to eat it right then and there,” Kandoi said. 

Cracking The Quick-Commerce Shelf

Jagdish Farshan is adapting its product sizes and price points for quick commerce. While mass-market namkeen brands typically sell packs priced between ₹10 and ₹40 on these platforms, the company is positioning itself in a more premium segment.

Its smallest quick-commerce pack weighs 100 grams, compared with its traditional 250-gram and 500-gram packs. Its 250-gram packs are priced between ₹110 and ₹140.

Kandoi said the company initially listed its conventional pack sizes on quick-commerce platforms but later realised that the channel required a different approach. Smaller packs, he added, lower the barrier for consumers looking to try its products. 

As Jagdish Farshan expands across quick commerce and enters new markets, it is also increasing its manufacturing capacity. The company is setting up a 2.5-3 Lakh sq ft facility in Vadodara, which is expected to become operational by July next year. 

Kandoi said the company is currently operating at 90% capacity, making additional manufacturing capacity critical as it enters new markets. It also plans to expand into organised general trade and modern trade.

Despite digital distribution emerging as an important growth lever, Jagdish Farshan is not abandoning its physical footprint. Its stores typically span 2,500-3,000 sq ft and combine retail with dining and a QSR format serving Gujarati delicacies such as dhokla and patra.

The company has operated its D2C website for around eight years and began performance marketing about three years ago. The website currently clocks around 250-300 orders a day. However, Kandoi said the company is not aggressively pushing its products through conventional ecommerce marketplaces.

A Legacy Brand Goes Digital

Jagdish Farshan’s digital push reflects a broader shift among India’s legacy consumer brands, which are increasingly using D2C, ecommerce, and quick commerce to expand beyond their traditional geographic markets.

Wagh Bakri, the century-old tea brand, launched its D2C website in 2015 and entered ecommerce marketplaces in 2016. It sharpened its focus on ecommerce and quick commerce after the pandemic. Digital channels now account for around 8% of its revenue and are its fastest-growing distribution channel.

Similarly, Neeru’s, which began as a tailoring shop in 1971, entered ecommerce during the Covid-19 pandemic after its brick-and-mortar business was hit. It subsequently built its own D2C channel, with online sales now accounting for around 25–30% of its business.

Established in 1938, Jagdish Farshan now offers more than 500 products and SKUs across traditional snacks, namkeen, and sweets.

Kandoi said the company has grown at a CAGR of 45% over the past five years, with the expansion funded entirely through internal accruals. The latest fundraise is intended to accelerate this growth.

He added that Jagdish Farshan was seeking an operating partner alongside capital as it prepares to move from a largely regional business to a pan-India consumer brand. Sharrp Ventures’ experience backing food and beverage brands such as Slurrp Farm, Bira 91, Troovy, and Protein Pantry, coupled with Harsh Mariwala’s experience building Marico, made it an attractive investor, he said.

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