Godrej: “Made in India” that Made India Proud

There stands a Parsi lawyer, truthful, adamant and sharp, in front of his employer’s pharmaceutical company wishing to produce medical blades and scissors and failing. The subject of this story was Ardeshir Godrej, the founder of Godrej Manufacturers. From 1897 to today, Godrej led the Indian markets. From manufacturing locks and furniture, the business chain has diversified into soaps, dyes, and even vehicles that fit enough to sail through space.

Godrej’s Guarantee Card (Image Source: Pinterest)

We are time-travelling to 2010. You smell like the luxury lemons of Cinthol as summer seeps through. With a chilled supply of leftover Rasna from your refrigerator, you stand in front of your rustic, almost vintage, silver almirah, blazed with flashy WWE fandom stickers. Among the many symbols, you read the word ‘Godrej’. And it stays with you, just for you to notice it everywhere.

An ardent believer in Made-in-India, Ardeshir Godrej, the founder of Godrej Manufacturers Ltd. had a kick start in 1897 when robbery in Mumbai was a new trend. To solve this problem, Godrej sought a loan from Merwanji Mucherji Cama, a director at Mumbai Samachar, and started producing locks to safeguard houses. In agreement to lend a sum of money for this innovative venture, Merwanji Cama asked Ardeshir, “Dikra, is there anyone else who has tried his hands at this or are you the first from our community to make locks?”. And to this, Godrej says, “I may or may not be the first one, but with the support of a great man like you, I’ll prove to be the best one.” And so he was.

But what is so unique about this beginning? Instead of manoeuvring a lock with a chisel and a hammer, the company used “equipment” and “experience” to stand tall in front of fires, explosions and passionate pick locks. Moreover, Godrej sent its customers guarantee cards which no other company ever claimed. That’s how trust and value-for-price were instilled in customers’ brains. Once this product was a hit, Godrej ventured into making steel cupboards, vegetable oil-based soaps, safes, shaving creams, refrigerators, liquid hair dyes, drinks, real-estates and even grocery stores. The coolest fact is that Godrej was single-handedly responsible for the first ballot elections for the pan-India apparatus of the ballot. This humongous trajectory has outlived economic and social advancements and still manages to match pace with its competitors. Godrej knew the nuts and bolts of his target audience. Production of Chavi and Vatni, the vegetable-oil-based soaps, a generational memory, showcased the intrinsic knowledge of the market.

Their products were endorsed by stalwarts like Annie Besant and Rabindranath Tagore for their nationalistic self-reliance ideologies. Mahatma Gandhi in a letter to a favour-seeking competitor, says: "I hold my brother Godrej in such high regard that if your enterprise is likely to harm him in any way, I regret very much that I cannot give you my blessings.” This support by the freedom fighters encouraged Godrej to leave no stone unturned. From 1952 to 2007, Godrej experimented with a series of products, from hair colour, soaps, property and even gourmet retail stores. After paying heed to household necessities, not only did Godrej help in Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 but they also were a leading contributor to India’s Mission to Mars in 2014, ISRO’s GSLV Mark III and Indian Aircraft, Tejas in 2019. In 2009, Godrej curated a spacious sustainable skyscraper named Planet Godrej.

After failing to develop a surgical blade, Ardeshir Godrej formed the Godrej Group, which now encompasses more than twenty commercial lines. Godrej runs its production facility in addition to exporting its goods to more than fifty nations. Their aggregate market capitalisation is estimated to be over Rs. 1.2 lakh crore. It is indeed a moment of pride and astonishment to recognize how massively this company has affected the lives of the Indian audience. Not just the material value but also nostalgia. Godrej is the invisible memory with a scent of childhood. Little did we know the revolution it was born with.

Advertisement of Vatni with Filmstar Madhubala (Image Source: Pinterest)