Dalda is a

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...

(

hydrogenated Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organi ...

vegetable cooking oil) brand popular in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

(specifically in the Indian region).

History

Dalda (formerly Dada) was the name of the Dutch company that imported vanaspati ghee into India in the 1930s as a cheap substitute for desi ghee or clarified butter. In

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

of those colonial days, desi ghee was considered an expensive product and not easily affordable for the common public. It was then used sparingly in Indian households. Hence the need existed for a cheaper and affordable substitute. In 1931, ''Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company'' was incorporated to manufacture synthetic ''vanaspati ghee.'' Until the early 1930s, hydrogenated vegetable oil available in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

was imported into the country by Hussein Dada and Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Co (now called Hindustan Unilever Limited and Unilever Pakistan). Hindustan Vanaspati wanted to start manufacturing hydrogenated vegetable oil locally and hence a new category of hydrogenated oil under the new brand name Dalda was born. Until then, Hussein Dada had been selling his imported product under the name Dada Vanaspati. He was asked for his cooperation by Lever Brothers to let the company insert the letter 'L' from Lever Brothers into the new brand name to make it Dalda. He agreed to the name change. Dalda was introduced in 1937, becoming one of the longest-running brands in India and Pakistan. In 1939, The Dalda film was an advertisement created for the marketing campaign for a

vanaspati Vanaspati (Devanagari: ) is the Sanskrit word that now refers to the entire plant kingdom. However, according to '' Charaka Samhitā'' and '' Sushruta Samhita'' medical texts and the '' Vaisesikas'' school of philosophy, "vanaspati" is limited ...

(cooking fat) brand called Dalda. Lintas created the India's first multi-media advertising campaign. Hindustan Vanaspati's "Dalda" product came to be synonymous with the genre, to the extent that the main style of hydrogenated vegetable oil is commonly designated generically as " vanaspati ghee". In 2003, Unilever announced the strategic decision to sell of the Dalda brand in both

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

In India

In 2003,

Bunge Limited Bunge Global SA (''BUN-ghee'') is a global agribusiness and food company, incorporated in Geneva, Switzerland and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. As well as being an international soybean exporter, it is also involved in f ...

acquired the Dalda brand from Hindustan Unilever Limited for reportedly under Rs. 100 crore. Then Bunge made Dalda an umbrella brand ( brand repositioning) and started selling different types of refined oils (soyabean, sunflower, Palmolive, etc) based on geography.

In Pakistan

On 30 March 2004, Unilever Pakistan accepted an offer of Rs.1.33 billion for the sale of its Dalda brand and related business of edible oils and fats to the newly incorporated company, Dalda Foods (Pvt.) Limited. This was a one-of-a-kind corporate transaction in Pakistan, in which a group of six senior Unilever executives formed a management group and successfully purchased the Dalda business from Unilever Pakistan. This was achieved under the banner of the newly formed company Dalda Foods (Pvt.) Limited with the support of key financial institutions and Pakistan's biggest edible oil importer Westbury Group. In 2017, Dalda Foods was getting ready to get on the

Pakistan Stock Exchange The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), founded as Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), is a stock exchange based in Karachi, Pakistan. PSX was classified by MSCI as a frontier market on 8 September 2021. Pakistan Stock Exchange was founded in 1947 as ...

.Equity market: three IPOs fetched Rs 8.6 billion
Business Recorder (newspaper), Published 9 December 2017, Retrieved 20 December 2021

References

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External links

Dalda foods website

Dalda India

Dalda Foods Pakistan
Indian cuisine Cooking oils Food and drink companies of Pakistan Indian brands Food and drink in India Pakistani brands Vegetable oils

History

In India

In Pakistan

See also

References

External links