Dabur Ltd is an Indian multinational

consumer good A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike an intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good. Whe ...

s company, founded by S. K. Burman and headquartered in

Ghaziabad Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in Western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziaba ...

. It manufactures

Ayurvedic Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

products and

fast-moving consumer goods Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG) or convenience goods, are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beve ...

. Dabur derives around 60% of its revenue from the consumer care business, 11% from the food business and remaining from the international business unit.

History

Dabur was founded in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

by Ayurvedic practitioner S. K. Burman in 1884. In the mid-1880s, he formulated Ayurvedic medicines for diseases like cholera, constipation and malaria. As a qualified physician, he went on to sell his medicines in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

on a bicycle. His patients started referring him and his medicines as "Dabur", a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the words ''daktar'' (doctor) and Burman. He later went on to mass-produce his Ayurvedic formulations. C.L. Burman, set up Dabur's first R&D unit. Later, his grandson, G.C Burman was gherao-ed by his own workers during a labor unrest in Kolkata. Due to the unpleasant situation, G.C Burman decided to move the factory to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, where his brothers later relocated. In Delhi, the business thrived and the company soon became

headquartered Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

there. In the words of business historian Sonu Bhasin "Calcutta's loss was Delhi's gain." In 1997, Dabur set up a wholly-owned consumer goods subsidiary called Dabur Foods under which it launched its fruit juice brand called Real. In 1998, Dabur separated ownership from management, when they handed over the management of the company to professionals. Dabur demerged its pharma business in 2003 and hived it off into a separate company, Dabur Pharma. German company Fresenius bought a 73% stake in Dabur Pharma for in 2008. In 2005, Dabur acquired three Balsara group companies, gaining control of brands such as

Babool ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Mid ...

Promise A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun ''promise'' means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity ...

Meswak Meswak (also referred to as ''Miswak'') is a fluoride-free toothpaste brand that was launched in India by Balsara Hygiene in 1998. The toothpaste is marketed as a herbal toothpaste as it is made from extracts of the ''Salvadora persica'' plant ...

, Odonil, Odomos, Odopic, and Sani Fresh. In 2009, Dabur completed the acquisition of a majority stake in female skincare products company Fem Care Pharma for and later merged the company into itself. In 2022, Dabur acquired a 51% stake in the Indian spices company Badshah Masala for 588 crore. In November 2024, Dabur acquired a 51% stake in Sesa Care, an Indian haircare company for an enterprise value of 315-325 crore.

Philanthropy

Dabur's Sustainable Development Society (Sundesh) is a non-profit organisation started by Burman that aims to carry out welfare activities in the spheres of health care, education and other

socio-economic Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analys ...

activities. Dabur drives its

corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

(CSR) initiatives through Sundesh. The 2015 Brand Trust Report puts Dabur at 19th place.

Controversies

Former executive director Pradip Burman was on the list of

black money A black market is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services whose production and distributi ...

account holders on 27 October 2014 when the government published the list. Dabur rejected the black money charge. In December 2020, a report by the

Centre for Science and Environment Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a not-for-profit public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1980, CSE works as a think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a rese ...

showed that Dabur Honey, along with other major brands' products, was adulterated with sugar syrup. Hajmola or Hazmola () is an ayurvedic digestive tablet sold as a treatment for

dyspepsia Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier ...

by Dabur under that name since the 1950s. A

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

of the product was trademarked by "Hilal Foods (Pvt.) Limited" (estb. 1986), a

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

based company in Pakistan, which had been selling it since at least the 1980s. When Dabur began operating in Pakistan, Hilal filed an

intellectual property infringement An intellectual property (IP) infringement is the infringement or violation of an intellectual property right. There are several types of intellectual property rights, such as copyrights, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, plant breeders ri ...

suit against Dabur which was ultimately settled by the

Sindh High Court The High Court of Sindh () ( Sindhi: سنڌ ھائي ڪورٽ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest ...

allowing both Hilal and Dabur to use the Hajmola trademark. In May 2025, the

FSSAI The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a statutory body under the administration of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. It regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of f ...

informed the Delhi High Court that Dabur's '100% fruit juice' claim on its product is misleading, as the juices contain water and fruit concentrates.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Indian brands Pharmaceutical companies of India Ayurvedic companies Dental companies Food and drink companies of India Pharmaceutical companies established in 1884 Companies based in Uttar Pradesh Indian companies established in 1884 Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Multinational companies headquartered in India Dabur Group

History

Philanthropy

Controversies

See also

References

External links