It is generally perceived that traditional family-run businesses are strong in entrepreneurial skills, family values and customer responsiveness but lack professionalism in building technological, operational and managerial capabilities needed to compete in a global market. The case study of Bikanervala chronicles the journey of a traditional Indian halwai1 to a global chain specializing in Indian ready-to-eat sweets and namkeens. The company has effectively and innovatively blended heritage recipes with modern product and process technology till date but now faces expansion and supply chain challenges. This case has been written with twofold objectives in mind: 1) to illustrate the effectiveness of the supply chain strategy adopted by the company to gain necessary competitive advantage in an unorganized industry; and 2) to be used for discussing the current challenges faced by the company and prospective growth strategies. Data collection in the case is through secondary sources (website, historical documents) and open-ended, semi-structured interviews with the managerial staff.

The journey of Bikanervala from a local halwai to one of North India’s most prominent business families is a story straight out of a Hollywood movie. From a modest beginning in a dry dusty small town in Rajasthan, hundred years back and establishment of a small retail shop in Chandni Chowk,2 in the 1950s to the present 600 cr ($100 mn) brand (Bikanervala), the company has grown exponentially on the strength of product and process innovation and sheer hard work and determination of its owners.

However, the owner’s grandson and the company’s present CEO, was a worried man in March 2012. His accountant had shown him the company’s annual balance sheet and for the first time in twenty years, the growth rate had slipped from double digit to single digit. The past few years had been difficult with the company struggling to maintain its stronghold in North India. The declining demand for Indian sweets and an emerging trend of consumer preference for chocolates and western sweets, escalating cost of the ingredients and packaging materials, lack of scale, fragmented supply chain, poor quality of distribution and strong competition from the domestic and international players had resulted in the downward sales trend. As he sat in his plush office remembering his grandfather’s days, he knew he had to make a crucial decision soon to diversify/ internationalize or expand operations in the domestic market.

Supply Chain Management Journal, Bikanervala, Delicious Blend, Traditional Recipes, Sweet Success, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Sweet Industry, Trends, Modern Systems.