Bikanervala

Bikanervala is an Indian multinational snack food company and restaurant chain headquartered in Delhi that specializes in Indian sweets and snacks. The restaurant chain has 150 locations both in India and globally.

History
In 1950 two brothers, Kedarnath and Satyanarayan Aggarwal, moved to Delhi from Bikaner to plan an expansion of their traditional business. Initially the brothers set up a stall in Chandni Chowk by the name of Bikaner Bhujia Bhandar (lit. 'Bikaneri bhujia store'), on Paranthe wali Gali. In the 1960s, they increased their line of products by including more varieties of traditional sweets and namkeens, and opened several shops as Bikanervala in prominent parts of Delhi, including Karol Bagh. The present managing director of the company, Shyam Sundar Aggarwal, joined the family business in 1968. Then 16, he had just finished high school and had learned the art of making sweets from his father. In the 1980s, when the Western fast food pizza entered the Indian market, Aggarwal realized that there was an opportunity to explore more Indian products. Thus, the company opened several outlets in various parts of the country. In 1988, to take the brand globally, they launched Bikano to sell packaged sweets and namkeens. In 1995, the company entered into an exclusive agreement to produce namkeens for PepsiCo's brand Lehar, opening a new plant in Faridabad, Haryana.

The company opened Bikano Chat Cafes in 2003, which are quick service restaurants serving fast food with minimal table service. The Bikanervala and Angan restaurants serve traditional Indian snacks, sweets and namkeens. The company also launched a boutique hotel at Banjara Hills in Hyderabad.

Lawsuit
In 2012 the company was charged with selling adulterated products. It was alleged that the amount of synthetic dye used in the product exceeded the legal limit, but the company was acquitted.

Operations
In India, the company has 42 outlets in the National Capital Region alone, and has as many as 12 outlets in the UAE and 7 in Nepal. Bikanervala is also present in New Zealand, Singapore, and the US (two outlets each), and had a recent opening in Qatar.

Manufacturing is based in Delhi, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, and Faridabad and Rai in Haryana.

Bikano products are exported to nearly 30 countries including Nepal, Pakistan, the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, and South Africa.

Awards
The company has been awarded one of the Best Sweet Shops in Delhi for 2012, 2013 and 2014 by The Times of India Food Awards.