: Nilons: How Two Brothers Launched Indias Favourite Pickles From Their Dining Table #IndiaNEWS #Great Indian Manufacturing Recently, I was watching Shershaah (2021), the movie based on the life of

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Nilons: How Two Brothers Launched Indias Favourite Pickles From Their Dining Table #IndiaNEWS #Great Indian Manufacturing
Recently, I was watching Shershaah (2021), the movie based on the life of Captain Vikram Batra. During the scene in which he visits the military canteen to buy alcohol, I noticed something. Though out of focus, the peculiar looking 1-kilo jars of pickle stacked behind the counter were hard to miss,� recalls Gayatri Singh, a resident of Delhi and the daughter of a retired army officer.
Gayatri says she instantly recognised the pickle jars as Nilon’s, a brand with which she shares an unbreakable bond.
“I was always moving to different parts of India owing to my father’s job. The places, schools, friends, the environment and other aspects of my life kept changing, but the only constant companion I had was this pickle glass jar on the dining table,� she recalls.
Gayatri is sure that like her, many families from defence backgrounds can relate to the feeling. After all, it’s this very pickle that put the company on the global map and helped it become the brand that we all love and recognise today.
Despite being a multi-crore entity that has a presence across India today, Nilon’s journey started with humble beginnings.
Dining table doubles up as lab
Pickle bottling at Nilons plant in Jalgaon.
“My father Suresh Sanghavi and uncle Prafful started the business from a home kitchen in 1962, in Utran village, Jalgaon, Maharashtra,� says Dipak, now managing director and CEO of the company.
The 44-year-old recalls, “In 1962, my father completed his graduation in agriculture, but his elder brother Prafful could not pursue higher education due to the untimely death of their father. He took up agriculture as it was their only source of income and suggested my father implement his newly acquired academic knowledge into agriculture processing,� he says.
He adds that the family understood the potential of food processing due to their earlier experience in the field during World War II. “Our family-owned 1,500 acres of lemon orchard. We produced cordial, lemon syrup and lemon juice for the British and Indian Army to provide immunity and other health benefits to injured soldiers. We also exported a significant amount of the product and earned decent money,� he says.
However, due to the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961, a move implemented by the government to impose restrictions on land holdings, the family lost over 90% of their land. They continued farming on what remained. However, they know that if they could find the right mix of products to cater to customers, they could find a business that took off well.
And so, with their dinner table as their laboratory, the two brothers sourced a variety of produce and began mixing, matching and experimenting with different ingredients.

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