Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale
Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale is an Indian snacks enterprise which is part of the over USD 150 Million Chitale Group of Industries. It was formed by Shri. Raghunath Bhaskar Chitale(Bhausaheb) and Narsinha Bhaskar Chitale(Rajabhau) in 1950 as a subsidiary of the Chitale Group of Industries. Other group companies include Chitale Dairy, Chitale Foods, Chitale Agro, Chitale Sweets and Snacks and Shrikrishna Food Industries. Its first outlet was set up in Bajirao Road, Pune (Poona) City. Although its outlets are limited to major cities of Maharashtra, the products are distributed all across India. Over the years, Chitale Bandhu has  been known for making namkeen (especially bakarwadis) and sweets. It is also known to export its namkeen to countries such asU.S., Singapore, and Israel. The brand menu consists of over sixty different kinds of sweets and forty different kinds of namkeen. The enterprise has an average turnover of around 500 crore rupees with sale happening across over 40 retail stores and more than 1,00,000 retailers across India. Today the business is run by the second generation partners Madhav, Shrikrishna and Sanjay and third generation partners Kedar and Indraneel. Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale has also created new brands in 2021 to cater  to the wider demands of their customers : 1. Chitale Bandhu M Square : Mindful & Mouthful. It is aimed for the providing consumers with healthy choices of foods that includes no added sugars, gluten free, dairy free range of products. 2. Chitale Bandhu Binge Bar : Bingebar is an innovative concept designed by Chitale Bandhu towards making Indian snacks accessible in convenient Bar style packaging. History. Early years. In mid-1930s, Bhaskar Ganesh Chitale, also known as B. G. Chitale, was an ordinary milk businessman located in a small village of Limb Gaon situated in the Satara district of Maharashtra. Due to an unexpected  turn of events, his cattle fell prey to an unknown disease resulting in their death. This caused a major loss in the business owned by the Chitale Family. In 1939, with a fresh start B. G. Chitale founded the Chitale Group of industries by starting their first enterprise, Chitale Dairy. The brand quickly gained reputation for its quality after it expanded its reach after Raghunath Rao Chitale (Also known as Bhau Chitale; Son of B. G. Chitale) set up a shop in Mumbai, Maharashtra in a partnership. In the year 1946, the partnership came to an end and Raghunath Rao  Chitale had to leave Mumbai. He then moved to Pune and along with his brother Narsinha started vending milk supplied to him from Bhilawadi near Sangli Maharashtra. The business became a success in the city and in the year 1950 he bought a 500 square feet shop where he set up a new enterprise, Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale. The shop is still operational and is now considered the headquarters of Chitale Bandhu. Introduction to Bakarwadi. Chitale Bandhu started the sale of bakarwadi in 1970. Due to the growth of demand, the enterprise then installed machines to maintain the original shape and  size of the bakarwadi. In the early nineties, the bakarwadi sale was around a day. Currently, the enterprise sells about of the snack daily. Introduction of bakarwadi in Chitale Bandhu's shop increased the sales of the enterprise to a great extent. This growing demand for the new snack was fulfilled after Narsinha (Rajabhau) Chitale toured Japan in the 1970s. With the new innovations and technology, the enterprise adopted a semi-automatic production of bakarwadi in 1989. Later, the production was made completely automatic. This allowed the enterprise to grow faster. In the following years Chitale Bandhu started opening multiple  branches around the city of Pune. Computerized billing system. In 1985, the enterprise installed a computerized billing system. Current Network. Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale acts as the prime product retail and distribution brand for Chitale Group. It manufactures and distributes products in different channels. It has over 25 Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale stores in the city of Pune. It has over 30 and expanding Chitale Xpress Stores across Maharashtra and Goa. It has a distribution channel of over 400 Distributors spread across Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi. It is exporting its products to all major countries . It is now active on e commerce platforms and also runs its own online store. Products. Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale manufacture over 200 products in the range of Indian Sweets(Mithai), Namkeen, Snacks that are sold in over 600 SKUs either in fresh or packaged form. Snacks and namkeen. Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale has over 40 varieties of Namkeen sold at multiple outlets. Some of the common and widely sold Namkeen include: bakarwadi, various Chivda, Farsan, Gathi, Papadi, various sev, and Shankarpali. Along with these there are also multiple chaat products such as Samosa and Kachori. Bakarwadi. Chitale Bandhu has been known for  selling bakarwadi since the early 1970s. Although this snack was originally made in Gujarat, it gained popularity in Maharashtra when it was introduced (Many believe that this is due to its spice which is common in Maharashtra). “In 1970, a person from Surat, Gujarat introduced Bhausaheb to the bakarwadi,” said Indraneel Chitale, one of Bhausaheb’s grandsons. Technically, the Chitales didn’t invent the crunchy besan- and maida-based snack. It has been a part of traditional west Indian cooking, particularly Gujarati farsaan, for a long time. But without Bhausaheb Chitale and the rapid growth of India’s packaged food  industry, bakarwadi may not have been as popular among Indians both in the country and abroad. Many sources, such as NDTV foods, believe that although the enterprise was performing well in the sweets sector, after the introduction of bakarwadi in the menu, its sales increased rapidly. NDTV foods also referred to this snack as a "bronzed snack". With the technological change, the organisation made the production of bakarwadi automatic, which allowed it to boost the production of bakarwadi. This increased the sale of bakarwadis from 300 kilos a day in 1970, to over 1000 kilos an hour. Sev. A large  variety of sev is available at Chitale Bandhu, such as: Chivda. The enterprise has also been known for selling variety of chivda, such as: Sweets. There are over 60 different sweets on the menu of the enterprise. The popular sweets that are sold include: various types of halva (such as almond and pineapple flavour), burfi, sweet rolls, peda, Laddu and Jalebi (also pronounced as "Jilebi" ). Burfi. A list of burfi which are sold at Chitale Bandhu include: Rolls (sweet). The enterprise has various flavours of roll which include: gulkand, mango, anjir, and cashew-apple. Packaged Sweets and Snacks. Chitale Bandhu  Mithaiwale are the pioneers in packaging and extending shelf life of traditional Indian sweets. They have a range of over 40 products that contain mithai that lasts over 1 month at ambient. This has been a key enabler in them expanding their retail footprint across Maharashtra Franchising & Distribution. With the increase in popularity, demand and consumer base, Chitale Bandhu soon found it the need of the hour to expand and cater to the new consumers. Rajabhau Chitale was the pioneer for the brand who overlooked and developed a robust franchising and supply chain mechanism to ensure steady and flawless supply  and sale of Chitale products. Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale currently has over 45 franchises across the state of Maharashtra and an intricate network of distributors within the state as well as outside making sure the products are available everywhere. Exports. A foundation strongly engraved in the ethos of quality, excellence and superior customer service has enabled the company to expand to international markets. The company currently exports its range of products to countries across the European Union, USA, South East Asia, Middle East Gulf Countries and Australia. The far-reaching appeal is evidenced through the increasing demand for its products in  the international markets. A classic example of this is the very popular Bakarwadi, a quintessential Maharashtrian item that is loved not just all across India, but has captivated the imagination of culinary connoisseurs the world over. Having consistently delivered a tasteful, fresh and nourishing experience for more than six decades, the company has successfully crafted a brand identity that's truly unique! Following the vision and mission which was set by Lt. Mr. Rajabhau Chitale to make Chitale products available and accessible to the people across the globe, Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale have now appointed exclusive distributors and super stockists in  big export markets such as Australia, Europe, Scandinavia, and are expanding rapidly in other markets too. Controversy. In 2017, the workers of Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, went on a strike who demanded a hike in their salaries. Following the labor court's order, the workers returned to work on October 1, 2017. However, according to the workers, they were not given a professional treatment after re-joining. Many of them stated that they were made to sit idle in the working hours. One of the employee, Vandana Ughade, claimed that the doors of the workplace were also closed to confine the  workers in. Indraneel Chitale, the owner of the enterprise in 2017, countered all the claims by stating that the workers were left idle because the production itself was low due to the preceding strike.