Balaji Wafers eyes Bengal expansion after Jhalmuri craze:MD Virani plans new plant in next 2-3 years, Karnataka next

Bengal’s Jhalmuri has become the center of discussion because during Bengal’s election campaign, PM Modi reached out to a common shopkeeper and tasted a plate of the famous traditional snack there. Now this same snack has been launched as a product by Rajkot’s famous namkeen brand Balaji Wafers. Accordingly this same Jhalmuri product will also launch in Bengal in the coming days, and an announcement has been made by the company’s Managing Director Chandubhai Virani to establish a plant in the state within the next two to three years. ‘We launched Jhalmuri product at ₹5 and ₹10 price points’ Chandubhai Virani, Managing Director of Balaji Wafers, told Divya Bhaskar, “We are Gujaratis and we know how to set up stalls at the right opportunity. When the Prime Minister was on a tour of Bengal, he enjoyed the famous Jhalmuri there and it became famous, so to take advantage of this and easily market our new product in a short time, we have launched the Jhalmuri product at ₹5 and ₹10 price points. ‘We will start our factory in Bengal in the next two to three years’ He further stated, “BJP has won in Bengal and because of PM Modi, Bengal’s jhalmuri has become famous. We will sell all our products in Bengal, currently we are planning to sell all these products from Uttar Pradesh. Once the market stabilizes in Bengal, we will also start our factory there in the next two to three years. ‘Modi works to reach the last person’ He further stated, “PM Modi is today like a brand ambassador for the entire country. Earlier when we used to go to states outside Gujarat, people would say you have come from Modi’s Gujarat. Today when we go to other countries, people there say you have come from Modi’s country”. He added, “PM is a popular leader who cares for the smallest person and works to reach the last person. Similarly, we also try to reach the smallest person and have launched Jhalmuri products at ₹5 and ₹10. We will also deliver this product of ours in Bengal and in the future will also start our factory in Bengal”. What does Jhalmuri taste like and what is it made from? Chandubhai Virani explained about the new product that, Jhalmuri means it uses puffed rice. This product is a type of dry mixture made using puffed rice made from rice, sev, peanuts, neem leaves and lemon flowers, which people in Bengal consider a favorite snack item.