HOW MARICO TURNED OIL INTO A LEGACY

In the 1970s, coconut oil 🥥was a commodity.
Loose. Unbranded. Sold in tins with no name, no trust, no identity.

A young Harsh Mariwala watched all this from the small office of Bombay Oil Industries.

People weren’t asking for the company, founder or quality.
They bought oil, not a brand.
Then, He realised only a brand could break the commodity trap.

💡The Spark

He stopped asking, “How do we sell more oil?” and started asking, “How do we build trust?” That shift built a ₹10,000+ crore empire.

Branding wasn’t common, but he chose a simple name: Parachute.
A blue bottle. A clean identity.

People thought he was dreaming big.
But customers didn’t.

Customers moved from “coconut oil” to “Parachute dena.” The commodity trap broke.

The blue bottle worked by design — it stood out, signaled purity, felt safer with its seal and built habit, solving four anxieties at once.

🚀The Leap

He realised that ordinary oil had become a trusted brand and if one product could transform, so could others.

Breaking Away & Betting On Himself In 1988, Harsh did the unthinkable.
He broke away from the family business, walked away from comfort, and built his own company: Marico Foods Ltd.

With small teams, tight cash and a new distribution network, he pushed Parachute ahead — those early struggles became the base for national growth.

The 1990s came with ambition. Factories grew Brands multiplied.
Marico’s products entered homes across India
Parachute
Hair & Care
Nihar Naturals
Livon

A new enemy hit: raw material volatility. Prices spiked, margins fell. Most froze, Harsh diversified.

He built new categories so no single commodity could shake the company again. That’s what great founders do.

years later came Saffola🫀—wasn’t positioned as edible oil.
It was positioned as heart protection.

Doctors endorsed it🩺
Families trusted it.

Marico didn’t chase taste.
They chased belief.

They shifted Marico from a hair oil business to beauty+ wellness powerhouse

🌐Going Global

Parachute moved to Bangladesh, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. Campaigns with familiar faces
· Kiara Advani
· Nargis Fakhri
· Masuma Rahman Nabila
the brand proved one thing: trust travels

Global expansion brought currency shifts and market risks.
Marico adapted with local strategies and region-specific products turning risk into opportunity.

💻Modern Era

Many legacy brands hesitated to go online, Marico moved fast acquiring Beardo, expanding Saffola into foods, launching digital-first brands and scaling e-commerce & D2C.

Harsh understood that Distribution wins the past.
Relevance wins the future

Marico mentality — simplify, build trust, enter early, scale smart, design over discounts, and play long-term.

🏆Marico Today

• Active in 25+ global markets
• Trusted by one-third of Indian homes
• A ₹10,831+ crore beauty, wellness & foods giant.

All began with a simple insight
The product matters but the brand matters more.

💡Built to Grow, Not Burn Insight.

· Turned oil into trust
· Branding beat the commodity trap
· Design built belief
· Diversification reduced risk
· Health-first positioning created longevity

Marico grew by compounding belief, not chasing volume.