Son Rising

How a scion can take the business from Rs 25 crore to Rs 300 crore is a story of sheer grit and passion. Nitin Seth reveals what’s cooking at GD Foods.

- Punita Sabharwal

The imposing head office of GD Foods, the manufacturing company behind brand Tops, is all too visible as one negotiates the serpentine bylanes of West Delhi. Its fascinating story, too, has taken many twists and turns.

The memories of Tops go back to the era when the Indian market was just picking up newer cuisines like the Chinese. Interestingly, it is the same year, 1984, when Nestle launched Maggi and Tops launched its first ever product – Tops instant noodles. That Tops stood out against a multinational competitor is a feather in its cap.

The 80s era was the start of food processing in earnest in India where industrialists combined the two major pillars of the economy, i.e., agriculture and industry. It was a heady mix.

B.M. Seth, father of Nitin Seth, the current vice chairman, set up GD Foods in fond memory of his father, Govardhan Das, who always dreamt of setting up a major business touching the lives of many families across the country, one that is a huge benefit to the economy. From its early years, the brand has been providing livelihood to many women. In Rajasthan alone it employs 400 women.

The brand Tops has done well over the years. It has added close to 200 stock keeping units or SKUs under its product portfolio ranging from jams, ketchups, pickles and cookies.