consumer good
A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike a intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good, but t ...
s company, founded by S. K. Burman and headquartered in
Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziabad Muni ...
. It manufactures
Ayurvedic
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...
medicine and natural consumer products, and is one of the largest
fast-moving consumer goods
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG), are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, cand ...
(FMCG) companies in India. Dabur derives around 60% of its revenue from the consumer care business, 11% from the food business and remaining from the international business unit.
History
Dabur was founded in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
by Dr. S. K. Burman in 1884. Burman's family had migrated from
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
to Kolkata and are Punjabi Khatris by origin. In the mid-1880s, as an Ayurvedic practitioner in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, he formulated Ayurvedic medicines for diseases like cholera, constipation and malaria. As a qualified physician, he went on to sell his medicines in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
on a bicycle. His patients started referring him and his medicines as "Dabur", a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsgherao-ed by his own workers during a labor unrest in Kolkata. Due to the unpleasant situation, G.C Burman decided to move the factory to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, where his brothers later relocated. In Delhi, the business thrived and the company soon became
headquartered
Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...
there. In the words of business historian Sonu Bhasin "Calcutta's loss was Delhi's gain."
The current chairman, Dr. Anand Burman, and vice-chairman Amit Burman, are part of the fifth generation of the family. They were among the first business families in India to separate ownership from management, when they handed over the management of the company to professionals in 1998.
2022.10 Dabur Ltd will acquire the 51 per cent stake in Badshah Masala for a cash consideration of ₹587.52 crore.
Pharma and healthcare
Dabur demerged its Pharma business in 2003 and hived it off into a separate company, Dabur Pharma Ltd. German company
Fresenius SE
Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA is a health care company based in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany. It provides products and services for dialysis, in hospitals and inpatient and outpatient medical care. It is involved in hospital management and in ...
bought a 73.27% equity share in Dabur Pharma in June 2008 at ₹76.50 a share.
Dabur International, a fully owned subsidiary of Dabur India formerly held shares in the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
-based Weikfield International, which it sold in June 2012.
Philanthropy
Dabur's Sustainable Development Society (Sundesh) is a non-profit organisation started by Burman that aims to carry out welfare activities in the spheres of health care, education and other
socio-economic
Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...
activities. Dabur drives its
corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...
(CSR) initiatives through Sundesh.
The 2015 Brand Trust Report puts Dabur at 19th place.
Controversy
Former executive director Pradip Burman was on the list of black money account holders on 27 October 2014 when
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
government revealed the names. Dabur rejected the black money charge.
In December 2020, a report by the
Centre for Science and Environment
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a not-for-profit public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1980, CSE works as a think tank on environment-development issues in India, poor planning, ...
showed that Dabur Honey, along with other major brands' products, was adulterated with sugar syrup.
Hajmola or Hazmola () is an ayurvedic digestive tablet sold as a treatment for
dyspepsia
Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier t ...
by Dabur under that name since the 1950s. A
counterfeit
To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
of the product was trademarked by "Hilal Foods (Pvt.) Limited" (estb. 1986), a
Clifton, Karachi
Clifton is an upscale and historic seaside locality in Karachi, Pakistan. It is one of the most affluent parts of the city, home to some of Karachi's most expensive real estates. It is home to several foreign consulates, while its commercial cent ...
based company, in Pakistan which had been selling it since at least the 1980s. When Dabur began operating in Pakistan, it filed an
intellectual property infringement
An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...
suit against Hilal through its subsidiary which was ultimately settled by the
Sindh High Court
The High Court of Sindh ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest Court of Appeal for Sindh in ...
allowing both Hilal and Dabur to use the Hajmola trademark.
Shareholding pattern
Dabur has a total of 296,439 shareholders as of 31 March 2021 and the number of fully paid up equity shares held are 1,767,425,349.
See also
*
Dabur Research Foundation
Dabur Research Foundation (DRF) is an Indian contract research organization offering pre-clinical services in drug discovery and development. It was established in 1979 to spearhead the research and development activities of Dabur, India
...
*
Chyawanprash
Chyavanprash (), originally Chayavanaprasham, is a cooked mixture of sugar, honey, ghee, Indian gooseberry ( amla) jam, sesame oil, berries and various herbs and spices. It is prepared as per the instructions suggested in Ayurvedic texts. Chyavan ...
*
Babool (brand)
Babool is a toothpaste brand which was launched in India by '' Balsara Hygiene'' in 1987. Babool is made from the bark of the Babool tree, which has traditionally been used to clean teeth in India. The brand was positioned as an economic toothp ...