From Local to National: How Indian Food Brands Scale Up

India’s food ecosystem is built on hyperlocal tastes — a snack loved in one city may be unknown just a few hundred kilometres away. Yet, several Indian food brands have successfully crossed this barrier, growing from neighbourhood favourites into national and global names. Their journeys offer clear lessons on how local food brands can scale without losing authenticity.

From cooperatives and family-run businesses to modern D2C brands, these stories show that scaling beyond a home city in India is less about aggressive expansion and more about getting the fundamentals right.

Starting Strong at Home: Lijjat Papad’s Community-Led Scale

Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad began in Mumbai in 1959 as a small collective of seven women making papads from a home kitchen. What started as a local operation catering to neighbourhood demand eventually scaled into one of India’s most recognisable food brands.

Lijjat’s growth was driven by a decentralised production model. Instead of building one large factory, the organisation enabled women across different cities to produce papads locally under strict quality standards. This allowed the brand to expand geographically without heavy infrastructure investment, while also ensuring consistent taste.

Lesson:

A decentralised, community-based production model can enable scale while preserving quality and affordability, especially for traditional food products.

Standardisation and Diversification: Haldiram’s Journey from Bikaner

In 1937, Haldiram’s began as a small namkeen shop in Bikaner, Rajasthan, selling bhujia to local customers. Its transformation into a national and international brand came from standardising recipes and processes early.

As the brand expanded beyond Rajasthan, consistency became critical. Customers in Delhi, Mumbai or abroad expected the same taste. Haldiram’s invested in uniform manufacturing, packaging, and branding, which enabled large-scale distribution.

Over time, the brand diversified into sweets, ready-to-eat meals and quick-service restaurants, allowing it to reach new consumer segments while building on its core snack identity.

Lesson:

Standardisation is essential when scaling food brands across regions. Diversification should build on existing trust rather than dilute the brand.

Scaling a Regional Favourite: Chitale Bandhu’s National Presence

Founded in Pune in 1950, Chitale Bandhu was long known as a regional favourite for Maharashtrian snacks like bakarwadi and chivda. For decades, its popularity remained largely local.

The brand’s expansion strategy focused on modernising a traditional business. It introduced packaged versions of its snacks, expanded retail outlets beyond Pune and entered online marketplaces to reach customers across India.

Strategic branding initiatives, including collaborations and increased visibility, helped Chitale Bandhu transition from a city-based sweet shop to a nationally recognised snack brand.

Lesson:

Legacy brands can scale by updating packaging, retail formats and sales channels without compromising on traditional recipes.

Distribution-Led Growth: iD Fresh Food’s Multi-City Expansion

iD Fresh Food started in 2005, in Bengaluru, with a simple idea: fresh, preservative-free idli and dosa batter. Unlike traditional packaged food brands, iD built its growth strategy around distribution and freshness.

To scale beyond Bengaluru, the brand set up multiple manufacturing units across India, ensuring products could reach nearby cities quickly. This localised production approach allowed iD to maintain freshness while expanding into new regions.

The brand also adopted a hybrid distribution strategy, supplying supermarkets, kirana stores, online platforms, and international retailers. Over time, iD expanded its portfolio to include parottas, paneer, filter coffee and ready-to-cook products.

Lesson:

For fresh food brands, proximity to consumers and supply-chain efficiency are critical to successful scaling.

Niche Positioning at Scale: Two Brothers Organic Farms

Two Brothers Organic Farms began as a small organic farming initiative in Maharashtra. Instead of targeting mass markets immediately, the brand focused on health-conscious and sustainability-driven consumers.

By emphasising regenerative agriculture, chemical-free produce and transparency, the brand built strong trust among urban consumers. It scaled beyond its home region by leveraging e-commerce, direct-to-consumer channels and exports.

Today, the brand reaches customers across hundreds of Indian cities and multiple international markets, proving that niche positioning can support large-scale growth.

Lesson:

Clear values and purpose-driven branding can help niche food brands scale without competing purely on price.

Common Strategies That Help Local Food Brands Scale

Across these diverse brand journeys, certain patterns emerge:

Strong Local Validation

Each brand first built deep trust in its home market before expanding. A loyal local customer base acts as proof of product-market fit.

Product Consistency

Whether through standardised recipes or strict quality controls, consistency was non-negotiable when entering new cities.

Smart Distribution

Successful brands used a mix of general trade, modern retail, online platforms and exports to reduce dependency on a single channel.

Adaptation Without Dilution

While core products remained unchanged, brands adapted packaging, formats or communication to suit wider audiences.

Infrastructure and Operations

Investing in manufacturing, logistics and supply chain early helped brands scale sustainably rather than grow too fast and fail.

The Bigger Picture

India’s food market offers immense opportunity, but scaling beyond a home city requires patience, planning and discipline. The success of brands like Lijjat Papad, Haldiram’s, Chitale Bandhu, iD Fresh Food and Two Brothers Organic Farms shows that growth does not mean abandoning local identity.

Instead, the most successful food brands take their local strengths — be it taste, tradition or values — and build systems that allow those strengths to travel. For emerging food entrepreneurs, the message is clear: get it right locally, build for consistency, and scale with intent.