This Person Sold Handmade Detergent Packets Door To Door, Now Has Net Worth Of Rs 22,958 Crore

In today’s success story we will know about Karsanbhai Patel, the man behind the famous Nirma detergents.

New Delhi: ‘Nirma Detergent Tikiya, Iski Jhaag Ne Jaadu Kar Diya’ – the catchy jingle that played in Television Advertisements in the 90s must be still vivid in our memories. Many of us surely remember it very well even after so many years.  Nirma is the name of the detergent powder that we all know about but not many of us know the man and the story behind it.

In today’s success story we will learn about Karsanbhai Patel, the man behind the famous Nirma detergents.

Karsanbhai Khodidas Patel Birth, Career

Karsanbhai Khodidas Patel, the founder of detergent powder Nirma hails from a farmer family in Gujarat. Born in 1945, Patel started making and selling detergent powder as a side business. A young Patel who was working as a lab technician got the idea to start a business and started making detergent powder in his backyard and selling it in the neighbourhoods going door to door on his cycle.

The Story Behind Nirma Washing Powder

Karsanbhai Patel had a lovely daughter named Nirupama, who was lovingly called as Nirma by her family. She was his whole world but fate had other plans for him. He lost his dear daughter in a car accident while she was walking back to home from school. Karsanbhai was shattered by the death of his daughter and decided to name his detergent powder after his loving daughter hoping to keep her alive among the people.  

The Journey Of Nirma From The Backyard To A Household Name

When Patel started selling his detergent, he priced it very low compared to other detergents which attracted many buyers and gradually it became known throughout Ahmedabad.  After selling the detergent for almost 3 years, Patel decided to quit his job and dedicate his full time to the business. Patel started selling the detergent powder in the stores, which helped is detergent business grow in the market. However, as he was not from a business family and didn't have much knowledge about it, he faced losses but such failure couldn't stop him from going forward.

Patel decided to change his ways. He opted for advertising the product on television. As the commercial was being created, the very famous jingle "Washing Powder Nirma" was made. This jingle grabbed the attention of the public and Nirma became a household name all over India. There was no stopping for Karsanbhai now. His business started growing and prospered to its best potential. Today, Karsanbhai is a billionaire businessman with his Nirma group operating in detergents, soaps, cement, and cosmetics industries. The Government of India conferred him with the Padma Shri Award in 2010.

Karsanbhai Patel's Realtime Net Worth

As per Forbes Realtime Billionaire Index figures, Karsanbhai Patel's realtime net worth as of 27-06-2023 is USD 2.8 billion  (2,29,58,74,00,000.00 Indian Rupee approximately).