Bikaji Foods Founder Shiv Ratan Agarwal Passes Away

CHENNAI-Shiv Ratan Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director of Bikaji Foods International, died on April 23 here after suffering a heart attack. He was 74.

Agarwal had travelled to Chennai with his family for his wife’s medical treatment.

According to sources, his wife had recently undergone heart bypass surgery and had been advised rest. The family was staying at a hotel in Chennai during her recovery.

At around 7:30 a.m. on April 23, Agarwal reportedly began feeling unwell. As his condition worsened, he was rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Agarwal founded the Bikaji brand in Bikaner and built it into one of India’s leading packaged snack companies.

The company traces its origins to ‘Shivdeep Foods Products’, named after his son Deepak Agarwal, which later evolved into the Bikaji brand.

Following a division in the family business linked to Haldiram’s, Agarwal chose to establish an independent venture.

He moved to Bikaner and started a bhujia manufacturing business under Shivdeep Foods Products, laying the foundation for what later became a major player in India’s snack industry.

In 1993, the company was rebranded as ‘Bikaji’, a name inspired by Rao Bika, the founder of Bikaner, giving the brand a distinct regional identity with wider appeal. (IANS)