Fakes put Pachranga Achar in a pickle

The famous "Pachranga" pickle band of Panipat, owned by the Dhingra family, is in a spot with every manufacturer in the area selling their pickles under the same brand name. Customers are also having a hard time in identifying the genuine product.

Panipat is famous for its pickles and there are about 15-20 pickles factories, having an annual turnover of Rs 25-30 crore. There are more than 100 shops on both sides of National Highway 1, selling the world famous "Pachranga Achar". The presence of so many shops, each claiming to be the real one, puts the customer in a fix.

"The brand Pachranga has its roots in Kaloorkot village in Mianwali district in Pakistan and came into existence in 1935, where Murli Dhar Dhingra created the brand Pachranga, which became a name synonymous with pickles, chutneys and murabbas. Asa Nand Dhingra brought the family business to India in 1943," said Pachranga International Marketing Director Sidharth Dhigra.

Since then, the family kept branching out, each one starting their own venture under Pachranga brand. "But in our case, the rich heritage and experience has been carried forward by his (Asa Nand Dhingra's) son Rajinder Dhingra, who made Pachranga a global brand," he said.

" But in the last few years, many other manufacturers have been using the Dhingra family's Pachranga brand, bringing a bad name to the brand. We have served notices to the spurious manufacturers and many cases are pending in courts against these illegal manufacturers," he added.

When asked why the company was not opting to patent the products, he said, "We can't do it because its a family business run by different members."

To beat the counterfeit and spurious products, Dhingra is planning new packaging for the products.

Apart from north India, where the brand is popular, it is also exported to the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Malayasia, and Japan, where most of its customers are non-resident Indians.