The Inspirational Story of Balvant Parekh | The Man Behind Building an INR 7000+ Crore Empire

Born in Mahuva, Sri Balvantbhai Parekh comes from a small town situated in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, India. As a student, he attended the Government Law College but never practiced law after graduating, owing to the innumerable lies the profession demanded. Parekh left his studies midway and dived into the Quit India Movement, launched by Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat. Only after he had stayed in his hometown and participated in various social activities over the next year, he returned to Mumbai and finished his education. 

However, life in Mumbai was always in flux - people heaved and toiled hard. For Balvant Parekh, life was equally exhausting. He initially worked at a dyeing and printing press, and later joined a wood trader’s office as a peon. While studying Law, he married Kantaben and the two even had to live in a warehouse for quite some time.

He secured his first major gig while working for an international business firm (Fedco) that represented Hoechst in India during the 1950s. Little did he know that this would be just the beginning of his long and illustrious career in business and he would become one of the first-generation entrepreneurs of post-independence India!

Humble beginnings of Parekh Dyechem and Fevicol

When the company decided to go alone, after the death of the Managing Director of Hoechst, Balvantbhai along with his brother (Sushil Parekh), started a dye and chemical unit in the Jacob Circle under the title Parekh Dyechem Industries and bought more of the Fedco shares. At Parekh Dyechem, he started manufacturing pigment emulsions used for textile printing and acrylic-based dyes under the brand name Acrone. 

He observed that the Indian adhesives market was dominated by glues made from animal fat which were clumsy and cumbersome. He saw this as an opportunity and started manufacturing white glue ‘Fevicol’. Soon, the company was established under the brand name Pidilite Industries Private Limited in 1990. 

Fevi Fact 1: It is interesting to note that the name Fevicol was inspired by the German company that was making a similar product called ‘Movicol’ as ‘Col’ in German means something that bonds two things. 

Fevi Fact 2: The word ‘Pidi’ in Pidilite was taken from ‘Parekh Dichem.’

Pidilite, holding it all together

Adhesives were very popular in the early 1900s, and Pidilite cemented its place as a top adhesive brand in the 1970s. One of its labels, Fevicol, was recognized for being an excellent crafting glue since that time. This labeling system made it easier for people to understand which adhesives worked best for different projects or tasks. From fixing broken dishes and cracking heels to solving the issues associated with putting together furniture and building houses out of bricks - people knew they could trust Pidilite to provide quality adhesives given their resilient nature. Later, Pidilite branched out into various trustworthy brands like Fevikwik, Dr. Fixit, and M-Seal.

Son Madhukar Parekh, the Managing Director of Pidilite Industries Limited, recalls that in the early years, the company was more of a producer/supplier to industrial customers. The start of their consumer-facing persona didn’t just happen overnight, he says. A tentative move towards advertising its adhesives under the Fevicol brand occurred in the 1970s, around which some ads were shown on Doordarshan. In addition to that, the Fevicol logo with the 'Elephant Symbol' was created by Ogilvy & Mather (Advertising Agency) that became an instant hit among consumers. 

An unbreakable bond of Ogilvy & Pidilite since 1989  

The Fevicol-Ogilvy bond, which was forged in the 1980s, has maintained its reputation over the decades. The campaigns that Pidilite is known for came into shape in the late 1980s due to the contributions made by Piyush Pandey at Ogilvy and Mather. Pandey played an instrumental role in helping the company craft a more distinct and recognizable brand identity. Under the guidance of the advertising agency of Ogilvy, Pidilite donned a sharper image. 

Because of Fevicol's witty advertising and marketing campaigns, the brand happens to be the most discussed brand in India. For instance, to celebrate 60 years of Fevicol’s presence in India, Ogilvy came up with a campaign that highlighted the USP of the product that is, longevity that showed a sofa passing on from generation to generation. Going from unbreakable eggs to the famous fishing ad, Pidilite has created several iconic ads and tag lines which remain with consumers to date. 

Fevi Fact 3: Do you know that Fevicol made its television debut in 1997 with its first ad ‘Dum laga ke haisha’ featuring filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani? 

Fevicol invaded the world of television and found a place prominently on the sets of Bollywood as well. One such movie that used Fevicol in one of its songs, was Dabangg 2 (Chipkale saiyaan fevicol se) starring Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan. The Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi also mentioned Fevicol while stating the relationship between India and Japan, "Ye fevicol se bhi mazboot jod hai, tutega nahi ". He made a mention once again while holding a rally before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, "Corruption is the fevicol which binds the opposition in mahagathbandhan."

Winning mantra of Pidilite: Market your products as solutions to customers problems

At the time adhesives were sold unbranded, Pidilite decided to build its name around a single product to capitalize on the untapped market. Fevicol, India’s household name for glue, continues to be a best-seller even today. Even carpenters swear by Fevicol’s quality and reliability. With their factories placed strategically across India’s big cities, Pidilite has gained a significant market share in the adhesives space. Since the launch of Fevicol, Pidilite also launched two other successful products Feviquick and M-Seal which went on to establish around 70 percent market shares of their own, collectively making Pidilite the known and go-to brand for adhesives in the country.

In 1984, Pidilite launched its consumer product division. In 1989, the company entered the acrylic paints market under the title Fevicryl Acrylic Colours. Fevicol, the premier brand of the company, ranked among the Top 15 Indian brands by FE Brandwagon Year Book 1997. Beginning with Fevicol, now Balvant Parekh’s company manufactures more than two hundred products like M-Seal, Fevikwik, Fevistik, Dr. Fixit, and Hobby Ideas.

Fevi Fact 4: Pidilite was the first company to produce violet pigment in India in 1973.

Today, the company operates under two major business segments i.e. Branded Consumer & Bazaar (adhesives, sealants, art & craft materials and others, construction and paint chemicals which are widely used by carpenters, painters, plumbers, mechanics,
households, students, offices, etc.) and Business to Business (industrial adhesives, industrial resins, construction chemicals (projects), organic pigments, pigment preparations, etc. which cater to various industries like packaging, joineries, textiles, paints, printing inks, paper, leather, etc.). The ‘Others’ segment largely comprises of manufacture and sale of specialty acetates, raw materials, etc

The secret to the expansion of the Pidilite empire lies in the strategy of identifying the customers’ pain points and providing them with targeted solutions. This highly successful marketing strategy helped them boost their conversion rates by first building trust with the potential customers and then getting them to buy their products.

And the credit goes to the Fevicol man, Parekh!

At the start of the 21st century, Parekh chose to pass on his well-earned knowledge and experience within Pidilite Industries to someone else so that he could rest easy knowing his corporation will be in great hands. Parekh's son took charge as soon as he was ready and has been running the show for Pidilite diligently ever since. The family business is a strong achievement archetype for many other businesses and individuals today. 

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