How a team of entrepreneurs is breathing new life into a 97-year-old dairy icon

Brands come and go. Some are short-lived, riding a wave of early optimism before fading away. Others achieve longevity only to be usurped by agile new competitors.

Even iconic, legacy brands lose their way, left behind by new technologies and shifting consumer behavior. For those who fall, there is rarely a way back.

Yet occasionally, just occasionally, there is. And one such example is Keventers, a once-cherished dairy brand in India that is approaching its 100th anniversary.

Having established itself as a household name in the first half of the 20th century for its range of milkshakes and assortment of dairy products, Keventers all but folded, only to rise spectacularly from the ashes. It’s a story of nostalgia, family ties and a desire to make mouth-watering milkshakes.

The birth of a giant

The story began more than 130 years ago in 1889, when Edward Keventer, a Swedish farmer and technologist, was recruited by the British to modernize India’s dairy industry.

He did just that. But it wasn’t until 1925 that the Keventer brand took off as he expanded his dairy business across India.

After Keventer died in 1937, the business was acquired by Ramkrishna Dalmia, an industrialist who built on Keventer’s legacy.

As the years rolled by, Keventers became synonymous with milk, milkshakes and other dairy products, cementing its position as an iconic Indian enterprise.

Keventers became synonymous with milk, milkshakes and other dairy products, cementing its position as an iconic Indian enterprise.

But in the 1970s, the Indian government was turning the New Delhi neighborhood of Chanakyapuri – the beating heart of Keventers – into a diplomatic enclave, forcing the factory to close.

With a disillusioned Dalmia turning his focus elsewhere, the brand withered.

That was until 2014. Enter Agastya Dalmia, Ramkrishna’s grandson. Together with close friend Aman Arora, Dalmia sought to reintroduce the brand and its products to a new generation of Indian consumers.

To help realize their ambition of opening a network of outlets across India, the duo enlisted the expertise of well-known Indian entrepreneur Sohrab Sitaram.

Breathing new life

For Sitaram, reviving a dormant dairy brand was a marked departure from his previous projects, most notably a nightclub venture that introduced new music and a culture to the Indian clubbing scene in the early 2000s.

After initial misgivings – largely because of his lack of quick-service restaurant experience – Sitaram came on board, believing Keventers had potential and an opportunity to scale. He was right.

"The kids [Dalmia and Arora] were wonderful," he told the Backstage with Millionaires podcast. "And they had great vision."

Nevertheless, numerous issues were identified, including the price, packaging and the ill-conceived location of Keventers first store. Its flavors, too, were not hitting the mark.

Armed with a new strategic plan, the trio opened a flagship store in Select Citywalk, New Delhi, and set about rediscovering classic recipes from the Keventers factories of old.

The task was a tricky one given the passage of time. But a handwritten recipe was eventually unearthed, and the formulation that so captivated consumers in the 1900s was offered to a new generation to widespread acclaim.

Armed with a new strategic plan, the trio opened a flagship store in Select Citywalk, New Delhi, and set about rediscovering classic recipes from the Keventers factories of old.

Yet it is not solely the taste that has revived the Keventers brand. In a nod to the early days, it sells milkshakes in glass bottles, just as it did a century ago.

According to Sitaram, advisers frowned on the use of glass, arguing the cost of production was prohibitive and out of step with conventional wisdom. Undeterred, the trio pressed on, determined to stick with tradition while creating a sleek design with a modern, aspirational feel.

But what truly sets Keventers apart, according to Sitaram, are the images of regional landmarks that adorn the bottles.

The designs, he says, inject "soul" into the brand and are a celebration of each region’s culture.

"Life is to be celebrated and that is what our bottle symbolizes," he says. "And that is why people love them."

Expanding horizons

Initially, the company adopted a franchise model – a common way to expand, but rare in India – before the COVID-19 pandemic changed the financial picture for many franchisees.

"Within no time we had created more than 400 [franchise] outlets, but when COVID-19 came we realized a lot of people were not financially stable," Sohrab says.

"The sky is the limit. We want to turn this into a legendary brand." – Sohrab Sitaram

It sparked a strategic shift, and the trio began buying up the franchise stores. The majority are now company owned. Such has been its success that Keventers has suggested that up to 600 stores could be added over the next five years.

While broader international expansion has been mooted, India and the Middle East – where it already has a presence in Dubai and Abu Dhabi – will be the focus. New product lines are also being launched.

Unsurprisingly, the success of the new-look Keventers attracted interest from investors. In late 2022, Jubilant Bhartia Group, which operates Domino’s Pizza in India, acquired a minority stake in the business.

"They’re a great strategic investor," Sitaram says. "What we can do together… the sky is the limit. We want to turn this into a legendary brand."

Edward Keventer would no doubt approve.