Dehradun's noted brand Anandam completed 120 years recently. To mark the occasion, the owner of the outlet Sumit Khandelwal came up with a visual delight in the form of a video depicting the enriching tale behind the empire built over the years by the generations of the Gupta family. He also shared his views about the brand.
Q.) Can you give us an insight into the 120 years of Anandam?
A.) The legacy of Anandam started with my great-grandfather Gadarmal Ganeshi Lal who made his name, followed by my grandfather Lala Prahlad Swaroop Gupta, known by the name of Prahlad Rewariwala, who was famous for making delicious Rewaris. Today, my father, Anand Swaroop Gupta, who is 68 years old, works like an 18-year-old kid and is one of the biggest sources of inspiration.
Q.) Tell us about your journey of emerging with Anandam, a popular brand of Dehradun today?
A.) I joined my family business after finishing my schooling. During my learning phase, I realised that our work had been going on for ages without any innovation. That's how I had thought of opening an outlet one day which could boast of great ambiance and cleanliness where one walks in and gets to eat delectable sweets along with a full-fledged cuisine, ultimately finding happiness. That's how we gave shape to Anandam in 2009.
Q.) How did you come with the name 'Anandam'?
A.) The name 'Anandam' is comprised of two words - Anand and am. Anand is my father's name, and I always wanted to come up with a brand name that could honour the hard work done by him in all these years. Whereas Anandam collectively means happiness.
Q.) Like any business, you might’ve come across numerous struggles? Can you name some and what made you continue on the path of success?
A.) Ups and downs are part of life. What kept me going was always knowing what my aim was never tending to distract from it. There were numerous struggles but I took them as a challenge and overcame them. One of the biggest struggles that I faced during the journey was the transition of Gupta Sweets to Anandam. Many people, including my family members, had demurred my decision of changing the brand name and starting from scratch. This was the reason I worked very hard as I had to prove everybody wrong by establishing Anandam as the premier outlet of Dehradun.
Q.) There's a famous saying which goes, "halwai kabhi apni dukaan ki mithai nahi khata". Do you follow this saying and refrain from eating your products?
A.) Of course not! Mai wo halwai hun jo apni dukaan ki mithai zaroor khata hai. You see, by eating sweets from my brand I tend to do timely quality checks, ensuring the good quality of my products. If I don't eat my products, how would someone expect me to deliver quality to my customers?
Q.) Do you have an aim to achieve for Anandam in the years to come?
A.) I feel that all that we've achieved to date is just a starting. I aim at achieving a level for Anandam where if a person carrying a bag of Anandam is travelling anywhere in India via flight, train, or bus, then mere looking at Anandam's name, people get to know that the person is coming from Dehradun.
