From a Small Village in Tamil Nadu
Balasubramaniam was born in Chinna Karattupatty, a small village near Palani in Tamil Nadu. He was one of six children.
During his childhood, the village had limited infrastructure, including poor transport, electricity and water facilities. Educational opportunities were also limited, with the nearest school beyond Class 5 located several kilometres away.
His family lived a simple life. His father travelled between villages on a bicycle, buying and selling pulses and other agricultural products. He also cultivated a small piece of land to contribute to the family’s income.
At just 13 years old, Balasubramaniam left school and moved to Bengaluru, where he began working in a relative’s butter business.
Although he did not pursue higher formal education, this experience gave him something extremely valuable—practical knowledge of the dairy and butter trade.
From a Young Worker to an Entrepreneur
Balasubramaniam spent approximately 14 years working in the butter business. During this time, he learned about customers, suppliers, sales and the importance of building trust in business.
In 1984, when he was 28, he got married. Just six months later, he made the bold decision to start his own business.
At the time, he had savings of approximately ₹6,000.
He paid ₹3,000 as an advance for a small rented room, leaving him with only ₹3,000. Despite having limited capital, he decided to move forward.
To arrange working capital, he organised a chit fund and eventually used around ₹50,000 to purchase his first significant stock of butter.
The early operation was tiny. He sold roughly 75 kg of butter per month, personally delivering the products to customers throughout Bengaluru.
Those door-to-door sales gave him a close understanding of customer preferences and helped him learn how to build a business from the ground up.
The Turning Point: From Butter to Ghee
One of the most important decisions in Balasubramaniam’s journey was moving beyond simply trading butter.
He began processing butter into ghee and selling it to hotels, sweet shops and households.
This decision transformed his role from a trader into a food-product entrepreneur.
Ghee also offered an opportunity to create a recognizable packaged brand. Instead of simply buying and selling a commodity, he could focus on product quality, packaging, branding and distribution.
Gradually, the small trading operation developed into a manufacturing and distribution business, laying the groundwork for GRB Dairy Foods.
The Beginning of GRB Dairy Foods
GRB established its first factory in Bengaluru in 1991. The company later expanded its manufacturing operations to places including Dindigul and Hosur.
As the company grew, its product portfolio expanded well beyond ghee and dairy products.
GRB eventually entered categories such as:
- Traditional sweets
- Snacks
- Spice mixes
- Instant mixes
- Dairy products
- Ghee
The company built its business around products that were already familiar to Indian consumers, while making them more convenient and widely available.
The Power of Distribution
A strong distribution network became an important part of GRB’s expansion.
Rather than depending entirely on large wholesale orders, the company developed a retail-oriented distribution system. Sales teams and distributors maintained relationships with retailers and helped ensure that GRB products were available in different markets.
This strategy enabled the company to gradually move beyond its original market and establish a presence across different parts of India.
Over time, GRB products also entered international markets, allowing the brand to reach Indian consumers abroad.
Growing Into a ₹1,000-Crore Business
The scale of GRB Dairy Foods today is vastly different from the small business Balasubramaniam started decades ago.
According to figures cited by Moneycontrol, the company recorded approximately ₹1,084.47 crore in revenue in FY2025, compared with around ₹190.62 crore in FY2014. Its reported net profit in FY2025 was approximately ₹75.45 crore.
GRB crossed the ₹1,000-crore revenue mark in FY2024, when its reported revenue was around ₹1,011 crore.
In March 2026, YourStory reported that the company was targeting annual revenue of approximately ₹1,400 crore. Ghee remained one of the company’s key business categories and contributed a significant portion of its revenue.
The figures demonstrate the extraordinary growth from a small rented room and limited initial resources into a major food business.
One distinctive feature of Balasubramaniam’s journey is that GRB grew without relying on outside investors.
The company expanded gradually through its operations, profits and internally generated resources.
For someone who began with limited savings and no formal business education, building a large food company through this approach is a significant achievement.
His journey shows that entrepreneurship does not necessarily require a huge initial investment, prestigious qualifications or a large team.
Sometimes, it can begin with practical knowledge, a strong understanding of customers and the courage to take the first step.
G.R. Balasubramaniam's Perspective on Hard Work
Balasubramaniam’s approach to hardship is another notable part of his story.
Rather than describing his entrepreneurial journey simply as a story of suffering, he has expressed the view that the difficulties of building a business should be understood in the context of everyday life and responsibility.
For him, running and growing a company involved challenges, but it was also part of the journey.
This mindset reflects a broader philosophy of staying grounded, working consistently and focusing on opportunities rather than constantly dwelling on difficulties.
From Chinna Karattupatty to Global Markets
G. R. Balasubramaniam’s journey from Chinna Karattupatty near Palani to the growth of GRB Dairy Foods is an inspiring entrepreneurial story.
He left school at 13, spent years learning the dairy trade, saved what he could, took a calculated risk after marriage and started a business with very limited resources.
He then used his knowledge of butter to identify a bigger opportunity in ghee and packaged Indian foods.
Over the years, GRB Dairy Foods developed into a major food company with a broad product portfolio, a strong distribution network and an international presence.
The Key Lesson
Balasubramaniam’s story shows that formal education is not the only path to entrepreneurial success.
Practical experience, understanding customers, discipline, patience and the willingness to take calculated risks can also play a powerful role.
From a small rented room to a company targeting ₹1,400 crore in annual revenue, his journey demonstrates how a business can grow steadily when its founder understands the product, listens to customers and thinks long term.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is G R Balasubramaniam?
G R Balasubramaniam is an Indian entrepreneur and the founder of GRB Dairy Foods, a company known for ghee, sweets, snacks, spice mixes and other food products.
2. Where did G R Balasubramaniam grow up?
He grew up in Chinna Karattupatty, a small village near Palani in Tamil Nadu.
3. When did G R Balasubramaniam leave school?
He left school at the age of 13 and moved to Bengaluru to work in the butter trade.
4. When did G R Balasubramaniam start his own business
He started his own business in 1984, after spending around 14 years gaining experience in the butter trade.
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