44 l ENTREPRENEUR l JULY 2019
T
he imposing head office of GD Foods, the
manufacturing company behind brand
Tops, is all too visible as one negotiates
the serpentine bylanes of West Delhi. Its
fascinating story, too, has taken many
twists and turns.
The memories of Tops go back to
the era when the Indian market was
just picking up newer cuisines like the
Chinese. Interestingly, it is the same
year, 1984, when Nestle launched Maggi
and Tops launched its first ever product- Tops instant noodles. That Tops stood
out against a multinational competitor is
a feather in its cap.
The 80s era was the start of food
processing in earnest in India where
industrialists combined the two major
pillars of the economy, i.e., agriculture
and industry. It was a heady mix.
B.M. Seth, father of Nitin Seth, the
current vice chairman, set up GD Foods
in fond memory of his father, Govardhan
Das, who always dreamt of setting up
a major business touching the lives of
many families across the country, one
that is a huge benefit to the economy.
From its early years, the brand has been
providing livelihood to many women. In
Rajasthan alone it employs 400 women.
The brand Tops has done well over
the years. It has added close to 200 stock
keeping units or SKUs under its product
portfolio ranging from jams, ketchups,
pickles and cookies.
The brand today caters to more than
1.5 lakh retail touch points. In fact, 90
THE OTHER SIDE
OF NITIN SETH
Bookworm
His cabin has a library
stacked with books
authored by Robin
Sharma, Walter
Issacson, and others.
The Pen Addict
He has a collection
of lovely pens
accumulated over the
years. Mont Blanc is
favourite.
Prayers First
Seth is deeply
religious. He has
started following
Buddhism of late.