Bikaji Foods Founder Shiv Ratan Agarwal Dies at 75

Shiv Ratan Agarwal, the founder and chairman of Bikaji Foods International, a leading Indian packaged snacks company, died on April 23, 2026, at the age of 75 in Chennai. The entrepreneur, who built the brand from a regional traditional sweets and namkeen business into a national powerhouse, suffered a heart attack and was rushed to a private hospital, where he could not be revived.

Agarwal had been staying in Chennai to support his wife, who had recently undergone heart bypass surgery and was advised to rest. The company confirmed his passing in a regulatory filing to stock exchanges that day, noting that he would no longer be part of the promoter group. The announcement did not initially specify the cause of death, but subsequent reports clarified the circumstances of the sudden cardiac event.

Under Agarwal's leadership since founding Bikaji in 1993, the company expanded from Bikaner-based operations into a major player in ethnic snacks, bhujia, namkeen, and sweets. He combined authentic regional flavors with modern packaging and distribution, growing the business across India and into international markets. Bikaji's market capitalization exceeded 19,000 crore rupees as of...