oday, the name Vadilal conjures images of lip-smacking ice cream in a whole gamut of flavours. Vadilal spells quality, availability, variety and state-of-the-art machinery and equipment. It has, however, been a long journey for the group, which traces its origins way back to 1907, when a certain unassuming gentleman, by the name of Vadilal Gandhi, the great-grand father of Virendra R Gandhi, Rajesh R Gandhi and Devanshu L Gandhi, started a soda fountain. He passed on the business to his son, Ranchod Lal, who ran a one-man show, and, with a hand cranked machine, started a small retail outlet in 1926. Eventually, Ranchod Lal's sons, Ramchandra and Lakshman, inherited the business and they were instrumental in giving a new direction to the company. The duo imparted a new vision to the venture and infused a spirit of calculated risk-taking into the company. As a result, by the 1970s, the Vadilal Company had already evolved into a modern corporate entity. "In 1972-73, the company had 8-10 outlets in Ahmedabad. Gradually, we moved from the city to other parts of Gujarat. By 1985, the company moved towards neighbouring states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. But the expansion was undertaken very methodically and we spent five to six years in spreading our business and then consolidating it" says Shri Ramchandrabhai Gandhi (Chairman).