Meet Vittal Mallya, The Father Of Vijay Mallya, The King Of The Liquor Industry Who Headed Brands Like Cadbury & Kissan

How many of you know about Vittal Mallya? I guess only a few. He is the father of Vijay Mallya. Also, he was one of the most undisputed titans in the world of liquor and beverages. Mr. Mallya owns several famous enterprises like the United Breweries, McDowell, Cadbury, Kissan Jam, Carew, and many others.

He believes in having a monopoly over the market for some of the available products, like squash, jams, ketchup, lime juice, etc.

Vittal Mallya played a very significant role in developing the United Breweries Group, which has now become one of the largest conglomerates in India. It has interests in brewing, distilling, and more of the breweries and beverages.

Who was Vittal Mallya?

Vittal Mallya was born on February 8, 1924, and died on October 13, 1983. He was an Indian entrepreneur. Also, he was one of the most prominent figures in the liquor industry in India. He was the father of Vijay Mallya, a prominent businessman and former Member of Parliament in India.

Mr. Mallya played a very significant role in developing the United Breweries Group in India. He has a very keen eye for making investments and acquiring companies. This talent of his gave rise to his successful career, leading him to have many famous companies under his name. He has taken his mere 250 crore business empire from the ground to unparalleled heights.

He has acquired more than 30 companies under his name. As of 1981, he had 10 breweries, 14 distilleries, processed food enterprises, investment firms, packaging units, drug manufacturers, soft drink bottling plants, and even styrene companies. This shows how he does business in almost every field of our lives.

Vittal Mallya early life

Born in 1924, he was the third child in the family. He belongs to the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins of the Madhava tradition. His family is based in Mangalore but hails from the town of Bantwal.

As the son of the Army Doctor, he mostly gets transferred from one place to another. This made him explore the various cultures and traditions all over the country.

Mr. Mallya has always been interested in studying and doing business. He has always been a very bright student, both in his studies and in extracurricular activities. His only desire was to have normal schooling and education, which he never had due to his father’s job. Still, he gets to study what he wants and do what he wants.

Family background

Vittal Mallya was the son of an Army doctor named Bantwal Ganapathi Mallya and Devi Mallya, a housewife. He has two elder siblings, whose information is unknown.

He got married three times. The first wife was named Lalitha Ramaiah. With her, he had a son named Vijay Mallya. After her, he married or had a relationship with the mother of two girls. Her name and information are unknown. She was a widowed or divorced woman. With her, he had no children.

At last, he married Kailash Advani, commonly known as Ritu Mallya. Vittal Mallya wife is a Sindhi woman who runs a garment business. She is also a lawyer by profession. With her, he also had no children.

He only had one child with his first wife. His son’s name was Vijay Mallya. At present, Vijay Mallya is a very prominent personality in India. He is quite famous for many good and bad things.

Vittal Mallya education

Mr. Vittal Mallya was always a very bright student. This helped him get admission into The Doon School, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Not anyone can get admission to this school; it is very difficult to get admission. He also decided to be admitted to this school because, at that time, his father was posted in Dehradun.

After completing his schooling, he decided to be admitted to the Presidency College, Kolkata. It was also because, at that time, his father was posted there. He graduated from this college. During his college years, he started investing in shares. It was because he was always interested in doing business.

After completing his graduation, his father sent him on a grand tour to travel abroad. It was because his father wanted him to learn about England and Europe. Also, he wanted Vittal to have exposure to the world outside of India. During these two years, he also learned Spanish.

Vijay Mallya father career and empire

Mr. Mallya started his career during his schooling years by acquiring the shares of different companies. He then started acquiring shares of United Breweries Limited. In 1947, he was elected as the first Indian director of United Breweries Limited. After some years, he replaced its chairman, R.G.N. Price.

After this, he started acquiring small breweries and beverage brands. First, he acquires McDowell, then some small distilleries in India. He then acquired Carew & Company Limited, Phipson & Company Limited, and Herbertsons Limited.

This made him take over the liquor market in India. After this, he started acquiring food products. Because he wanted to create a monopoly of brands of food products. He takes over Kissan’s product. Then again, he acquires Dippy’s product.

After all this, he set up the liquor plant in Pondicherry. He then gets two acres of land from the Kashmir government for setting up the nursery. He then gave hop seeds to farmers and bought all their produce. This was the most needed ingredient for making beer.

He also acquired British Paints and became the chairman of Cadbury India. He then acquired the opportunity to become the chairman of the Indian Sewing Machine Company and Malayalam Plantations. After that, he became the director of Bush Boake Allen. Other than this, he also took over Hindustan Polymers and Mysore Electro-Chemical Works.

As of 1981, he had 10 breweries, 14 distilleries, processed food enterprises, investment firms, packaging units, drug manufacturers, soft drink bottling plants, and even styrene companies. This shows how he does business in almost every field of our lives.

Mr. Vittal Mallya was a man of good insight and had the potential to create gold from coal. But his son, Vijay Mallya, is the opposite of his personality. His ultra-expensive lifestyle earned him the title of ‘the king of good times’. Mr. Vittal’s legacy is going to live on with the help of the principles he upheld to make these businesses.