Sri Murugan Ghee Stores is a name popular with a lot of homes in the city. One of the oldest shops, it was started in the 1950s by AV Shanmugam, who moved to Hyderabad from Tamil Nadu when he was just 17.
He began with buffalo ghee sourced from Chennai, then Madras, and seven decades later, the shop is known as a haven for healthy dairy products, standing tall in the narrow lanes of Badi Chowdi. The antique building went through a major renovation recently and is looking plush now.
Such is its loyal customer base and trust in its quality that most people, especially some really old folks, don’t mind travelling long distances to purchase products from Murugan’s. It all started when Shanmugam felt the need for fresh and pure ghee.
“My father, as a teenager, used to cycle down to the railway station every morning to get fresh milk that arrived from Tamil Nadu and prepare ghee on his own at the shop,” says S Balaji, the second-generation owner of Sri Murugan Ghee Stores. “The struggle that my dad put into making this business a success can never be measured,” he adds.
Those days, there were only a few stores in the city. As popularity and sales grew, Shanmugam set up a factory at Nacharam, where the production process is said to meet the highest standards in food production including Agmark Verifications and ISO 22000 Certifications of excellence.
Gradually, apart from ghee (cow and buffalo), a wider range of products including butter, paneer, cream, khova and curd were introduced with sweets and dry fruits added recently. Currently, the shop has two dedicated outlets at Badi Chowdi and Ashok Nagar. The footfall at each branch is said to cross 1,000 every day. They also supply to many restaurants in town.
Shanmugam’s three sons, Jawahar Raj, Balaji and Venkatanand, currently run the business. Balaji says that they never compromise on quality and all the products are without preservatives or artificial colouring. The brothers source butter from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
“Our ghee will be fresh for nine months. The main aim is to progress with an enhanced drive, focusing on our history of unmatchable product quality,” he adds.
Murugan’s takes online orders through their website (www.srimuruganghee.com) and supplies across India.
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