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RoohAfza disappeared from Indian Markets thanks to Family Rivalry
saurav1bhagat@gmail.com | Noida | Published on: May-08-2019 06:47 AM
It is not available on grocery delivery mobile app like Grofers, BigBasket, Milkbasket, Flipkart. At all these places it is showing off of stock.
India's Hamdard Laboratories says that the lack of raw material is behind the shortfall.
Reports claim that a dispute among the owners is the reason for the shortage.
Image courtesy: outlookindia.com
In summer, the dark pink rose-flavored refreshing drink called Rooh Afza is a staple in every Desi household.
However, this nostalgia-tinged beverage launched in the early 1900s by Hamdard Laboratories as a medicinal drink has disappeared from the market.
The drink is missing from the major mega mart such as Big Bazaar, Peacock, Sponsors, etc. Apart from, these stores, it is not available online too.
On Amazon, however, Rooh Afza is available at Rs 135, but for that, you have to pay 80 rupees as an additional delivery charge. It is not available on grocery delivery mobile app like Grofers, BigBasket, Milkbasket, Flipkart. At all these places it is showing off of stock.
Meanwhile, viral messages about Rooh Afza are doing rounds on social media. One Kapil with verified Twitter account wrote that "Roohafza sharbat disappeared from Market. Chances are you will not get this refreshing drink this year."
"We are facing supply constraints of certain herbal ingredients. We hope to fix the demand-supply gap within a week," said Mansoor Ali, chief sales and marketing officer at Hamdard.
Officially, India's Hamdard Laboratories says that the lack of raw material is behind the shortfall. The report; however, citing the sources, has claimed that the dispute among the owners was the reason for the shortage of the refreshing drink.
The Rs 400-crore brand sees 25% spurt in sales in summer months, Ali said. There is speculation that a rift has broken out between Abdul Majeed, great-grandson of Hamdard founder Hakeem Hafiz Abdul Majeed, and Abdul Majeed's cousin Hammad Ahmed, over control of the company.
Image courtesy: Pinterest.com
What the dispute is about
The dispute is over the fact of who takes the chair of Chief Mutawalli (equivalent to CEO) of Hamdard, which is currently held by Abdul Majeed, the great-grandson of Hakeem Hafiz Abdul Majeed, the well known Unani medicine practitioner who founded the company in old Delhi over a century ago. The company also owns traditional medicine brands such as Safi, Cinkara, Masturin and Joshina.
Abdul Majeed's cousin Hammad Ahmed has been purposely trying to take over the company, claiming rightful inheritance to the post. He even went to court for it, and the legal battle put a stop to the production of RoohAfza furthermore, sources said.
No comment on why production stopped
RoohAfza's all social media accounts have been dormant since early September 2018. Only coming out of the deep on Facebook recently to say that they're "overwhelmed by the love" shown by their patrons, hinting the sherbet will be back in the market very soon.
The company Hamdard is registered as an irrevocable Islamic trust, known as a waqf, and under its rules, it transfers 85 percent of its profits to the Hamdard National Foundation, an educational charity. The foundation even runs, among other institutions, the Jamia Hamdard in Delhi. The deemed University also has the distinction of running the one and only private medical college in Delhi, and this valued institution, sources say, is one of the major reasons for the family dispute over time.
The battle further went straight up to the Supreme Court, which in its judgment on 3 April, refused to give interim directorship to Ahmed.
Let's hope the dispute gets over and there is an ample supply of the refreshing drink in the market soon.
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