Companies

Myadam Kishan Rao, the man who made vermicelli popular, is no more

V Rishi Kumar Hyderabad | Updated on January 13, 2021 Published on January 13, 2021

V Rishi Kumar

Myadam Kishan Rao, founder of Bambino Agro Food Industries Limited, and known for the popular Bambino vermicelli, Ampro and Ganta brands, passed away on January 12 aged 85.

The listed company, in a regulatory filing, announced the passing away of Rao, the Chairman and Managing Director of the company. He was the founder-promoter of the company, who spearheaded and pioneered the vermicelli industry in India.

Kishan Rao, who was earlier engaged in his successful business of cheroots and later Ampro biscuits, made it big in the food sector with Bambino Agro.

According to sources, the idea of vermicelli struck him after a visit to a trade fair in Germany, where he saw a pilot plant and later decided to set up a vermicelli plant in India.

The company’s Bambino semia (vermicelli) upma and payasam (semia kheer) are the two most popular dishes in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and across several markets in the country.

The company mainly operates in the packaged food segment and processed foods, including macaroni, spaghetti, pasta foods, snacks, namkeens, spices, instant food and ready-to-cookitems. He started his first plant in Bibinagar, near Hyderabad, which continues to be the largest plant. In addition, it later established plants in Delhi, Indore, Gurgaon, Nagpur and Tirupati.

Kishan Rao was focussed on developing the vermicelli industry and, thereby, the per capita consumption of vermicelli in India. In his earlier interactions with the media, he had always expressed his keenness to increase the per capita consumption in the country.

Export markets

Apart from being a major player in vermicelli, Bambino exports to several markets, including the US, the UAE, Australia, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, and Africa.

M Kishan Rao and associates had also set up a gas-based Spectrum Power Plant in Andhra Pradesh, which was later taken over by institutions.

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Published on January 13, 2021
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