The Untold Story of How a Forgotten Dairy Brand Was Resurrected from Connaught Place to Global Fame
In the heart of Delhi, where colonial architecture merges with modern chaos, stands Connaught Placa Keventers. location as iconic as the brands it has birthed. Among its lesser-known treasures was a small dairy store that became a quiet legend. That store bore the name Keventers.
The Colonial Beginning: A Danish Man, a Dairy Dream (1925)
The year was 1925. Edward Keventer, a Danish dairy specialist, established a dairy plant in Aligarh and expanded operations to Delhi, Calcutta, and Darjeeling.It was not just a dairy brand; it was a symbol of refined, westernised living.
The Delhi plant at Chanakyapuri was the epicenter. It was a place where milk wasn’t just processed—it was curated.
The Fall: A Legacy Silenced (1970s)
By the 1970s, the Delhi government acquired the Chanakyapuri plant for diplomatic redevelopment. Keventers had lost its soul.
Generations of Delhiites grew up sipping those thick, frothy Keventers milkshakes served in tall glasses, unknowing that the brand had died long ago. What lived on in CP wasn’t just a product. It was a cultural artifact.
Rebirth Attempts and a Humble Beginning (2014)
Cut to 2014. A young man named Agastya Dalmia, heir to the Keventers legacy, was disheartened by how the brand had become an afterthought. With co-founder Aman Arora, he attempted a revival. Their first try? A modest outlet in Delhi’s Pitampura.
Plastic cups replaced glass bottles. Branding was all over the place. The experience felt like a cheap replica, not a revival.
They regrouped, refined the product, and in 2015, opened a fresh, reimagined version in Select CityWalk, Saket. The game changer? The signature vintage glass bottle and the promise of nostalgia blended with indulgence.
Connaught Place: Where Nostalgia Never Left
It was there that Delhi’s older generation had found their frothy fix. And it was this legacy that gave the new Keventers its authenticity.
The CP story wasn’t just geographical. It was emotional geography. It anchored the new brand in public memory. CP had become Keventers’ invisible flagship.
The Business of Bottles and Branding
The new Keventers was sleek. The bottles were retro yet Instagrammable. The menu ranged from classic flavors like vanilla and butterscotch to youth-driven innovations like Oreo crumble and Bubblegum Blast.
It wasn’t just about taste anymore. It was about identity.
- Glass Bottles: Turned into collectibles. Each city got its own limited-edition artwork.
- Franchise Model: Exploded growth from 1 to 250+ outlets across India, UAE, Kenya, and Nepal.
- Brand Collaborations: With food festivals, pop-up events, and even music gigs to build a lifestyle brand.
What Starbucks did for coffee, Keventers aimed to do for milkshakes.
Marketing the Memory: The Story That Sold
Instagram campaigns showed old Keventers advertisements juxtaposed with new bottles. Suddenly, a heritage brand was cool again.
Global Expansion and Local Challenges
By 2020, Keventers was flying high. Revenue crossed ₹90 crore, and the franchise model was going strong. New verticals like ice cream, hot chocolate, and FMCG beverages began testing.
- Quality Control Issues: A 2019 Delhi High Court hearing tested random samples from 12 outlets and declared the milkshakes “not fit for consumption.” It sparked introspection.
- Franchise Monitoring: Rapid expansion led to uneven service, with some outlets compromising on quality.
- Brand Dilution: Smaller competitors like Frozen Bottle and Drunken Monkey began mimicking the model.
Keventers responded by buying back underperforming franchises and consolidating control.
COVID & the Cloud Kitchen Reset
The pandemic hit physical stores hard. kitchens and online delivery. The very thing that made its bottles popular on Instagram became its saving grace.
From CP nostalgia to international nostalgia, Keventers is no longer just a dairy comeback. It’s a lifestyle brand. The milkshake is just the medium.
Their outlets are experiential. Their bottles are reusable. Their merchandise includes everything from bottle keychains to tote bags. They are as present in the hearts of 40-year-olds reminiscing about 1970s Delhi as they are in the hands of 18-year-olds chasing their next reel.
Why Connaught Place Will Always Matter
In brand strategy, this is called invisible equity. And Keventers built an empire on it.
Final Scoop: Bottled Nostalgia, Served Cold
Where most legacy brands fade into obscurity, Keventers was lucky. It had Connaught Place. It had memory. And it had heirs who didn’t just see a business opportunity—they saw a chance to rewrite a forgotten chapter in India’s consumer history.
And that’s why, every time someone clutches that glass bottle and takes a sip, they’re not just enjoying a milkshake. They’re reliving an emotion—one that was born in British India, preserved in Connaught Place, and reborn in the hearts of a new India.
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Author: Team BTP
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