When we remember our childhood, what comes to our mind? Memories? We remind things that we used to have but we don’t have now. At the same moment, we enjoy the pleasure of still having a few things that we had back then.
We’ve grown up with some brands, products, dishes and many other things all these years. They became so important part of our life, their name started feeling like very personal.
It goes without saying that we didn’t think those brands or products might actually not be Indian but foreign. But the truth is bit painful and they indeed were not Indian.
Here’s the moment to face the truth and know that all those years when you thought the brands you were using were not domestic but foreign. But never mind, as they are still “Pure Love” and you can still enjoy them as you did earlier. Have a look-
1. Vespa Scooter:
We all have taken a ride on dad’s scooter in childhood and it used to have a label “Vespa” on it. We used to think Vespa must be a local brand, but No! It belongs to Piaggio which is an Italian company.
Piaggio gave the first license to manufacture scooters in India to Bajaj Auto in the 1960s. In 1971, the collaboration ended when Piaggio’s license was not renewed as a part of Indira Gandhi’s privatization programs. Bajaj then continued to produce scooters based on the Vespa design, namely the Chetak.
2. BSA Cycles:
BSA’s full name is Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited which itself clearly says that the company belongs to Birmingham, England.
3. Boost:
“Boost is the secret of my energy.” Remember Sachin Tendulkar using those words in the famous advertisement of Boost? The fact that “Indian” cricket team’s legendary player Sachin is endorsing it made us think that the brand would be Indian too. But it was established by UK’s Simon Gray in 2001 and is now among the most popular energy drinks brand there.
4. Lifebuoy:
We’ve a lot of options now, but Lifebuoy was the household name back in 90’s. There was a certain emotion attached with the soap brand which was introduced by Lever Brothers in 1895 in England.
5. Nestle:
With products like Maggi, KitKat, Nescafe deep rooted in our daily routine, nobody could’ve ever questioned the origin of this company. But, it’s not Indian for sure. Nestle belongs to Switzerland.
6. Annapurna:
The name is inspired from one of the Hindu goddesses, so it goes without saying that the company will be Indian. But, Annapurna and its products belong to Hindustan Unilever Ltd which is again a part of Dutch-British company Lever Industries.
7. Maltova Choco Caramel Drink:
Another energy drink brand that we supposed to be Indian but belongs to UK based pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline(GSK).
8. Pepsodent:
A toothpaste brand we thought was Indian but is actually American.
9. Tide Detergent:
The famous detergent powder used in India, Tide Detergent is manufactured by an American company, Procter & Gamble.
10. Alibaba.com
The name of the e-commerce website sounds like Indian but it’s based in Hangzhou, China.
Do you have some more brands to share with us?