Quality is key to business success: Noon

Curry King Sir Gulam Noon, who introduced frozen Asian food to the British retailers, was born on 24 January 1936 in Bombay (now Mumbai).  He established Noon Products in 1988, which has four large food processing plants in West London where over half a million tons of chilled and frozen food are prepared each month. He is also chairman of Bombay Halwa Limited, a firm known for producing and marketing mouth watering sweets, snacks, sauces, chutneys and finger foods. He was awarded MBE in 1996 and received a knighthood in 2002. He established a charity The Noon Foundation in 1995, a funding charity which is serving in the fields of education, health and welfare.  The Asians interviewed him recently to learn about his successful life and career.

The Asian: How did you get into to the sweet business?
Sir Noon: My father’s elder brother set up a small sweet shop in his name ‘Kamaruddin Ebrahimji’ in Bombay’s Crawford Market in 1889 as a family business. I used to work there after school. After the deaths of my father Kadeerbhai and his brother, I had to start managing the business, working with my cousin while I was just 17 years old. I changed its name to ‘Royal Sweets’. My mother originated from Iranian city of Shiraz and when she was just 9 years old she came to India to live permanently. We are three brothers and three sisters. My younger brother Akbar works with me here and he has played an important role in the success of my business. My daughters Zeenat and Zarmin are also involved in the business.

The Asian: How was your childhood?
Sir Noon: It was lovely, full of fun. We were from a humble background but never felt we lacked anything. We were fond of playing cricket. Our school opening time was 11 am but to play cricket we used to leave home at 8 am, making our mother believe that school started that early. However, later when we grew up we told her the truth. Our parents especially our mother had a great influence on us. She always advised us to work hard with honesty and determination. We followed her advice and remained resolute in any situation.

The Asian: When did you come to the UK?
Sir Noon: In 1966 with the consent of my mother to spend holidays in Britain, I came here in July with only a few pounds in my pocket. I met our former neighbour Tahirbhai Suterwalla and discussed with him the prospects of establishing  the ‘Royal Sweets’ business here in Britain but owing to risk factor it was agreed that initially I would export sweets from India. Unfortunately, Tahir Bhai died when I came here again. However, his children honoured their father’s promise and agreed to partnership with me and thus ‘Bombay Halwa Limited’ came into being. Companies House in fact didn’t grant us registration of the company title of ‘Royal Sweets’. Therefore we had to register the Company in the name of ‘Bomay Halwa Limited’ and kept ‘Royal Sweets’ as a brand name.  On 9 February 1974, we opened our first shop in Southall and within a year we had nine outlets of ‘Royal Sweets’ in London which has grown now to almost 40 outlets. Later, I started Noon Aviation.

The Asian: How did you come by the idea of introducing curry in the UK?
Sir Noon:  I could see Indian food becoming popular after many Indian restaurants were opened and I felt someday and time, not very far Indian food would land on the shelves of supermarkets with vengeance and it did. That was the opportunity I was waiting for.  Timing is everything in life and particularly in business.  It was the right time for me.

The Asian: Tell us about Noon Products?
Sir Noon: We employed eleven people and started Noon Products and made headways with hard work and determination. It has an annual turnover of around £170m. Noon Products has prestigious customers like Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrison, Marks and Spenser, Lidl and many other supermarkets including Europe.  We import our raw materials from all over the world.

The Asian: As a businessman what difference do you observe in business climates of India and Britain?
Sir Noon: There is a huge difference in business mentality, culture and techniques between the two countries. Here we work with large firms who want quality and delivery according to their specifications.  India has shown lots of progress in recent years and they are now competing in the international market. India now has foreign reserves of over $ 300 to 400 billion. I visit India frequently and I am quite impressed with her economic progress.

The Asian: How is your sweet business in Mumbai?
Sir Noon: It’s going excellent. We have three outlets there. ‘Royal Sweets’ has become a household name in Mumbai. One of the shops is more than a century old but yet progressing in full swing.

The Asian: Would you be as successful as you are here had you been doing business in India?
Sir Noon: Honestly speaking I am completely satisfied living and doing business here. India lives in my heart. What a lucky person I am that I have two mothers in the form of Great Britain and India.

The Asian: Did you face difficulties while building up your business here?
Sir Noon: I didn’t face any racial discrimination but taking Noon Products to the shelves of super stores was an uphill task. But, I didn’t lose heart. I have never faced any (discriminatory) situations and I would advise the youths to move forward with courage and patience even if they are subjected to discrimination on the basis of the colour of their skin. I did face business difficulties in 1994 when  all of the Noon Products business was gutted in fire and many people thought that I would either become bankrupt or have to go back to India. But my business of Bombay Halwa Ltd was doing well at that time and it helped me to rebuild Noon Products.

The Asian: Are you satisfied with the progress of British Asians?
Sir Noon: Of course, I am more than satisfied. Now you see many Asians in government offices and are head of some of the leading banks and financial institutions.  Our second generation has done very well in education and Asians are now in both houses of the parliament. I believe that there is no difficulty for one who works hard here while on the other hand it is very difficult to make a mark without hard work.

The Asian: You are a busy person, how do you manage to spend time with family?
Sir Noon: (Laughingly) my family is so busy that it doesn’t have time for me. My wife Mohini is a writer and filmmaker. We spend evenings and weekends together. My daughters, Zeenat and Zarmin and my Granddaughter Natania are busy in their own work and lives.

The Asian: Did the current economic crisis have any bearing on your business?
Sir Noon: Certainly, the crisis has affected my business as well and I have suffered losses but not in my food business. I think one shouldn’t be discouraged, tough time does not last long but tough people do.

The Asian: Do you think that extremism is on the rise among British Muslim youth?
Sir Noon: I think that’s true that extremism is increasing. Our main problem is that our imported Imams aren’t providing proper guidance to people. They don’t know the language and culture. Islam teaches peace and affection, its God is Rabulaalmeen (God of all the worlds) rather than Rabulmuslimeen (God of Muslims).

The Asian: What was your focus while bringing up your daughters?
Sir Noon: I taught them fairness and decency and I am glad they follow it in letter and spirit.

The Asian: What is your view about freedom of speech?
Sir Noon: I believe in it but sometimes the media ruins people’s lives in the name of freedom of speech.

The Asian: What does the Noon foundation do?
Sir Noon: I formed the foundation in 1995. The foundation donates funds to Tower Hamlets College, Southall Adults Centre, The Princes’ Trust, Gujarat Earthquake Appeal, British Library and Care International UIK. It also helps Birbeck University, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies at Oxford University, Breast Cancer and McMillan Cancer Support in their projects. So far, the charity has disbursed over £3m. Besides, a 100-bed Noon hospital has also been set up in Rajasthan, India which I have personally funded from my own wealth.

The Asian: You were accused of ‘cash for honour’, how much truth is in it?
Sir Noon: I gave money rather than taking it from someone. In the MPs expense scandal the politicians have siphoned away tax payers’ money. Everybody has a right to support the party of their liking. I have never ever taken not even a favour from anyone and not repay.  I paid my full taxes timely. Since last two years I am domicile in the UK for tax purposes.

The Asian: How do you see the cuts Tories have announced in their emergency budget?
Sir Noon: See, Labour Party ruled the country for 12 years and now Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have formed a coalition government. I think they should now be given time to implement their policies and wait and see the results how they fare.

The Asian: What is the future of Chilled and Frozen food?
Sir Noon:  Now I see the future is bright.  There is pressure on people in terms of time to do the cooking at home and therefore they will pick up packs of different kinds of food from the supermarkets.  As far as Indian food is concern, it is a huge market and I have no doubt it will grow.

The Asian: What is the secret of Noon Group’s success?
Sir Noon:  The secret of my business is whatever business I have done in my life I adhere to quality and work with determination, tenacity and honesty and that is perhaps the secret of my success.

The Asian: What would you advice to someone new in the business?
Sir Noon: I would advise them to do their research before doing any business to know its viability. It would be useless to produce high quality products if there is no one to buy them. Work diligently with honesty and courage.