Kartar Lalvani Biography
Kartar Lalvani is the founder and chairman of Vitabiotics, a vitamin, and mineral-based food supplement firm founded by a British-Indian businessman.
How old is Kartar Lalvani? – Age
He is 90 years old as of December 2021. He was born in 1931 in Karachi, Pakistan. His real name is Kartar Singh Lalvani.
Kartar Lalvani Family
Lalvani was born to a Sindhi Sikh family. Before the partition of India, his father owned pharmacies in Karachi, Sind. After the partition, his family relocated to Bombay, where he was nurtured and educated. He was the youngest of nine siblings. In 1956, he moved to London to study pharmacy and later earned his Ph.D. from the University of Bonn. During the 1960s, he and his family relocated to London.
Binatone was founded by him and his brothers Gulu Lalvani and Pratap Singh Lalvani. Binatone was named after Lalvani’s younger sister, socialite Bina Ramani (née Lalvani).
Kartar Lalvani Education
Lalvani earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Kings College in London and a doctorate in medicinal chemistry from the University of Bonn, as well as a Royal Pharmaceutical Society Fellowship (FRPharmS). He received an Honorary Doctorate. Professorship in a prestigious French university and dermatological research center University of Franche Comté, excellence.
Kartar Lalvani Son
His son Tej Lalvani is the CEO of the vitamin company Vitabiotics.
Kartar Lalvani Career
Vitabiotics was the UK’s sole specialized vitamin supplement firm when Dr. Kartar Lalvani launched it in London in 1971. Today, the company manufactures a number of well-known brands, such as Wellwoman and Omega-H3, that treat a variety of ailments, from mouth ulcers to menopause. Lalvani and his son, Tej, run the global Vitabiotics Group, which has a revenue of roughly US$371 million per year. But life wasn’t always easy for the upbeat and humble Sikh entrepreneur. The company’s roots were firmly planted in adversity.
In the end, Lalvani studied pharmaceutical science in London, Germany, and India, following in his father’s footsteps. To succeed in the pharmaceutical industry, however, you needed more than just a thorough understanding of the subject.
It was the way he approached his studies, research, and ultimately the start-up and growth of his company that made all the difference. In April 1956, Lalvani arrived in London towards the end of one of the harshest winters on record. He poured himself into his studies and graduated from King’s College London with a postgraduate degree in pharmacy.
Then, at Bonn University in West Germany, he earned a doctorate in medicinal chemistry. In the 1970s, there were few young Sikh entrepreneurs in London, and Lalvani struggled to find his ulcer medication on the shelves of larger high-street pharmacists like Boots. He subsequently sought the larger pharmaceutical companies in the United Kingdom, intending to license his recipe, but they, too, turned him down.
He was so confident in his product’s effectiveness that he founded Vitabiotics. However, having spent all of his savings on patenting the invention, there were insufficient funds to launch it with fanfare. As a result, he began making personal visits to pharmacies. While this strategy also failed — he only sold £5 worth of Oralcer — Lalvani learned an important lesson about being knocked back and having answers for any questions or worries that were hurled at him.
Kartar Lalvani Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of £200 million.
