Harsh Mariwala

Mariwala's grandfather, Vallabhdas Vasanji migrated to Mumbai (then Bombay) from Kutch in 1862. Vasanji became known as "Mariwala" as he was dealing in pepper, which is known as mari in Gujarati. Mariwala's father Charandas founded Bombay Oil Industries Limited in 1948 along with three of his brothers which manufactured and traded in spices, oils and chemicals.

Mariwala was brought up in South Mumbai educated at Sydenham College in Mumbai and joined the family enterprise in 1971. He started the consumer products business of the company in 1975 and took its two major brands, Parachute coconut oil and Saffola refined oil to the next level. Innovations such as smaller packaging and use of plastic bottles in place of metal tins along with focus on advertising, marketing, human resources, and distribution helped establish the two brands as market leaders in their respective categories.

Mariwala has set up a family office, Sharrp Ventures, which is headed by his son Rishabh. The venture invests in listed and unlisted companies. As of 2017, it had invested in eight unlisted equities, five funds and one incubator at the seed, Series A or Series B stage.

Harsh Mariwala is married to Archana and they have two children. His son Rishabh runs his venture Soap Opera n More, manages the family office Sharrp Ventures and is a non-executive director at Marico.

Mariwala is a committed vegetarian by birth and is also a fitness enthusiast. He works out at gymnasium daily and plays golf on weekends. He is also known to be fond of playing squash, swimming, and trekking.

In April 2026, Almighty Motion Picture announced a film and television adaptation of Mariwala's 2023 book Harsh Realities: The Making of Marico, with screenwriter Karan Vyas—known for the Indian television series Scam 1992—attached to the project. In the same month, his tenure as Non-Executive Independent Director of Zensar Technologies Limited concluded on April 17, 2026.