Wibs, Mumbai's Most Preferred Bread For Sandwiches, Returns to Stalls as Factories Resume Production

Mumbai, September 26: Much to the delight of sandwich makers and eaters in the maximum city, the iconic bread packets of Wibs have returned to the shelves. The supply resumed in full swing on Thursday, a day after the factories resumed production. The manufacturing of Wibs bread, along with the honeybell cake, tutti frutti breads and 'pav' sold by the company, had stalled due to a family dispute among the company owners. UK Teenager Goes Blind and Deaf After Eating only Chips, Bangers, White Bread and Ham for a Decade.

Wibs or Western India Bakers Private Limited, founded in 1973, is being run under a partnership module by the influential Irani family of Mumbai. One of the brothers, Khodadad Irani, filed a lawsuit against brother-partner Shahriar Irani after the death of their elder brother Hoshang Irani earlier this month.

The bench of Bombay High Court headed by Justice Girish Kulkarni, while hearing Khodadad's plea last Wednesday, formed a mediation panel to resolve the dispute. The panel comprises of former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Mohit Shah, senior advocate Fredun D’Vitre and chartered accountant Yezdi Bhagwagar.

Based on the parties' request, members of the all the three families have been restrained by the court from indulging in uncivil behaviour or speaking to the media about details of the dispute.

With the dispute being dragged to the court, the production at Wibs factories was stopped from September 19. They resumed only on Wednesday, after the owner-brothers entered into a preliminary deal to continue the commercial operations.

The lawyers of both the sides have jointly submitted before the Bombay High Court that they would try to resolve the differences through dialogue. If the talks remain inconclusive, the partnership would be dissolved through the mediation panel, under the monitorship of the court.

For now, the distributors of Wibs bread have expressed rejoice. PS Pandian, one of the oldest distributors, said the family dispute had adversely affected the livelihoods of hundreds of people. There are nearly a 70-odd distributors in the city who have signed a pact with the company to distribute only its bread among the retailers. Each distributor has employed 8-18 people for supplying the bread, Pandian said.

Wibs, centred at Dockyard Road in Mumbai, has factories in several parts of the city and neighbouring Navi Mumbai. The company produces 3,000 slices per hour, and currently holds 46 per cent of the market share. 90 per cent of the city's sandwich sellers use Wibs rather than Britannia or Modern breads, reported a leading English daily.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2019 12:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).