Kirit Pathak, former head of the world-renowned Patak’s food brand, tragically died on Saturday. Following a car crash in Dubai on Sunday, January 17th, he was treated in hospital for multiple injuries for a week, before he sadly passed away.
The 68-year-old was a renowned business icon in the UK, India and Dubai. He had taken over the global brand founded by his parents, the late Laximishanker and Shanta Gaury Pathak. The brand Patak is a pioneer of Indian food in the UK. In 2007, he had sold the business to Primark’s owners, Associated British Foods (ABF) for a hopping £105 million. At that time, the company was making an annual turnover of £66 million. However, he had retained the Indian brand’s rights and was made Chairman of ABF’s combined world foods group.
Mr Kirit Pathak and his wife Meena had moved to Dubai following the sale of their business. They divided their time between the UAE, India and the UK. He has been survived by his wife and three children, Neeraj, Nayan and Anjali.
Patak’s now supplies to around 90 per cent of Britain’s over 10,000 Indian restaurants, as well as supermarkets and local groceries with curry pastes, chutneys, pickles, poppadums, ready-made meals and other food products. The Leigh-based business also exports curries, sauces, pickles and bread to over 90 countries, including India. 
Associated British Food has paid him tribute today. George Weston, Chief Executive of Associated British Foods, said: “From the Board of ABF and on behalf of the Weston family, our deepest sympathies go out to Kirit’s wife, Meena, and all his family and friends at this sorrowful time. Kirit was a great man who was blessed with entrepreneurial flair, astute business acumen and a passion for authentic Indian cuisine. From humble beginnings, he and Meena created an incredible business all built on the concept of making Indian-style meals easy and accessible busy people. But what they actually did was introduce a fantastic genre of cooking into millions of homes, transforming it into a home-dining staple.”
Andy Mayhew, Managing Director of AB World Foods, added:
“On behalf of everyone at AB World Foods, I would like to convey my deepest and most heartfelt sympathy to the Pathak family on the unfortunate news of Kirit Pathak’s passing. Under Kirit’s visionary leadership, a-state-of-the-art factory was built in Leigh, where we are still based today. The factory employs over 350 people. He remained involved with the business as Chairman and, later, Honorary Life President of AB World Foods.”
Neeraj Pathak, the eldest son of the late businessman, is Bolton School alumni. He has, however, moved on from the family business to become a successful actor with an impressive portfolio.
