Syed Zeeshan Haider

founder and director of Dipitt

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Syed Zeeshan Haider is the founder and director of Dipitt, a sauce maker. Haider is a LUMS graduate and an engineer by training. He left the tobacco industry to build a business that matched his values. He says Dipitt is number one nationally in sauces and serves about 33 countries.

Early life and education

Haider was born and raised in Karachi. He studied electrical engineering at NED. He describes NED as a rough school that teaches street smartness. [1]

Haider failed the maths section of the IBA entrance test. He left Unilever to study at LUMS. He applied for and received financial aid to attend LUMS. [1]

Career before Dipitt

Haider worked at Siemens before joining Unilever. He later worked at K-Electric. He then worked at Philip Morris, which, he says, took him on because he had been part of the K-Electric acquisition. [1]

Philip Morris moved him to Hong Kong, the Philippines and other places. He spent several years abroad with the company, which he says groomed him. He was paid in dollars while working abroad. His last role at Philip Morris was looking after the brand side. In that role he managed three cigarette brands. [1]

Leaving the tobacco industry

Haider returned to Pakistan because his mother was unwell. He was offered an assignment in Europe but returned to Pakistan for a personal reason. He declined a posting in Vietnam. He decided he did not want to do tobacco work any more. [1]

He says he had no ethical issue with cigarettes as such. He also says he was a smoker for a long time. His boss kept his resignation and asked him to take a week off to think. He resigned to try something of his own, with a plan to find work within six months if it failed. [1]

Dipitt

Haider applied for a stall and was told none were left, then offered a small stall in a corner. He says the wings got a very good response at an event they took part in. The business opened a small restaurant and then three more. Restaurant customers often asked for sauce alone, so the restaurants began selling sauces. [1]

He noticed that imported sauces from many parts of the world were easy to find but no Pakistani variety was. He says big manufacturers were not willing to invest in research and development or in the raw material needed, because they thought it was a very small market. He tested demand by asking retailers how much stock they bought. He says he made many decisions at the time based on his gut because he had nothing. [1]

He says he had to pick a priority because he had only 24 hours a day and was a single person running the business from end to end. He decided that, with a small team, running two things in parallel would cost focus. The team was three people: one handled finance, one handled sales and one was himself. He says wings made sense to customers in Karachi and Islamabad but not in Lahore, so the business started flavoured fried chicken there. He thinks that venture was well ahead of its time, since in 2016 not many people knew about wings. [1]

He says that when the venture succeeded in Karachi, others copied it, which he describes as a problem. He says those who copied the venture were taking their sauce from Dipitt. He says he still wants to return to an earlier venture and really wants to do it. He still wants to launch frozen wings in various flavours. [1]

A friend of his opened a store in Karachi. He asked a friend to keep his bottles on the shelf of the friend's store. A restaurant agreed to keep his bottles and ketchup on its tables. An old LUMS friend became Dipitt's distributor in Lahore. He remembers the first sale as starting at about 21,000 rupees. [1]

The Lahore distributor later expanded into Islamabad and then Faisalabad. He says he made a cold call and was kept waiting about two and a half hours in a store's waiting area. He estimates that 90 to 95 percent of the time, people who tried the product said they would keep it. [1]

Products and customers

He says Dipitt makes about 67 flavours. He says that every year two new products from Dipitt appear on the shelf. Dipitt makes a mango habanero sauce from mangoes. He says the business made sure quality, premium packaging and a premium feeling stayed the same. [1]

Dipitt supplies sauces to chains including Subway, McDonald's, KFC and Papa John's. It developed new sauces and flavours with KFC and McDonald's, and engaged with KFC's global and regional teams and McDonald's team. He describes innovation and fast response to food trends as Dipitt's strength. He says that when a sauce takes six months to make, the trend is over by the time it is ready. [1]

Reach and supply

He estimates Dipitt covers about 30 to 40 towns directly. Its direct coverage runs from Quetta to Skardu. He recalls an import ban around 2018 or 2019 on products brought from abroad. He recalls Heinz cost 120 rupees in 2017, while his locally made bottle cost 140. [1]

Vertical integration

He says Dipitt has done a lot of vertical integration in the last two years. Dipitt is developing chilli growing in Pakistan, still at prototype scale. It works with progressive farmers to grow cayenne, Tabasco and jalapeno peppers. He estimates 60 to 70 percent of materials are sourced locally and 20 to 30 percent imported. [1]

Export

He says that in export the business started with the consumer side first. He says, calling the statement controversial, that COVID really helped the business. He says the business gained many markets in the GCC and Asia where shelves were emptying. Japan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon were among those markets. [1]

He says Japan is the strictest market for food certification. He believes Dipitt is among Pakistan's top companies with food quality certification. He says Dipitt can be found in UK stores including Asda and B&M. [1]

Board

During COVID, Dipitt formed a board. He says two of the board members had headed Unilever and one had headed Reckitt. He says he told them the business could not give them money but would give them prayers and sauces. [1]

He says that since 2022 the board has been a guiding force for him. Three board members picked in 2022 are still on the board. He describes one board member, a woman he thinks was head of marketing for Unilever, as his marketing guru. [1]

Views

He says Dipitt's vision is to be on every dining table across the globe. He says international competition always keeps you up your game. He says the consumer is the best communicator for a brand. He says food awareness changed completely before and after COVID. He says he was accountable to no one and answerable to no one. [1]

Personal life

Haider's wife comes from a business family. He says he had a little idea because his wife used to make very nice sauces. He says his wife used to pitch in and support wherever she could, alongside the kids and the house. He says he got demotivated and considered dropping Dipitt for a few days. [1]

Timeline

2016
He says not many people knew about wings.[1]
2017
He recalls Heinz cost 120 rupees, while his locally made bottle cost 140.[1]
2018 or 2019
He recalls an import ban on products brought from abroad.[1]
2022
Three board members picked this year are still on the Dipitt board.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-10-17 How Dipitt got onto shelves in 33 countries Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Syed Zeeshan Haider?

Syed Zeeshan Haider is the founder and director of Dipitt, a sauce maker. He is a LUMS graduate and an engineer by training. He also worked at Siemens, Unilever, K-Electric and Philip Morris.[1]

What does Syed Zeeshan Haider do?

Syed Zeeshan Haider is the founder and director of Dipitt. He says Dipitt makes about 67 flavours. It supplies sauces to chains including Subway, McDonald's, KFC and Papa John's.[1]

Where did Syed Zeeshan Haider study?

Syed Zeeshan Haider studied electrical engineering at NED. He later left Unilever to study at LUMS, where he applied for and received financial aid.[1]

Where is Syed Zeeshan Haider from?

Syed Zeeshan Haider was born and raised in Karachi.[1]

What company did Syed Zeeshan Haider found?

Syed Zeeshan Haider is the founder and director of Dipitt. He says Dipitt is number one nationally in sauces and serves about 33 countries.[1]

Where does Dipitt sell its sauces?

Syed Zeeshan Haider says Dipitt can be found in UK stores including Asda and B&M. He says its direct coverage in Pakistan runs from Quetta to Skardu. Japan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon were among the markets it gained where shelves were emptying.[1]

Why did Syed Zeeshan Haider leave the tobacco industry?

Syed Zeeshan Haider left the tobacco industry to build a business that matched his values. He decided he did not want to do tobacco work any more. He says he had no ethical issue with cigarettes as such.[1]

References

  1. How Dipitt got onto shelves in 33 countries . Thought Behind Things , 2025-10-17.
Show the source passages (94 statements)
  1. Syed Zeeshan Haider is the founder and director of Dipitt. Syed Zeeshan Haider, the Founder and Director of Dipitt, Pakistan’s No.1 sauce brand exporting to over 33 countries worldwide.
  2. He is a LUMS graduate and an engineer by training. A LUMS graduate and engineer by training
  3. Early in his career he managed three tobacco brands. Zeeshan’s early career managing 3 tobacco brands
  4. He left the tobacco industry to build a business that matched his values. leaving the industry to build something that aligned with his values
  5. He was born and raised in Karachi. Early life, I I was born and raised in Karachi.
  6. He studied engineering at NED. I went and did my engineering from NED
  7. He studied electrical engineering. I did my engineering from there in electrical
  8. He describes NED as a rough school that teaches street smartness. it's a kind of a rough-it school. Aapko saara woh street smartness sikha dete hain
  9. He worked at Siemens before joining Unilever. So, I started working with Siemens and then I left that, I joined in Unilever.
  10. He failed the maths section of the IBA entrance test. main maths mein hi flunk ho gaya us IBA ke test mein
  11. He left Unilever to study at LUMS. So, I left my my job at Unilever and I opted for LUMS.
  12. He applied for and received financial aid to attend LUMS. So I applied for the for the scholarship there. Yeah, the financial aid thing. So, they gave me that also.
  13. He later worked at K-Electric. And then I think from there, I started working with uh with uh uh with uh with K-Electric
  14. He then worked at Philip Morris. K-Electric ke baad I started working with a company called Philip Morris.
  15. He says Philip Morris took him on because he had been part of the K-Electric acquisition. So, they took me in because maine K-Electric ki acquisition mein tha.
  16. Philip Morris moved him to Hong Kong, the Philippines and other places. Phir then they moved me to Hong Kong and then Philippines and all of those places.
  17. He spent several years abroad with Philip Morris, which he says groomed him. And phir main bahar hi raha uh kaafi saal and then I was uh groomed by them.
  18. His last role at Philip Morris was looking after the brand side. I was looking after the the the brand side. That was my last role.
  19. He managed three cigarette brands in that role. Toh hamare teen cigarette ke brands thay woh mere paas thay.
  20. He returned to Pakistan because his mother was unwell. Uh no, I wanted to come back because of uh my mother was not well and I wanted to move back also.
  21. He was offered an assignment in Europe but returned to Pakistan for a personal reason. uske baad I had another assignment which I was offered to take uh in Europe but I had to come back uh for for a personal reason back to Pakistan.
  22. He declined a posting in Vietnam. ek baar ek role aaya tha woh which was for Vietnam so I declined that.
  23. He decided he did not want to do tobacco work any more. I said I don't want to do tobacco.
  24. He says he had no ethical issue with cigarettes as such. mere koi as such ethical issues nahi thay cigarette ke saath
  25. He says he was a smoker for a long time. I was a smoker for the longest time when my son was born.
  26. His wife comes from a business family. my wife she comes from a business family
  27. His boss kept his resignation and asked him to take a week off to think. And he took my resignation and he just kept it. He said jaake ek hafte ki chhutti lo, socho, baad mein batana.
  28. He resigned to try something of his own, with a plan to find work within six months if it failed. Let me try something out in my life which I want to do. Agar kaam kar gaya sahi hai, agar nahi kiya toh 6 mahine baad I will find something.
  29. He was paid in dollars while working abroad. Jab main bahar tha toh mujhe dollar mein tankhwa milti thi.
  30. He applied for a stall and was told none were left, then offered a small stall in a corner. So maine jab udhar apply kiya toh unhone bola ji hamare paas toh koi jagah nahi, koi stall nahi, sab bik bhag gaye. Toh but then they said ke ek chhota sa stall bilkul corner mein available hai, aapko lena hai toh aaj le lein.
  31. He says he had a little idea because his wife used to make very nice sauces. Thoda bahut idea tha because my wife used to make these sauces which were very nice.
  32. He says the wings got a very good response at an event they took part in. So we did that Karachi Eat event and then we did this with the wings. They got hit, got a very good response.
  33. The business opened a small restaurant and then three more. then we opened up a small restaurant at Bukhari and then from there one more at Seher, one more at Tipu Sultan, one more at Askari.
  34. Restaurant customers often asked for sauce alone, so the restaurants began selling sauces. And then we started selling the sauces at the restaurant itself. Toh bahut baar log aate thay, bolte thay wings na dein sirf sauce de dein.
  35. He noticed that imported sauces from many parts of the world were easy to find but no Pakistani variety was. Aap woh South America, Africa, duniya ki har jagah ki imported sauce mil jaayegi lekin aapko koi Pakistan ki variety nahi milegi.
  36. He says big manufacturers were not willing to invest in research and development or in the raw material needed, because they thought it was a very small market. the big manufacturers were not willing to invest in in terms of R&D and in terms of the raw material jo uske liye chahiye because they thought that it's a very smaller market.
  37. He tested demand by asking retailers how much stock they bought. It was a dipstick, you know. That I used to go to retailers and ask them ki yaar yeh aapke aap mangwate hain kitne carton mangwate hain.
  38. He says he made many decisions at the time based on his gut because he had nothing. there was a lot of decision making that I was doing just based on my gut because mere paas kuch bhi nahi tha.
  39. He says he still wants to return to an earlier venture and really wants to do it. I still want to do Wingitt and I really want to do it.
  40. He says he had to pick a priority because he had only 24 hours a day and was a single person running the business from end to end. I had to pick a priority. Ki kaunsa pehle karna hai kyunke din mein wohi 24 ghante the jo main de sakta tha and I was a single person running from end to end
  41. He decided that, with a small team, running two things in parallel would cost focus. So I decided ki yaar is is chhoti ki team ke saath and with with two things running in parallel I think woh focus nahi aa sakta.
  42. The team was three people: one handled finance, one handled sales and one was himself. I think teen bande the hum. Ek finance ka tha, ek sale dekhta tha, ek main tha.
  43. He says wings made sense to customers in Karachi and Islamabad but not in Lahore, so the business started flavoured fried chicken there. Yeh Karachi aur Islamabad waalon ko samajh aa jaayega but idhar nahi samajh aayega idhar ke liye kuch aur karna padega. So we started doing fried chicken at Lahore heat and then put the flavor on the fried chicken.
  44. He thinks that venture was well ahead of its time, since in 2016 not many people knew about wings. I think Wingitt was a way ahead of its time. 2016 mein itne log wings ko nahi jaante the
  45. He says that when the venture succeeded in Karachi, others copied it, which he describes as a problem. humne jab Wingitt khola and then it was a success in Karachi. Ek yeh problem hai hamare saath I don't know kyun hai. Ke jab ek cheez aapki chalne lag jaati hai toh paanch log same cheez copy paste kar lete hain.
  46. He says those who copied the venture were taking their sauce from Dipitt. Achha woh humse sauce hum hi se le rahe the. Yeh bhi badi mazedaar baat hai kyunke woh Dipitt se sauce le rahe the.
  47. He still wants to launch frozen wings in various flavours. I really still want to do frozen wings in in various flavors.
  48. He says food awareness changed completely before and after COVID. Before and after COVID food awareness has changed 360 degree I would say.
  49. A friend of his opened a store in Karachi. one of my friend his name is Junaid he opened up a store called Springs in Karachi uh at that time.
  50. He asked a friend to keep his bottles on the shelf of the friend's store. I asked him ke yaar yeh bhai main mujhe kuch sauces bechni hain toh main tujhe apni botlein doonga aur tu please use rakh le apne shelf par.
  51. A restaurant agreed to keep his bottles and ketchup on its tables. Ab Barbecue Tonight really helped me out so maine unse jaake request ki toh unhone bola haan hum aapki botlein aapki ketchup hum rakh tableon par rakh lete hain
  52. An old LUMS friend became Dipitt's distributor in Lahore. one of my uh dorm mate and room mate and old friend from LUMS toh main bola bhai Lahore mein hamare paas koi distributor nahi hai tu distributor ban ja hamara. So he became the distributor.
  53. He remembers the first sale as starting at about 21,000 rupees. woh mujhe yaad hai pehli sale koi humne 21,000 rupaye se shuru ki
  54. The Lahore distributor later expanded into Islamabad and then Faisalabad. Woh Lahore se Islamabad karne lag gaya phir woh Faisalabad karne lag gaya.
  55. He says he made a cold call and was kept waiting about two and a half hours in a store's waiting area. Uh I went and gave them a cold call and they said nahi aapko wait intezaar karna padega woh dhai ghante unhone mujhe bahar bithaya tha apne store ke waiting area mein baitha dhai ghante.
  56. He estimates that 90 to 95 percent of the time, people who tried the product said they would keep it. And I think 90-95% times everybody when they tried the product they said okay we'll keep it.
  57. He says Dipitt is number one nationally in sauces. Uh nationally I think in terms of sauces we would be number one.
  58. He says Dipitt makes about 67 flavours. Pakistani there are about 50 something in overall we make about 67 flavors.
  59. He estimates Dipitt covers about 30 to 40 towns directly. I think about 30 40 towns toh hum cover karte honge.
  60. Dipitt's direct coverage runs from Quetta to Skardu. So we cover from Quetta till uh Skardu is is a last town that we we we cover from that side
  61. Dipitt supplies sauces to chains including Subway, McDonald's, KFC and Papa John's. we still provide uh to both these chains and a lot of other chains also, Subway hai, McDonald's hai, KFC hai, uh Papa John's hai and all of these chains.
  62. Dipitt developed new sauces and flavours with KFC and McDonald's. So we really worked with them day and night and we made these new sauces and new flavors with them
  63. He recalls an import ban around 2018 or 2019 on products brought from abroad. I think 2018 aaya tha ya 19 tha, I I I don't remember exactly but there was a point in time where there was a ban on importing products from outside.
  64. He says that when a sauce takes six months to make, the trend is over by the time it is ready. A bolta hai 6 mahine mein banegi. Aur 6 mahine mein woh trend use hokar farigh ho jata hai.
  65. He describes innovation and fast response to food trends as Dipitt's strength. woh that was uh dipit forte. Innovation and you know uh food trending
  66. Dipitt engaged with KFC's global and regional teams and McDonald's team. because we were engaging with KFC global team, regional team, McDonald's ki team.
  67. He says Dipitt has done a lot of vertical integration in the last two years. What we have done in last two years is is two things and I and I feel very proud of it that Dipit has done a lot of vertical integration.
  68. Dipitt is developing chilli growing in Pakistan, still at prototype scale. Ab woh we we have invested a lot in R&D in terms of developing that chilli, growing that chilli over here. It's still in a prototype in a small scale
  69. Dipitt works with progressive farmers to grow cayenne, Tabasco and jalapeno peppers. we are now working with with the farmers, with progressive farmers in that area to grow for example a cayenne pepper, for example a Tabasco pepper or a jalapeno pepper.
  70. He estimates 60 to 70 percent of materials are sourced locally and 20 to 30 percent imported. I think it would be about 60-70% jo hum locally lete honge, baaki 20-30% bahar se aata hoga.
  71. He recalls Heinz cost 120 rupees in 2017, while his locally made bottle cost 140. Heinz ki botal us zamane mein 2017 mein 120 rupaye ki hoti thi aur hum jo Pakistan mein bana rahe the woh 140 rupaye ki hoti thi.
  72. He says it is a controversial statement, but COVID really helped the business. Uh it's a very controversial statement but covid really helped us kyunki Europe se yeh western sauces jo aate hain
  73. He says the business gained many markets in the GCC and Asia where shelves were emptying. So we got a lot of markets in GCC and Asia which where the shelves were getting empty.
  74. Japan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon were among those markets. Japan was one of them, Saudi was one of them, uh Lebanon was one of them.
  75. He says that in export the business started with the consumer side first. Export mein humne consumer pehle shuru kiya tha.
  76. He says Japan is the strictest market for food certification. the most strict market in terms of food certifications is Japan.
  77. He believes Dipitt is among Pakistan's top companies with food quality certification. I think right now if you pick up in terms of certification, Dipitt would be one one of the top most companies in Pakistan who has food quality certification right now.
  78. He says Dipitt can be found in UK stores including Asda and B&M. If you will go to UK, you will find us at at Asda ya Farm Fresh ya B&M
  79. He says Dipitt serves about 33 countries, all of them active. About 33 countries we serve. Us mein se I think saari active countries hain.
  80. He says Dipitt's vision is to be on every dining table across the globe. Hamara vision yeh kehta hai ke ji we have to be on every dining table across the globe.
  81. He says international competition always keeps you up your game. Agar international competition ho it it always keeps you up your game
  82. He says he was accountable to no one and answerable to no one. So meri accountability kisi ko bhi nahi thi. Main kisi ko bhi jawabdeh nahi tha.
  83. During COVID, Dipitt formed a board. So what I did in I think during COVID days was that we formed a board.
  84. He says two of the board members had headed Unilever and one had headed Reckitt. Kyun ek un mein se do do Unilever head kar chuke thay, ek Reckitt head kar chuke thay
  85. He says he told them the business could not give them money but would give them prayers and sauces. Paise toh hum aap ko de nahi sakte lekin duayein aur sauces zaroor de denge hum aap ko.
  86. He says that since 2022 the board has been a guiding force for him. And since 2022 they have been the guiding force for for me
  87. Three board members picked in 2022 are still on the board. There are still three members that we we picked up uh in 2022 and they are still there and helping us out.
  88. He describes one board member, a woman he thinks was head of marketing for Unilever, as his marketing guru. One of them, she has been uh I think head of marketing for Unilever and she has headed Unilever and she she is the marketing guru for me.
  89. He says the consumer is the best communicator for a brand. And I I think that the best communicator for your brand is uh the consumer.
  90. He says that every year two new products from Dipitt appear on the shelf. if you go on the shelf every every year you will find two new products from Dipitt
  91. He says the business made sure quality, premium packaging and a premium feeling stayed the same. We made sure that the quality stays the same, the premium packaging, the premium feeling of the product
  92. Dipitt makes a mango habanero sauce from Pakistani mangoes. hum toh mango habanero sauce aam apne aam se banate hain
  93. He says his wife used to pitch in and support wherever she could, alongside the kids and the house. And my wife used to come in and pitch in and support in on whatever she can uh with the kids and house
  94. He says he got demotivated and considered dropping Dipitt for a few days. So, I got really demotivated aur main do teen din tak you know, I I decided I will not do Dipitt.