The son of a fruit seller, who made a business of Naturals Ice Cream worth Rs. 400 crores – Read
Mumbai, the city of dreams, where everyone from Amitabh Bachchan to Dharmendra lives in Juhu area, is home to ‘Prithvi Theatre’ which keeps the tradition of the Kapoor family alive. But in 1984, a ‘Pav Bhaji’ shop was found in the same area, where a unique ice cream made of fruits, sugar and pure milk was available as a side dish. Today, a brand like Naturals Ice Cream worth Rs 400 crore has been established from this shop.
Yes, this is the story of Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath, founder of Naturals Ice Cream, who has passed away at the age of 75. Raghunandan’s father was from Karnataka and used to sell fruits. Raghunandan was not good in studies, but perhaps his fate had something else in store. At the age of just 14, he started working in his brother’s South Indian restaurant in Mumbai and from here the story of his becoming an entrepreneur began.
understanding of fruits came in handy
Raghunandan had worked with his father selling fruits for a long time. That’s why his understanding of fruits was good. He knew how to balance the taste of which fruit. This understanding of his allowed Naturals Ice Cream to remain associated with the original taste of fruits.
The saga of naturals started from here in Juhu (Photo: TV9Hindi/Sharad Agarwal)
People started liking his ice cream at his corner shop in Juhu. Initially only 12 flavors were available at his shop. His shop did a turnover of Rs 5 lakh in the first year itself. This alone showed him the way to expand his business. Later he rebuilt his business and stopped selling pav bhaji and continued selling only ice cream.
‘Ice Cream Man of India’ made from naturals
Although Raghunandan’s background was from a poor family, he himself was a school dropout. But as a result of their taste and Naturals Ice Cream remaining connected to its roots till date, it became a brand worth Rs 400 crore in 2020 itself. At the same time, Naturals is now not just an ice cream parlor in Mumbai, but is the biggest ice cream brand of the country with more than 100 stores across the country.
The most famous ice cream from Naturals is Tender Coconut. By mixing raw coconut with milk and sugar, Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath developed a taste which no one had done before him. This also clearly shows his connection with Karnataka and his ability to innovate. Raghunandan did in India what ‘Baskin Robin’ did in the West. Today he is called ‘Ice Cream Man of India’.
