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Legacy of Naturals Ice Cream founder Raghunandan Kamath aka ‘Ice Cream Man of India’
Raghunandan Kamath, founder of Natural Ice Cream died on May 17 after battling a brief illness.
February 14, 1984 marked the period when Kamath cemented the foundation of Naturals Ice Cream by opening an outlet in Juhu with just four workers. Today, the company has grown leaps and bounds. (Image source: News18 Gujarati)
Raghunandan Kamath, founder of Naturals Ice Cream, who was fondly called ‘Ice Cream Man of India’, breathed his last on May 17 after battling a brief illness. He was in his 70s and is survived by his wife and sons.
As the news of his death surfaced, tributes began to pour in.
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"The Ice Cream Man of India " Mr. Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath, Son Of A Fruit Vendor from the Icecream Capital of India - Mangalore, who Built The Rs 400 Crore Company Naturals Ice Cream is no more. Om Shanti 🙏
— Visit Udupi (@VisitUdupi) May 18, 2024
What is your favourite Naturals Icecream flavour ? 🍨😋 pic.twitter.com/lSwXMMgbhi
A phenomenal journey comes to an end🙏🏽
— Captain Brijesh Chowta (Modi Ka Parivar) (@CaptBrijesh) May 18, 2024
Saddened to know of the demise of ‘Icecream Man’ Shri Raghunandan Kamath, the founder & force behind Natural Icecreams.
From Mulki to Mumbai with just a dream to creating a brand that became a ‘natural’ choice for every icecream lover,… pic.twitter.com/nPRw8CHZZj
So sad to hear this. @Naturalicecream has been the go to brand for years, for many of us. Their tender coconut, sitaphal, chickoo flavors were to die for. A fantastic brand. Go gently Raghunandan ji. Om Shanti.@PadmajaParulkar
— Srikant Kesnur (@srikantkesnur) May 18, 2024
Very very sorry to hear about Shri Raghunandan Kamath, the owner of @Naturalicecream attaining Haripada!
— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) May 18, 2024
Raghunandan Kamath maam was not only an entrepreneur who built a successful icecream brand, he was a philanthropist who supported several community initiatives.
Born in a… pic.twitter.com/b3wSe8SWIS
Born to a fruit vendor in a small village in Mangalore, Karnataka, Kamath assisted his father in his business, and that experience helped him sharpen his business acumen and knowledge about fruits. It was the foundation that would help solidify his position as an pioneering entrepreneur in the ice cream business.
As a child, Kamath struggled academically and eventually had to drop out. He moved to Mumbai at 14, and was employed at his brother’s South Indian restaurant.
February 14, 1984 marked the period when Kamath cemented the foundation of Naturals Ice Cream by opening an outlet in Juhu with just four workers. Today, the company has grown leaps and bounds.
But the journey of expanding its footprint nationwide and building a legacy has not been easy. When Kamath first started out, ice cream was sold as a side dish to Pav Bhaji, as a means to attract customers. His insight was simple: After a hot meal, people liked to end their dinner on a sweet note. The first flavour to be offered was of sitaphal and an average of 60 litres of milk per day was used. That yielded results.
And, the Juhu outlet for that year recorded Rs 5,00,000 in revenue. Ingredients such as fruits (regionally sourced), milk and sugar were primarily used.
As the ice cream business grew, Raghunandan's sole attention shifted to solidifying the business in the ice cream industry.
In 1991, Kamath’s son Siddhant said that tender coconut as a flavour was introduced, which was a result of experimentations from his grandmother’s kitchen. Today, the company boasts of 125 flavours.
In 2017, Naturals Ice cream underwent a rebranding effort and its tagline was changed to ‘Taste The Original’.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Naturals partnered with Rebel Foods to sell through cloud kitchens on Swiggy and Zomato.
Naturals launched mini packs and had rolled out ‘Tough Tub’ campaign, which assured the customers of their products being completely tamper-proof. In 2022, the mini packs contributed 8-10 percent of their sales.
Today, Naturals Ice Cream is present in 35 cities with more than 140 stores and distributed through 70 cloud kitchens. The brand is present in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Kerala, Delhi NCR, Goa and Rajasthan. As per a KPMG survey, Naturals Ice Cream was voted in the list of top 10 companies in terms of customer experience.
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