There are global companies renowned for how they started from scraps and became the rulers of their specific area. Among those would certainly be Naturals Ice Cream, started in 1984, which today stands at a whopping valuation of Rs. 300 crore.
The ice cream parlour that opened its first outlet in Juhu, Mumbai, that same year was started by Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath, eventually opening more and more parlours not just in Mumbai but across the entire country. Apparently, there was a specific reason for choosing Juhu as its home base, which included the celebrity stars and their homes around it.
What Was The Reason?
Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath opened the first Naturals Ice Cream store in 1984 in the Juhu Ville Parle Development Scheme, a locality in Juhu, Mumbai. The tagline, “Ice Cream Of Juhu Scheme,” was also a nod to their origin and the strong bond shared with the neighbourhood.
The brand started with just 12 flavours, intending to deviate from artificial flavours and instead use local Indian fruits and even vegetables to create these ice creams. The founder, Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath, was born to a mango seller vendor in Mangalore.
He is said to have grown up assisting his father in selling mangoes, which is how he acquired his knowledge about fruits and the idea to make ice cream using real fruit pulp. When opening his first ice cream store, Kamath is said to have chosen Juhu for many reasons, one of which included the celebrities living there.
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Big names like Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, and Hema Malini were living in that area, and Kamath believed that the fans and tourists coming to visit there would be a good customer base to attract. Speaking with the Telegraph in 2015, he said, “Celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, and Hema Malini stayed in the area. I thought they’d draw more crowds.” Explaining further, he said, “I opened the Juhu Scheme outlet because I felt that the crowd would appreciate ice cream. Film stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini would live close by. People had already started recognising our ice cream.”
Reports claim that Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Hema Malini, and even Salman Khan were seen frequenting the Naturals Ice Cream outlet in Juhu. In another piece from 2017, Kamath said, “In Juhu, a lot of film stars would walk in. I remember seeing Salman Khan and Aamir Khan… even Amitabh Bachchan and Jeetendra! The next generation of actors prefer their ice cream home-delivered.” During the shooting of the 1991 film Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin, Aamir Khan, Pooja Bhatt, and their team also visited the ice cream parlour.
The first store opened in a 200 sq. ft. shop with just six employees. The inaugural menu featured flavours like Sitaphal, Tender Coconut, Jackfruit, Muskmelon, and Kala Jamun, which seem unique even today since one seldom associates a dessert like ice cream with some of them.
Today, their Tender Coconut flavour has reached an internationally recognised stage. From that, though, the brand has journeyed to almost 125 flavours that include Cucumber, Gajar Halwa, Prasadam, and Tilgul, and 165 outlets across 15 states. In 2020, the ice cream company recorded a retail turnover of ₹300 crore, an increase from the ₹115 crore they saw in 2015.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Indian Express, The Economic Times, New18
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This post is tagged under: Ice Cream, Ice Cream business, Ice Cream India, Ice Cream brand India, naturals, naturals Ice Cream, naturals ice cream business, naturals ice cream India, naturals ice cream owner, naturals ice cream profit
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