Natural Ice Cream is a well-known brand today, but it started with very humble beginnings. The story shows you that you do not need privilege to achieve your dreams. When you work hard and stay dedicated, you can succeed.
Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath, the founder of Natural Ice Cream, is a great example for you. He was the son of a fruit vendor and lived in a mud house in a small village in Mulki. Even with this simple background, he did not give up on his dreams.
He moved to Mumbai and worked hard to build a business of his own. Today, he leads a company that makes more than Rs 300 crore in turnover. His journey shows you that anything is possible
Who is Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath?
Raghunandan Kamath was born in 1954 in Mulki, Karnataka. He was the youngest of seven children. As a child, you can imagine him spending his days climbing trees and exploring his village.
His father worked as a fruit vendor and struggled to support the large family. Money was always a challenge.
When Raghunandan turned 15, his family moved to Mumbai. They still faced financial difficulties. He started working with his brother in a small eatery to help the family. They lived together in a tiny 12-by-12-foot room called a kholi in Juhu, Mumbai. The whole family shared that one small space.
How did Raghunandan Kamath come up with the idea for his venture?
Everyone enjoys the taste of ice cream melting on their tongue. You get so many flavours like mango, strawberry and coconut.
When Raghunandan was 14, he joined his brother’s South Indian eatery and helped sell their homemade ice cream. During this time, he got a unique idea. Instead of offering only basic flavours, he wanted to make ice cream with real fruit pulp.
Later, when the restaurant split, he received some money. He used it to start his own small business. He opened a 200-square-foot shop with six tables in the Juhu Koliwada area of Mumbai. From the beginning, he focused on giving you pure and original fruit flavours.
The Start of Naturals Ice Cream’s Journey
Naturals Ice Cream began in 1984 when Raghunandan Kamath opened the first store in Juhu, Vile Parle, Mumbai. It was the first ice-cream parlour in the Juhu area. The shop offered twelve flavours and had a team of six people.
Raghunandan learned how to choose the best fruits from his father, who sold mangoes in Mangalore. Because of this, he decided to use only simple ingredients in his ice cream: fruit, sugar and milk. Naturals does not use additives, chemicals, preservatives or gelatin. This gives you a pure and high-quality product.
In the beginning, Raghunandan was not sure if people would enjoy his unique fruit-based ice creams. So he served Pav Bhaji as the main dish and treated ice cream as a bonus. His ice creams became an instant hit and sales increased quickly. After one year, he stopped serving Pav Bhaji and turned Naturals into a full ice-cream brand.
The high quality of his ice cream attracted customers from all over. By 1994, Naturals had become a popular name and people called it the “Ice Cream of Juhu Scheme.” The brand opened five more outlets. Today, Naturals Tender Coconut Ice Cream is even listed among the top 100 ice creams in the world by Taste Atlas.
Now, Naturals has around 160 outlets in many cities across India. In 2024, the company earned a turnover of Rs 300 crore.
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