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Raghunandan Kamath of Natural Ice Cream: The Making of the Indian Ice Cream Baron
EXCERPTS
INCEPTION AND GROWTH
By the age of 30, Kamath had grown confident enough to decide to start an ice-cream parlor on his own. He believed that people should try their luck only in business in their domain of expertise. He also felt that one had to specialize in something to stand out from the rest. Thus, he decided to part ways with his brother. Kamath’s inclination toward fruits, the knowledge that he had acquired about fruits from his father, and his internship at Gokul Refreshments gave him the confidence and conviction that dessert should be his flagship offering... |
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EXPANSION
After a year of Natural’s inception, Kamath realized and was convinced that his ice cream business was a sustainable model, and did not need supplementing support from the Pav Bhaji. He mobilized all his resources toward his core competency, i.e., ice creams. Though the turnover was just about $ 1,500 in the first year, Kamath did not lose hope and he employed six staffers to ramp up the production. In the early 1990s, the consumer’s perception of ice creams witnessed a shift that favored Natural...
REBOUNDING FROM CRISIS
The year 1994 threw up one challenge after another for Kamath and he faced back-to-back business crises. In the first incident, one of the key store members decided to quit Natural and start his own ice-cream unit in the same locality. The move set alarm bells ringing for Kamath and he knew that he would have to move ahead in a bigger way to overcome such possible threats of competition in future...
FUTURE PLANS
Kamath had also started exploring overseas destinations to expand Natural’s horizons beyond India. He considered countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Asian nations, and Singapore where there was a good population of Non-Resident Indians. Even at the peak of his success, his hunger to offer something new never came down...
EXHIBITS
Exhibit I: Awards Received by Natural Ice Cream
Exhibit II:Ice Cream Market in India
