1/9/12 How Raghunandan Kamath made Natural Ice Cream a 50 crore business« 1/2 economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/11401955.cms?prtpage=1 News B\ Compan\ You are here: Home ª News ª News By Company ª Corporate Trends New Flats in Delhi 100+ Newl\ constructed Flats with discounts upto 1Lac. Call Now ! AgniPropert\.com/DelhiFlats Ads b\ Google We were probably the first to mass produce natural ice cream in the traditional way. We also took the lead in experimenting w and turmeric. We were possibly the first to have an international celebrity like cricketer Vivian Richards to endorse the bra That's a lot of firsts for the son of a fruit vendor from Mangalore. It just goes to show how passion and perseverance pay. Kamaths Ourtimes Ice Creams, better known as Natural Ice Cream, has come a long way from the time I started it nearl began in school when I assisted my father in selling fruit and developed a fondness for fruit. I wasn't a bright student-I barely m Kannada-medium school in Mumbai. So when I turned 19, my family decided that I would help out my elder brother, who oper It was here that I first thought of serving something unique as a dessert-a blend of fruits in ice cream. Being the youngest turned down, and so was this one. But I was convinced about the concept, so when I parted ways with my brother 10 years la parlour. The timing was not entirely favourable. I had just got married and did not have the money to start a business. But my wife Annapurna supported and encouraged friends and relatives. With this I bought and refurbished a 250-sq-ft outlet at Juhu, where most of the Bollywood and small- outlet of Natural Ice Cream was launched in 1984. There were no ice-cream outlets in those days and, unlike today, ordinary people didn't go out to have desserts; only the ric decided to serve pav bhaji and follow it up with my special ice creams. The place was very small and most of the cooki managed the tedious task of grinding the masalas and making the curry. We also started blending fruits such as mangoes, c The customers lapped it up. A year later, I stopped serving pav bhaji and dedicated all the resources to the ice cream business. The turnover in the first y not lose hope. I employed five or six people to make ice cream in the traditional way and these staffers doubled as waiters. of-mouth publicity. Within two years, we had the top movie and television celebrities as our In 1986, I was watching The Sunny Days, a TV programme anchored interview, Vivian Richards, the former West Indian cricket captain, men Cream outlet and liked the Sapodilla (chikoo) and custard apple i unexpected back-thumping for us. However, we have faced enough challenges too. In 1994, a key staff m cream unit in the same area. I realised that unless I expanded and made my brand's presence felt, m around Rs 65 lakh from Saraswat Bank and bought a 5,000-sq-ft s Mumbai. 9 JAN, 2012, 09.07AM IST, AMIT SHANBAUG,ET BUREAU How Raghunandan Kamath made Natural Ice Cream a 50 crore Indiatimes | The Times of India | The Economic Times | More