Raghunandan Kamath, known as the Ice Cream Man of India died at the age of 70 on Friday night following a brief illness. He breathed his last at H N Reliance Foundation Hospital on May 17th.
“Our thoughts on the sad demise of our patron and founder of Naturals Ice Cream, Late (Shri) Raghunandan Kamath. Indeed a very sad and unfortunate day for us,” the company tweeted on X on 18th of May.
Our thoughts on the sad demise of our patron and founder of Naturals Ice Cream, Late (Shri) Raghunandan Kamath. Indeed a very sad and unfortunate day for us.
Regards,
The Naturals Family.
Date: 18th May, 2024. pic.twitter.com/6x5guC5ae8— Natural Ice Cream (@Naturalicecream) May 18, 2024
A Journey to Become the Ice Cream of India: Raghunandan Kamath
Born to a fruit vendor in Mulki a small village in Mangalore, Kamath grew up assisting his father in his early years. He left his village at the age of 14 and came to Mumbai in 1984 and opened the first ice cream parlor store of 300 sq.feet in Juhu suburb and was referred to as ‘Ice Cream of Juhu Scheme’.
Inspired by the innovative idea of incorporating fruit flavors in ice creams, he started to bring his idea into action by serving fruit ice creams as a complementary to pav bhaji.
From being the son of a fruit vendor to establishing a business worth over Rs. 400+ crores, Raghunandan Kamath came a long way from his humble beginnings.
In an interview with Indian Express, a Mumbai based journalist Pooja Bhula who authored ‘Intelligent Fanatics of India’ in which she captured the journey of Raghunandan Kamath said “As much as his ice creams, people will also remember him for his warmth, loyalty that was greatly reciprocated by his franchisees and allowed for the growth it saw thanks to rewarding relationships he created. Also, just his humility and sense of humor,”
Story of Naturals: From humble beginnings to a Much-Loved Ice cream brand
Founded in 1984 by Raghunandan Kamath, Naturals Ice Cream started with only 12 flavors. Today, it offers around 125 flavors and has 140+ outlets across the country. The brand is known for its use of only natural ingredients with no added artificial flavors, preservatives, or stabilizers and, is one of the most loved ice cream brands in the country.
A few years ago I did a top 5 ice cream brands of Mumbai feature for YouTube and I learned a great deal about the history of the Naturals Icecream brand I did not know and it made me appreciate their product even more. The man R S Kamath who created @Naturalicecream passed away… pic.twitter.com/iIcS7Ev1xV
— Tara Deshpande (@Tara_Deshpande) May 18, 2024
Tara Deshpande, an actor tweeted her condolences on X.
Many others on X paid tribute and expressed their condolences on the demise of Raghunandan Kamath.
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