Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath, the founder of Naturals Ice Cream, one of India’s top ice cream brands, passed away at the age of 70. He died on the evening of May 17 at Mumbai’s H N Reliance Foundation Hospital after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Kamath’s life story is inspirational for many. Coming from a humble background, he faced numerous challenges to build a large and successful ice cream business, now valued at over ₹400 crores.
He began his journey in Mulki, a town in the Mangalore taluk of the Dakshina Kannada region in Karnataka. Raised in a family with six siblings, his father was the sole breadwinner, running a fruit business. Kamath helped his father with the fruit trade as a child, which helped him learn a lot about fruits.
At 14, Kamath left his village and moved to Mumbai, where he worked at his brother’s South Indian restaurant. On February 14, 1984, he started Naturals Ice Cream with just four employees and basic ingredients. He used his knowledge of fruits, gained from his father’s business, to create 12 flavors of ice cream.
To grow his business, Kamath cleverly began selling ice cream alongside pav bhaji, which attracted many customers. This strategy paid off, and by 2020, Naturals Ice Cream had 135 locations across India. His small shop in Juhu made ₹5 lakh in its first year.
Kamath’s story of rising from modest beginnings to creating a successful ice cream empire continues to inspire many people.