How Epigamia Turned Ice Cream Seasonality Into Greek Yogurt Leadership—From Hokey Pokey 2013 to Creating India's $160 Million Fresh FMCG Category

In 2008, Rohan Mirchandani—who had quit a budding finance career to take the GMAT aspiring for Ivy League business school—visited India and met childhood friend Milap Shah to contemplate starting a food venture.

By chance, they met Chef Ganesh Krishnamoorthy—over two decades of food and beverage experience specializing in Italian cuisine, including gelato (Italian ice cream).

The trio joined hands to start Drums Food International and launched premium ice cream brand Hokey Pokey—pioneering live kitchen parlours where customers could get custom ice cream flavours created on cold stone using different ingredients.

Rohan went to NYU Stern (Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Business), then Wharton School (MBA). His professor Shripad gave him life-changing advice: come to India.

In January 2013, at age 30, Rohan moved to India to focus on making Hokey Pokey successful. The team built the FMCG plan. They hit stores in 2014. Within a short period, Hokey Pokey became famous for unique flavours.

But then reality hit: ice cream is seasonal.

"Literally from May, June to July, August, the sales just got desecrated because, you know, seasonality..."

Sales plummeted during monsoon and winter months. Distribution expansion during off-season became a massive challenge.

The team needed a non-seasonal product. They explored options. Greek yogurt emerged—health-conscious consumers, untapped category, year-round demand.

But there was a problem: ice cream requires frozen supply chain; yogurt needs cold supply chain. Greek yogurt has 15-day shelf life vs. ice cream's 9-12 months. Different production, storage, distribution requirements.

The founding team—Rohan Mirchandani, Ganesh Krishnamoorthy, Uday Thakker, and Rahul Jain—faced a choice: manage both products or focus on the bigger opportunity.

John D. Rockefeller's quote guided them: "Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great."

In June 2015, they discontinued Hokey Pokey temporarily and launched Epigamia—India's first branded Greek yogurt.

Today, just 9 years later (by 2022), Epigamia reached $160 million valuation, received $81.2 million across 17 funding rounds, created the Greek yogurt category in India, operates across 20,000+ retail touchpoints in 30+ cities, and was preparing for Middle East expansion—proving that recognizing when to pivot from good to great beats stubbornly defending initial business models.

Tragically, on December 21, 2024, Rohan Mirchandani passed away from cardiac arrest at age 42—but his legacy of creating India's fresh FMCG revolution continues through the brand he built.

This is the story of how Epigamia turned seasonal ice cream disappointment into year-round Greek yogurt leadership—one 15-day shelf-life innovation at a time.

The Founding Team

Rohan Mirchandani (1982-2024): Born in New Jersey, USA; BSc Finance and International Business (NYU Stern School of Business); MBA (Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania); corporate experience in finance; January 2013 moved to India at age 30

Chef Ganesh Krishnamoorthy: 20+ years food and beverage experience; specialization in Italian cuisine and gelato; culinary expertise

Uday Thakker: Co-founder; operations and business development

Rahul Jain: Founding Partner; supply chain and logistics expertise

2013-2014: The Hokey Pokey Era

2013: Drums Food International founded; Hokey Pokey premium ice cream brand launched

Innovation: Live kitchen in parlours—customers create own ice cream flavours on cold stone using different ingredients; pioneer in customization space

2014: Hit stores; became famous for unique flavours

Challenge Identified: Ice cream seasonality—sales decimated during monsoon and winter (May-August particularly brutal); distribution expansion during off-season massive challenge

Strategic Realization: Need non-seasonal product for sustained growth and avoiding dependency on particular season

The "Eureka Moment"

The catalyst for the FMCG pivot is often traced to Rohan's "eureka moment" during a business school lecture in Mumbai—highlighted perceived lack of innovation in India's FMCG landscape.

Rising consumer health consciousness combined with observing ice cream's limitations prompted strategic thinking: What category could they create?

Greek Yogurt Opportunity:

• Health-conscious consumer trend accelerating

• Untapped category in India (no branded Greek yogurt)

• Year-round demand (no seasonality)

• Protein-rich, preservative-free positioning

The Challenge: Managing two different supply chains with limited resources not viable—frozen (ice cream) vs. cold (yogurt); 9-12 month shelf life (ice cream) vs. 15 days (yogurt); different production, storage, distribution

The Decision: Focus only on Epigamia; discontinue Hokey Pokey temporarily (though Hokey Pokey had become leading premium ice cream brand, the greater opportunity demanded focus)

The Name: Epigamia

Essential to come up with brand name with good recall value. If famous story with universal appeal lies at root of brand's name, it can amplify.

Historical Story:

326 BCE: Alexander the Great (ruler of ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia) launched campaign to enter India after conquering much of Persia

323 BCE: Alexander's death

312 BCE: Seleucus I Nicator (Macedonian general from Alexander's army) established Seleucid Kingdom, reconquered most of Alexander's former empire in Asia

305 BCE: Seleucus came into conflict with Chandragupta Maurya (who with Chanakya's guidance established Mauryan dynasty in India)

303 BCE: Both sides made peace

In ancient Greek, "Epigamia" was a way of formalising the relationship between different nations—perfect metaphor for bringing Greek yogurt tradition to Indian market.

June 2015: The Launch

Product: India's first branded Greek yogurt

Initial Range: Greek Yogurt (multiple flavours)

Positioning: Fresh FMCG brand offering snacking solutions with natural functionality—fresh, preservative-free ingredients with protein boost through lactose-free options

Innovation Focus: Creating category that didn't exist in India; contemporizing dairy industry

Distribution Strategy: Modern trade chains (Reliance Fresh, Godrej Nature's Basket, Future Group Foodhall, Big Bazaar, Hypercity); e-commerce platforms (BigBasket, Amazon)

Product Expansion

Epigamia Snack Pack: Amazing burst of taste & texture—crunchy granola meets yogurt

Artisanal Curd: India's first lactose-free curd

Epigamia Mishti Doi: Contemporary take on traditional Bengali dessert; lactose-free

Greek Yogurt Smoothies: High protein drinkable yogurt; lactose-free

Ghee-Based Spreads: Expanding into dairy derivatives

Plant-Based Range: Coconut milk yogurts (claimed first in India); launched via D2C platform; core to vision of contemporizing Indian dairy industry; big leap toward sustainable livelihood and cleaner environment

Total SKUs: Expanded from initial launch to 21 SKUs (2019), then 24 SKUs (2020)

July 2017: Series B Funding

Amount: $12.63 million (₹90 crore)

Lead Investor: Verlinvest (Belgium-based consumer-focused investment firm; founded 1995 by founding families of Anheuser-Busch InBev; manages $2+ billion; portfolio includes Vitacoco, Popchips, Glaceau Vitaminwater, Oatly, Future Group, Veeba Foods, BYJU's)

Other Investors: InnoVen Capital (venture debt), DSG Consumer Partners (DSGCP)

January 2019: Series C Funding

Amount: $25.58 million (₹182 crore)

Lead Investors:

• Verlinvest

• Danone Manifesto Ventures (DMV)—venture capital arm of Danone (world leader in fresh dairy products; global operations in 120+ countries)

Other Investors:

• DSG Consumer Partners (DSGCP)

• Samina Vaziralli (Executive Vice Chairperson of Cipla)

• Innoven Capital (venture debt)

New Hire: Ramanpreet Sohi (formerly Innovative Foods) joined as CFO

Deepak Shahdadpuri (Managing Director, DSG Consumer Partners): "Over the last 3 years, Rohan and the Epigamia team have not only created the Greek yogurt category in India but have also established Epigamia as a Fresh FMCG brand"

Laurent Marcel (Managing Director, Danone Manifesto Ventures): Partnership with global leader in dairy space

Use of Funds: Expand distribution across 25 cities in India; expand range of fresh contemporary products with unique value propositions (high protein, lactose-free, probiotics)

Distribution: ~10,000 touchpoints

Vision: Expand to 50,000 touchpoints over five years

May 2019: Deepika Padukone Investment

Investor: Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone (undisclosed amount)

Strategic Partnership: Also became brand endorser

Extension: Part of recently closed Series C round

Rohan's Comment: "Super excited to welcome Deepika into the Epigamia family as partner and shareholder. Deepika's massive reach and appeal with health-conscious youth of India will help brand scale to another level"

Product Range: 20 SKUs across Greek yogurt, artisanal curd, snack pack, mishti doi, smoothies

June 2020: Series C Extension

Amount: ₹40 crore ($5.2 million; total extension ₹400 million)

Investors:

• Danone Manifesto Ventures (₹20 crore)

• Mousse Partners (New York-based; ₹20 crore)

• Julie McGinnis (founder, Palladian Advisory Services; ₹35.47 lakh)

Product Launch: Plant-based coconut milk yogurts via D2C platform

SKUs: 24 across yogurt, smoothies, ghee-based spreads, curd, mishti doi, plant-based

The Logistics Innovation

Challenge: Greek yogurt's 15-day shelf life demands perfect cold chain

Solution: Created and demonstrated value in managing cold chain logistics fleet; scaled further as developed new products

Awards:

• 4th Cold Chain Industry Award (Future Supply Chain): Best-in-Class Distribution Network Strategy

• Global Logistics Excellence Award (Tata Strategic Management Group): Supply Chain Excellence in Dairy Products

Philosophy: Managing cold chain logistics as core competency; may partner or make acquisitions in future (Rahul Jain, Founding Partner)

The Growth Metrics

2022:

• Valuation: $160 million

• Distribution: 20,000+ retail touchpoints across 30+ cities

• Annual Revenue Run Rate: ₹250 crore (FY25 target)

• Total Funding: $81.2 million across 17 rounds (largest single round: $25.7 million)

Largest Stakeholder: Verlinvest (30% stake)

Market: India's spoonful yogurt market projected to grow ~20% CAGR from 2017-18 to 2022-23

FMCG Sector Context: Fourth largest sector in Indian economy; projected 20.6% CAGR to reach $103.7 billion by 2020

Expansion Plans (Pre-2025): Middle East by 2025-26

FY23: The Financial Reality

Losses: Widened to ₹67 crore (FY23) vs. ₹59.5 crore (FY22)

Market Capital: ₹1,362 crore (reported)

Commitment: Despite financial challenges, brand remained household name for innovation and quality

December 21, 2024: Rohan's Passing

At age 42, Rohan Mirchandani died from sudden cardiac arrest.

Drums Food International Statement: "It is with deep sorrow that we confirm the untimely passing of our beloved founder, Rohan Mirchandani"

Ankur Goel (COO) and Uday Thakker (Co-founder): "All of us at the Epigamia family will deeply mourn this loss. Rohan was our mentor, friend, and leader. We remain steadfast in our determination to carry forward his dream with strength and vigour. Rohan's vision and values will continue to guide us"

Board: Called Rohan "visionary leader" with "unwavering commitment, boundless energy, and deep passion"; fostered culture of mentorship and support; "We will work closely with leadership to take Rohan's legacy to greater heights"

The Philosophy

Rohan's NYU Professor's Advice: "Life is too short to be stressed. Either shut up and see it through or just end it. Make a decision and don't complain!"—helped maintain composure during challenging times

Inspiration: "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Eye of the Tiger"—mindset geared toward perseverance

Vision: Contemporizing Indian dairy industry; enabling sustainable livelihood and cleaner environment

The Legacy

From Hokey Pokey seasonality to Greek yogurt year-round—from June 2015 launch to $160M valuation—from 0 to 20,000+ touchpoints—from ice cream to creating entire fresh FMCG category—Epigamia's 9-year journey teaches timeless truths.

First, pivot from good to great. Hokey Pokey was successful; Epigamia was transformational—knowing difference saved company.

Second, 15-day shelf life demands excellence. Turning logistics challenge into competitive advantage (award-winning cold chain) created moat.

Third, category creation beats competition. Being India's first branded Greek yogurt positioned Epigamia as definer, not follower.

Fourth, global partnerships validate local execution. Danone (world leader in dairy) investing proved concept worked.

Finally, legacy outlives founders. Rohan's vision lives through team committed to carrying dream forward—proof that great brands transcend individuals.

When health-conscious Indians reach for Epigamia Greek yogurt today, they're tasting what started as ice cream seasonality frustration—proof that the best pivots aren't desperate reactions but strategic recognitions of where greater opportunities lie.

That's Epigamia. That's 9 years of turning "sales got desecrated" into India's Greek yogurt revolution—one 15-day shelf-life commitment at a time.

In memory of Rohan Mirchandani (1982-2024)—visionary who created India's fresh FMCG category.