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Entrepreneurship is a mindset and a way of living life instead of just a mere occupation. Those who have the knack of turning tides in their favour by taking the plunge make their mark. One such disruptor in the Indian FMCG niche is the young leader Rohan Mirchandani. He is the founder of Epigamia, India’s fastest growing Greek yoghurt brand. Epigamia’s success has attracted great personalities like Deepika Padukone as one of its investors! In this blog, we will decode Rohan Mirchandani’s life story and success that has inspired countless young entrepreneurs to execute their start-up ideas in the growing Indian start-up ecology!
This Blog Includes:
Early Life and Education
Rohan Mirchandani is an incredibly well-educated Indian! He is a management graduate, who grew up in New Jersey, USA. He completed his education at NYU Florence, Italy, where he discovered his passion for wine while exploring the quaint city of Tuscany. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and International Business from NYU’s Stern School of Business and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Also read-Everything You Need To Know About The Wharton College
Rohan Michandani’s Journey from NYU to India
Mirchandani began his career with Standard & Poor’s Corporate Valuation Group before moving to India. As a globetrotter, he spent time in Tokyo and positively contributed to one of the largest merger and acquisition transactions in history. After returning to India, He went on to work for his family’s business, the Ross Group, where he was in charge of rebranding the logistics division. From working with big corporations to running his family business and revitalising the sphere, Rohan Mirchandani’s experiences clearly illustrate his enriching exposure in business management. His curiosity and incredible experiences with diverse cuisines and unique food culture lead him to start one of the fastest-growing FMCG products in India. This curiosity and hard work of Rohan Mirchandani laid the foundation of his successful startup.
Beginning of an Entrepreneurial Dream: From Hokey-Pokey to Epigamia
Rohan Mirchandani’s entrepreneurial journey is a quintessential example of perseverance, risk-taking, and conviction. It takes guts to embark upon the path of your true calling.
In 2009 Rohan Mirchandani came to India to visit his family and friends and he met the chef Ganesh Krishnamoorthy. He found his hobby ice cream business to be riveting and decided to invest a good chunk of his money into Hokey Pokey. Hokey Pokey was a side hobby business that was started by chef Ganesh Krishnamoorthy. The business had fared well but there was a problem of seasonality.
After completing MBA from Wharton, Rohan Mirchandani left everything and came back to India in 2013, to devote himself completely to his startup in the FMCG space.
He was the co-founder of Drums food international and Epigamia was the brainchild of Rohan Mirchandani. The idea dawned upon his mind when he had put up his thinking hat to come up with a product that will appeal to Indian customers. The product to be launched was to be in sync with the rising trend of a healthy lifestyle in the country. They came up with a greek yoghurt brand called Epigamia which instantly clicked in metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, especially among the youngsters. The company sells a wide variety of products such as greek yoghurt, smoothies, cream cheese, etc.
Its strategy was revamped post-pandemic as now it sells its products through both offline stores and online platforms. The company also started selling through a direct-to-consumer platform which boosted its revenue by 30% in the pandemic era. Plant-based diets are becoming more popular, with the number of vegans and vegetarians increasing in India and around the world.
Epigamia has now entered the market with a new line of plant-based alternatives made from coconut milk, which includes a jaggery-flavoured version, as well as mango and strawberry-flavoured yoghurts on the way. Its diversity and uniqueness have prompted big personalities like Deepika Padukone and companies like Danone Manifesto and Mousse Partners and Palladian Advisory Services to invest in the company. The company’s marketing technique and incredible involvement with the audience have created an unlikely bond between the consumer and seller.
Future Plans of Epigamia
The consistency and long-term success of a startup in a country like India, especially in the food-tech niche are dependent upon its future vision and goals. As of now, the company has 14000 offline stores in 30 cities. The future goal of the company is to reach up to 35,000 offline stores in 50 cities in the next two years!
The brand has struck a chord with its customers in tier-1 cities. The company further aims to expand itself in tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the forthcoming 2-3 years. With continuous research and development, the company is keen to explore the practical possibility of expansion in the middle east and southeast Asian markets. The brand’s core belief lies in continuous experimentation with traditional Indian products. It is planning to come up with new varieties in ghee and cottage cheese.
Also read- Top 50 Business Podcasts for Entrepreneurs
This was all about the Epigamia founder, Rohan Mirchandani. Hope you all found the blog worth reading and thought-provoking. For more inspirational blogs, please follow Leverage Edu on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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