Drums Food has raised 65 Cr so far: Rohan Mirchandani, Drums Food

Kindly shed light on estimated size of Greek yogurt market? What would be the estimated market share of Epigamia yogurt?

 We don’t peg ourselves to the strictly yogurt category only but rather see Epigamia as competing in the massive Snack market, estimated at >25,000 Cr across India. In which case, we are just at the tip of the iceberg. We established the Greek yogurt category in India two years ago and while we don’t have exact data regarding our share of the market, key clients inform us that we are leading in sales. 

 

Kindly highlight the distribution network for Epigamia yogurt? Also shed light on strategies to scale-up the distribution? What are the major challenges in this sector in terms of overall retailing?

Epigamia is available at ~4000 distribution points across India, with the widest distribution in Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai.  We have been extremely focused on expanding our distribution from the day we launched Epigamia.It has always been our goal to add new stores and cities when possible. We aim to increase our distribution network to 15 citieswithin the next few years and have already begun hiring great teams to run the network in those regions.We also look at strategies that help us increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our sales beats to ensure maximum productivity and reach.

 

So far, have you raised any sort of funds for your venture or plans to?

Yes, until date, Drums Food has raised 65 CR. In our latest round of funding, we received Rs. 44.5 CR from Verlinvest, a Belgian-based consumer-focused private equity group, and DSG Consumer Partners (DSGCP), an early-stage venture capital firm, as well as from ShripadNadkarni, Founder of Maverix Platforms (former Founder, MarketGate Consulting and CMO at Coca-Cola), and Fireside Ventures, led by former Helion Ventures Co-Founder, Kanwaljit Singh.

 

Is Epigamia Greek yogurt also retailed via online channel or you plan to leverage this channel as the part of omni-channel strategy?

We do not currently retail through our own website but Epigamia is available for purchase through other online retailers including Big Basket, Reliance, Grofers, Nature’s Basket and Gourmet Delight. 

 

At last, kindly mention your growth plans?

In the next five years, we plan to increase our point of sales from 4,000 to 40,000 and to expand and solidify our presence to 15 cities. We’re also looking to tap into the Middle East markets of UAE, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the second half of this calendar year, followed by Southeast Asia the following year. We will simultaneously diversify our product portfolio with the launch of more flavours and products, such as the recently launched Epigamia Snack Pack, and place more emphasis on marketing Epigamia as the ideal, natural, healthy and protein-rich snack for your daily lifestyle.