Bengaluru: Dairy and snack company Epigamia is preparing to bring a new, larger manufacturing plant on stream in the next few months as the Verlinvest-backed company runs its existing facilities close to full capacity.
Epigamia currently operates eight factories at almost 85% capacity utilization, most of them run through co-manufacturing partners, and sells about three cups of its products every second across India, chief executive officer (CEO) Ritesh Gauba told Mint in an exclusive interview. Its plants are located in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
“Our plan for the next two to three years is to invest heavily in backend capabilities,” Gauba said, adding that spending on marketing and distribution will continue.
That build-out will not require outside capital, according to Epigamia’s co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) Ankur Goel. Asked if parent company Drums Food International plans to raise additional capital from French dairy company and existing investor Danone’s venture arm or any other institutional investor, Goel said, “We’re cash-flow self-sufficient, both for today and going forward. We’re not looking at a fundraise at the moment.”
The move signals where the executives intend to take Mumbai-based Epigamia next, roughly 18 months after co-founder Rohan Mirchandani’s death at the age of 42. Gauba, appointed as CEO last month, previously worked as general manager, India at Pladis (McVities and Godiva), and previously held leadership roles at Mars and Britannia. COO Goel was elevated as co-founder in May.
Competition for the value-added dairy shelf is intensifying. Tamil Nadu’s Milky Mist, filing for a ₹2,000-crore initial public offering, has expanded into Greek yogurt and high-protein cheese. Amul has committed thousands of crores of rupees to value-added capacity, including a new curd plant in West Bengal.
New-age players
Venture capital firm-backed companies such as Akshayakalpa Organic and Sid’s Farm are widening their flavoured yogurt and dessert ranges. In a category that Epigamia once had to itself, staying capital-light while building its own factories is as much a competitive statement as a financial one. Yet, new-age players have a distinct advantage.
“Dairy is all about quality and product innovation. New-age players have been responsive to customer needs, placed products in online channels better and launched new value-added products,” said Madhur Singhal, managing partner (consumer and internet) at consultancy Praxis Global Alliance.
Founded in 2007 by Mirchandani, Uday Thakkar, Rahul Jain and Ganesh Krishnamoorthy, Epigamia has raised upwards of $80 million ( ₹760 crore) from backers including Verlinvest, DSG Consumer Partners and Danone Manifesto Ventures, according to market intelligence firm Tracxn. It was valued at ₹1,250 crore when it last raised funding in December 2023.
The past 18 months have been Epigamia’s strongest yet, with revenue growth and improved profitability, according to the executives.
“The growth [in revenue] has been upwards of 50%. We don’t call ourselves a startup anymore,” Gauba said, crediting quick commerce growth, among other factors.
That operational discipline was tested early, executives said, when Epigamia had the Greek yogurt category largely to itself for its first five years and had to spend that time simply educating Indian consumers on how it differed from home-style curd. Greek yogurt is regular yogurt that has been strained to remove its liquid whey, making it thicker and creamier.
“Even today, the brand is synonymous with Greek yogurt. It’s, of course, our strongest portfolio,” Goel said, adding that the years of rivals entering since have only helped the category to grow.
Core products
That core still drives the business. Greek yogurt alone accounts for more than half of Epigamia’s revenue, the company said, even as it has pushed into protein milkshakes, smoothies and lactose-free products.
“But we do not look at ourselves as a Greek yogurt company,” Goel said, describing the brand instead as built around “taste, health, and convenience,” with newer launches—such as a protein milkshake designed around specific consumer gaps.
The company logged operating revenue of ₹180 crore in FY24, while net loss narrowed to ₹17.4 crore from ₹67 crore in the previous year, as per filings accessed by Tracxn.
“Epigamia created a new category but in the process has created a strong consumer brand. They can exploit their health platform and launch other product categories that have resonance with the same positioning. Expanding in other categories will enable them to grow further, create operating leverage in the channel and gain a greater share of the stomach of the consumer,” Praxis’ Singhal noted.
Distribution has shifted too. Once split 60-40 in favour of quick commerce and e-commerce over general and modern trade, that mix is “getting very close to 50-50,” executives said, even as offline presence —now spanning more than 150 cities—remains central to the brand.
In February, Epigamia said it would enter the United Arab Emirates through a partnership with e-commerce platform Noon. However, the plan was put on hold after the West Asia war.
“We’re not looking at other geographies just yet. Our full focus is currently on India,” CEO Gauba noted.