Deepika Padukone invests in greek yogurt Epigamia, will also endorse brand

Drums Food International, the parent company of fresh FMCG brand Epigamia, Monday announced a multi-crore strategic partnership with Deepika Padukone, which includes an investment from the Bollywood actress. The actor will also endorse the brand as its brand ambassador and act as a strategic advisor to the FMCG brand

"This investment is an extension of the recently closed series C round of funding led by Verlinvest, a Belgium-based consumer-focused investment firm, Danone Manifesto Ventures, the venture investment arm of one of the world's leading food and beverage companies, and DSG Consumer Partners, an Asia focused VC (venture capital) fund," Drums Food International said in a statement.

“Her (Padukone’s) involvement will accelerate the pace of reach for our products," said Rohan Mirchandani, co-founder, Drum Foods. As part of the deal, Padukone will own equity in Drum Foods. The company, however, declined to share the details of her investment.

Brand Epigamia, on the back of the capital raised and the strategic partnership with Deepika, will now look to expand into new products and enter new cities, it added.

Launched in June 2015, Epigamia is currently available in 20 stock keeping units (SKUs) under greek yogurt, artisanal curd, snack pack, MishtiDoi and smoothies.

It's parent firm - Drum Foods was founded in 2008 by former Wharton alumni Rohan Mirchandani, chef Ganesh Krishnamurthy, Rahul Jain, and Uday Thakkar. Its products are sold through more than 10,000 retail stores, including BigBasket and Amazon, besides retailers spread across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Over the next two years, the company plans to ramp up distribution to 50,000 outlets across more than 25 cities.

Deepika Padukone made it to the top five of Forbes India’s 2018 list of richest Indians, becoming the first woman to do so. As of 2018, Padukone who endorses over 20 brands had a brand value of $102.5 million, according to a celebrity brand valuation report by Duff and Phelps.

Padukone earns far less than her Hollywood counterparts would but makes up with more than a dozen lucrative endorsements. She currently endorses several high-value brands, such as Coca-Cola, Axis Bank, Vistara, Kellogg’s, Vogue, Tissot, Van Heusen, Tanishq and Nike.

Padukone also has her own label, All About You, for online shopping site Myntra and has backed startups like online furniture rental platform Furlenco, and beauty products marketplace Purplle.