Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has invested in Drum Foods International Pvt. Ltd, the maker of the famous flavoured and greek yogurt brand Epigamia, as part of a strategic partnership that will also see her endorse the brand.
Epigamia is known for its flavoured yogurt, greek yogurt, smoothies, and mishti doi. The company will use the money to scale up its presence across cities.
“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.
“We have so far not done too much mass media advertisements. But on the basis of our association with Padukone, we are now looking forward to elevating the brand to the next dimension" Mirchandani added.
Padukone is expected to feature in Epigamia’s advertisements by the end of the calendar year.
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.
Padukone had set up KA Enterprises in 2017, to leverage her brand and back businesses ranging from apparel, to now food. So far, the firm has invested in four ventures.
Commenting on this new association with the brand, Padukone said, "I am thrilled to join the Epigamia family. Not only do I love the products but also connect very strongly with the brand philosophy. The team has big plans for expansion and I am excited to be closely involved as we roll out new products and enter new cities."
Reports suggest that as many as 32 celebrities have invested in 67 startups and other companies. Other actors who have invested in startups include Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar and Madhuri Dixit Nene. Recently, Bollywood actor and producer Suniel Shetty invested in Pune-based fitness and nutrition startup ‘Squats’.
Amitabh Bachchan has invested in ‘Just Dial’ while Priyanka Chopra has funded networking and dating app ‘Bumble’, run by Bumble Trading.
