Prabhakar Kamath started Ideal Ice Cream with a single parlour in Mangaluru in 1975. Nearly five decades later, the family-run business has expanded into manufacturing and distribution, with Ideal Icecream Private Limited reporting revenue of Rs 153.2 crore in FY25, according to Tracxn.
Before building the ice cream business, S Prabhakar Kamath had hoped to join the Indian Air Force. But the death of his parents when he was 20 left him responsible for supporting his siblings, forcing him to turn to business instead.
He began by selling tailoring and raincoat material and later moved into the seasonal firecracker trade. Looking for a business with more consistent demand, he considered several ideas, including selling sugarcane juice. That venture did not take off, but another experiment eventually changed the course of his entrepreneurial journey.
Kamath initially bought freezers to sell ready-made ice cream but could not find dealers to supply the products. He then decided to make ice cream himself, teaching himself the process through experiments at home and asking neighbours to sample his creations.
"He bought freezers to sell ready-made ice creams but did not find the dealers. That’s when he decided to make his own ice creams," his son Mukund Kamath recalled in an interview with Deccan Herald.