Epigamia co-founder Rohan Mirchandani passes away at 41 due to cardiac arrest

A graduate of NYU Stern School of Business and Wharton School, Mirchandani founded Drums Food International in 2013. Drums Food is the parent company of Epigamia, an FMCG brand that has become one of India’s most prominent Greek yogurt brands.

Bengaluru: Rohan Mirchandani, co-founder of Epigamia, a consumer goods brand known for its flavoured greek yogurt, passed away on Saturday due to a sudden cardiac arrest, the company confirmed in a press note on Sunday.

The day-to-day operations of Epigamia - backed by French retail major Danone Inc - will now be spearheaded by Chief Operating Officer Ankur Goel and Director Uday Thakker, who are also the co-founders.

“Rohan was not only a visionary leader but also an inspiration to everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. His unwavering commitment, boundless energy, and deep passion for Epigamia have left an indelible mark on all of us. We will work closely with the leadership of the company to take Rohan’s legacy to greater heights,” said the brand’s board in the note.

Commenting on the untimely and sudden demise of the co-founder, Karnataka’s Industries Minister MB Patil acknowledged the pressure and competition faced by startups. “As much as we want startups to succeed, we need to value health equally. The entire (startup) ecosystem needs to build an ecosystem fostering health and wellness,” he said in a post on X.

41 year old Mirchandani founded Drums Food International, Epigamia’s parent company, back in 2013. Under his leadership, the company started building a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) chain with a range of ice cream called Hokey Pokey. It hit the stores in 2014 and became a famous brand. However, given its seasonality, its sales later took a hit.

To ensure continued operations and reduce its dependency on a seasonal product, Drums Food launched Epigamia. With more products like curd, milkshakes, smoothies and other sweets, Epigamia expanded its footprint to over 20,000 retail touchpoints across 30 cities.

A New York University Stern School of Business graduate, Mirchandani had plans of expanding to the Middle East by 2025-26. Belgian investor Verlinvest and actor Deepika Padukone have also invested in the brand.

According to startup data platform Tracxn, Drums Food International generated a revenue of Rs 172 crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2023. Its revenue has a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent in the last five years.