Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone's newly announced strategic partnership with FMCG brand Epigamia reveals a hitherto-unknown face of the top artiste, who is known for her previous successful career switches. She had moved from the badminton court to modelling to acting with great panache.
Drums Food International, the parent company of Epigamia announced a multi-crore strategic partnership with Deepika, which includes investment and an endorsement deal including the role of its brand ambassador, a report in Business Standard said. "Her (Deepika's) involvement will accelerate the pace of reach for our products," the report quoted Rohan Mirchandani, co-founder of Drum Foods, as saying.
Epigamia will now look to expand into new products and enter new cities, the company said. Launched in June 2015, Epigamia is available in 20 stock keeping units (SKUs) under Greek yoghurt, artisanal curd, snack pack, Mishti Doi, and smoothies. The flavoured yoghurt brand retails in about 10,000 touch points and aims to scale up to 50,000 outlets in a few years.
This is not Deepika's first foray into the field of business. She has launched her own label, All About You, available exclusively on online shopping site Myntra and has invested in startups like online furniture rental platform Furlenco, and beauty products marketplace Purplle.
Deepika, who recently married Ranvir Singh, her co-artiste in a number of movies, has ridden a series of blockbuster movies to enter the top five of Forbes India's 2018 list of richest Indians, becoming the first woman to achieve the feat. Deepika, who endorses more than 20 brands and has a brand value of $102.5 million, according to a celebrity brand valuation report by Duff and Phelps. Deepika has several high-value brands such as Coca-Cola, Axis Bank, Vistara, Kellogg's, Vogue, Tissot, Van Heusen, Tanishq and Nike in her endorsement portfolio.
A woman of many parts, the star who has delivered an eclectic clutch of roles in movies from Om Shanti Om to Padmaavat, is also into charity with her not-for-profit Live Love Laugh Foundation that helps to bring together people with depression and counsellors.
Epigamia says Deepika's 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 fund, according to a statement.
Deepika may be relatively new to the business world, but should easily catch up with her more successful peers because of her ability to tackle new challenges.
