Founder of the iconic ice cream brand ‘Ideal Ice Cream’, Prabhakar Kamath passed away at the age of 79 on Saturday morning in Mangaluru. According to reports, Prabhakar Kamath was hit by a scooter in a road accident in Bejai, Mangaluru on October 28 and suffered from head injuries. He died at a private hospital in Mangaluru.
Prabhakar Kamath was also the founder of the famous Pabbas Ice Cream Parlour in Mangaluru, an outlet started by the Ideal in 1996. Ideal brand itself was started in 1975 which then became a popular brand with five parlours in Mangaluru, and products spread across retail outlets in three States.
Son of Prabhakar Kamath and proprietor of Ideal Ice Cream, S Mukund Kamath told BusinessLine that Pabba was the nickname of his father after whom Pabbas outlet was named.
Prabhakar Kamath’s Ideal brand of ice cream has a network of around 2000 dealers. Ideal Ice Cream is available in the markets in coastal Karnataka, northern Kerala and southern Goa. The first ‘Ideal’ ice cream shop was opened on Hampankatta Road in Mangaluru which served 14 different flavours of ice cream. The shop was at the heart of the city near Wenlock Hospital during that time.
The Ice Cream Parlour Pabbas is situated on MG Road in Mangaluru. Prabhakar Kamath was fondly called ‘Pabba Maam’ which was a name given to the ice cream parlour in 1996.
