Natasha Aggarwal at the Ballygunge Circular Road outlet of Mama Mia. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

In the morning, she had her sleeves rolled up, chef’s apron on, making dollops of lip-smacking ice-cream, with just the lone helper in tow. The evenings, mom and dad helped her count the day’s proceeds before she packed up.

“I didn’t even know how to tackle the screaming crowd then, there were just the two of us,” recalls Natasha Aggarwal. It was May 2005, and the 24-year-old business management grad from Warwick University had just set up her first Mama Mia gelato outlet in New Alipore.

The response was “crazy”, but little did Natasha realise then she was about to make retail history of sorts. It’s been one to 15 outlets in less than two years, and the daughter of Shanti ‘Rollick” Aggarwal has emerged from her father’s shadow with elan, topping a turnover of Rs 4 crore and eyeing 30 stops pan-India by the year-end.

“I grew up in an ice-cream environment and used to help dad make cash bills as a kid. However, the mass market was never my game and I saw a gap in the premium segment. So I thought, why not Italian ice-cream?” smiles the slender marketing expert.

Natasha actually discovered gelato on a backpacking trip to Rome with friends. She then went back to Bergamo, where she “chefed” hands-on with Danielle Ghisalberti at a town factory to learn the ropes of gelato making.

Then New Alipore happened, but it was just the tip of the iceberg, err, cream…

With the opening of the Ballygunge Circular Road flagship parlour during Puja ’05, the Mama Mia magic really unfolded, with weekend footfall touching a thousand and more. Young Natasha now has five outlets in her hometown, and proud tie-ups with INOX for Forum and City Centre and with Fame for Hiland Park.

“With the retail boom simply exploding all around, I now know the places to be are the malls and multiplexes, where impulse rules,” declares Natasha, who has now clearly segregated her business into ‘impulse outlets’ and ‘hangout destinations’.

Alliances with the multiplex majors have now taken the home-grown Mama Mia brand outside Calcutta, to Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, with other cities on the radar, too. This year will also see the opening of two more city outlets, at South City Mall and Mani Square, plus five in Bangalore and Pune.

Natasha, who has been single-handedly managing her gelato jurisdiction all these months, now has a master JV for Maharashtra with Umesh Mehta of Little Italy fame. Cashing in on the strong brand recall, particularly among the youngsters, she has also launched Mama Mia merchandise, like water bottles.

Of course, the Dark Fudge and the Dolce Latte continue to roll off the racks. Still, Natasha, the “pioneer in gelato here”, knows the need for constant reinvention to keep her nose ahead. Hence, the innovative breakthroughs, like gelato cakes, take-home desserts, cheesecakes and chocolate mousse ice-creams.

Keen to carry the sweet success story forward, the young entrepreneur travels to Italy once a year to pick up tips and flavours. “Even now, many think Mama Mia is an Italian brand and I’m a franchisee,” she smiles.