AHMEDABAD: With the demand for ice creams breaking all previous records, manufacturers are bullish about expanding their presence and augmenting their capacities. India’s largest co-operative, Amul, enjoys almost half of the market share in the country’s ice-cream space. It aims to double its ice-cream manufacturing capacity within the next two years.
Amul ice creams are currently manufactured at 17 locations across the country. The number of plants will be doubled now. To begin with, Amul will expand its manufacturing capacity at nine new locations in the next one year.
“We will expand ice-cream manufacturing capacity at Sanadar Dairy Complex at Banaskantha, Bhuj, Surendranagar, and Amreli districts in Gujarat,” said Jayen Mehta, COO, GCMMF (Amul Federation). “Outside Gujarat, we will expand our capacities in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, Taloja near Mumbai, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Guwahati in Assam, and Jairambati near Kolkata. ”
Buoyed by growth, local players are also considering expansion into newer markets and strengthening their presence in existing domains. The founders of Huber & Holly brand of ice creams, who sold their erstwhile brand Havmor to South Korea’s Lotte for Rs 1,020 crore in September 2019, are planning expansions for their new ice cream brand.
Pradeep Chona, the founder and director, Huber & Holly, said: “New flavours and innovations in our offerings have allowed us to grow well and we are going aggressive on expansions. ” Chona added: “So far, we have presence in Ahmedabad, Pune, and Hyderabad. We are also looking to invest Rs 10 crore in the coming year to open about 10 outlets in Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and to even foray into the Bengaluru market. ” He went on to say: “The demand is good and signs of uncertainty due to Covid-19 are fading and therefore, we are expecting a good response. The franchise inquiries have also increased. ”
