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| Edited By: Ankur Parikh |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 16, 2018, 04:20 AM IST
Even as various industries are wilting under the heat of recession, the ice cream industry is firming up for higher growth this summer. Major ice cream manufacturers such as Vadilal, Havmor and Amul, who have a presence in other states too, expect a 30% growth in business this season.
City-based manufacturers said ice cream sales had picked up with the arrival of summer. Talking to DNA, the owner of Havmor ice cream, Pradip Chona, said the industry usually posted an average growth of 20% every year across the country. “We expect the same growth this fiscal too,” he said.
He said Havmor had noted a 30% growth in demand in the last three weeks alone. Chona said that, because of the recession, people had cut down on eating out but not on their consumption of ice cream “Because of the slump, people have cut down on visits to restaurants,” he said, “but they now go out to have ice creams which cost much less.”
Gujarat accounts for 20% (Rs400 crore) of the total market for ice creams in the country. Chona said unorganised ice cream manufacturers account for 55% of the market, particularly in rural areas as major brands do not have a prominent presence there. He added that Havmor’s share of the ice cream market in Gujarat is 35%.
“The Indian ice cream industry is estimated to be worth nearly Rs2,000 crore. Organised players account for around 45% of this share, which comes to Rs900 crore,” said RS Sodhi, CGM, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF). GCMMF owns the Amul brand.
“Amul has 39% share in the national ice cream market,” Sodhi said. “It is the market leader in Gujarat where its market share is 42%.”
Devanshu Gandhi, MD, Vadilal Industries Ltd, said the ice cream industry will beat all recessionary trends and register at least 25% growth this season.
“Recession has had no impact on the industry. We expect demand to go up significantly in the coming days,” said Gandhi. The total size of the Ahmedabad ice cream market is around Rs70 crore. “The demand for ice cream in the city has been growing at 30%, which is faster than the national average,” Gandhi added.
