Ice-cream players hope for a sizzling summer

After braving two bad summers, ice-cream makers are pinning their hopes on the rising mercury to boost sales this year. Buoyed by the positive sentiment, ice-cream majors are tapping into new sales channels, stepping up marketing efforts and adding more premium flavours to woo consumers.

Most of the top players are aiming to increase sales by 25-30 per cent this year, eyeing a stronger share in tier II-III markets.

e-rickshaw vending For instance, Creambell is planning to use e-rickshaws in a bid to upgrade the vending channel and make it more efficient than push-carts. “We had test-piloted the concept last year in Gurgaon. Given the positive consumer sentiment, we are now introducing the e-rickshaw vending concept in the top 8-10 cities and hope to deploy about 500 e-rickshaws,” said Nitin Arora, CEO, Creambell.

The company also plans to add new ice-cream parlours, called the Creambell Scoopers, taking the total to 100. “Besides focusing on our top markets, we are also hoping to strengthen our presence in the tier-II markets,” he added.

Mother Dairy, which is taking its ice-creams to new regions, is also using the e-commerce channel this season. “Besides focusing on growing our presence through traditional retail channels, we are also focusing on establishing our presence in the e-commerce channel this summer. We have already tied up with BigBasket and have worked closely with them for a smooth last-mile delivery mechanism, considering ice-creams are perishable products,” said Subhashis Basu, Business Head-Dairy Products, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetables. The company also recently tied up with online food ordering platform, InnerChef. Basu said the e-commerce channel may be small, but it is helping the company take its products to new cities, especially the South. “E-commerce will also be a key channel to grow niche flavours and premium products,” he added. The company, which is adding new products at various price-points, is also hoping to tap into more regional flavours.

Rural growth Vadilal, which has strong presence in the Western region, is looking to strengthen its position in the Northern and Eastern regions this summer.

To gain brand salience in new regions, it has roped in actor Parineeti Chopra as its brand ambassador to endorse new products.

“With the government pushing public investment in the rural sector, especially in agriculture and infrastructure, we believe that in the next three years we will see good growth coming in from rural regions, besides B and C towns,” said Devanshu Gandhi, Managing Director, Vadilal Group.

The company hopes to grow its ice-cream business to about ₹750 crore from the current ₹580 crore.