Along with the soaring mercury in the last two months in the city, sale of Aavin ice creams too increased five fold this summer.
According an official source from the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Ltd (Aavin), the cooperative recorded five-fold increase in sales compared to the previous year.
Chennai is the major market for Aavin ice cream products but rise in production capacity has enabled the cooperative to focus on tier II cities such as Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi. Introduction of premium ice cream varieties in scoops and cups priced between ₹40-₹60 a month ago has received a good response.
“But Kulfi continues to remain a favourite and we sell close to 25,000 kulfis across the State daily,” the source said.
Having presence in whole range of milk products, starting from beverages to sweets, the cooperative intends to establish itself as a strong brand in Tamil Nadu.
Aavin parlours “We are now trying to build brand for Aavin. The hi-tech Aavin parlours that have come up in Chennai in recent times are in that direction. The response was very good and we do close to ₹2 lakh sales during weekends in some of the parlours,” the official added.
Chennai has six company-owned Aavin parlours that sell snacks along with Aavin products and another 10 such outlets are in the pipeline. Aavin is trying to penetrate tier II and III towns as well.
“There is one in Dharmapuri and we are planning to open one in Salem and Erode as well,” he said.
Apart from the company owned parlours, Aavin products are sold in 500 exclusive retail outlets through franchises and in small shops. “We want to step that up and are doing sales promotions,” according to the source.
Aavin is known for its milkshakes and sweets such as palkova, but its chocolates lack visibility. “We introduced chocolates two years ago but not many people are aware of them. So chocolates segment will also be given a thrust in the coming years,” the official said.