Beverage, air conditioner sales may jump up to 40% as mercury surges

Another factor which plays well for cold beverage majors is the onset of Ramadan and elections which typically causes consumption to pick-up

Manufacturers of cold beverages and consumer durables expect demand to be greater this summer on expectation that temperatures will be high this year compared to 2023.

This comes on the back of lacklustre sales last year due to untimely rain, which affected sales of summer goods.

Manufacturers expect sales to be higher by 15-40 per cent this year.

Another factor which plays well for cold beverage majors is the onset of Ramadan and elections, which push up consumption.

“We are prepared to tackle demand and have had many launches in the past one year. They include coconut water and fruit juices,” Sanjay Singhal, chief operating officer, dairy and beverages, ITC, told Business Standard.

The maker of Rasna expects demand to be higher by 15-20 per cent over last year.

“The reduction in gas cylinder prices will cause money to move to fast-moving consumer goods,” said Piruz Khambatta, chairman of Rasna Group.

Mother Dairy has invested up to Rs 50 crore in augmenting capacities and has started an ice cream plant in the National Capital Region through a third-party congregator.

The dairy major has lined up 15-20 launches for the season. “The ice cream portfolio is set to expand with new variants and improved flavours, and the launch of tila kulfi. We will also be bringing Greek yoghurt into the market in the next month and a half,” said Manish Bandlish, managing director, Mother Dairy.

The company expects an increase of 25-30 per cent in sales this year over last year.

“As the temperature hits 30 degrees Celsius, we will start seeing an uptick in all categories, including ice creams, flavoured milk, and chaach (buttermilk),” said Bandlish.

Dabur too is gearing up for summer, with the launch of products across categories.

“We have started building inventories,” said Anshul Gupta, head of sales at Dabur India. 

The company is working on increasing its capacity at the beverage plant in Pantnagar.

“In addition, a unit has been set up in Indore for beverages and in Jammu for aerated fruit beverages,” Gupta added.

Consumer durables players expect to see a strong rise in sales. 

“We anticipate demand to rise by 20 per cent this summer season in air conditioners and refrigerators. After the festival season, we have seen sales continue to grow,” said B Thiagarajan, managing director, Blue Star.

Nilesh Gupta, managing director of Vijay Sales, said: “This year we expect sales to be more than 15 per cent in value and 10-12 higher in volumes,” said Gupta.

Last year, for Haier Appliances, the south, the west, and the east markets did well. However, the north was a little late in picking up. 

“This year we expect the same trend to repeat itself. The El Nino effect is expected to linger. The southern market is beginning to do well for us, while the east is starting to pick up as well. The north and central are yet to start seeing the summer effect,” said N S Satish, president, Haier Appliances, India. 

The company expects demand for its air conditioners to be higher by 40 per cent this year.