Summer deals: Ice-cream, beverage makers hot on boosting capacity

With signs of an early arrival of summer, home-grown makers of beverages and ice creams are fast expanding capacity and stepping up innovation as they look to give established cola giants and large players a run for their money. 

Punjab-based Archian Foods, which produces Lahori Zeera, is ramping up capacity and scaling up its distribution network to meet a growing demand for its product. 

The company is setting up a plant in Lucknow. The unit will increase its capacity from five million bottles a day to 8.5 million. 

“We are happy to be one among the mainstream players and believe there are tailwinds to support our growth in the Indian non-alchoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages space. We are on the path to ‘lahorify’ Indian flavours that all of us have grown up with. To that end, we have just introduced three flavours — Lahori Aamras, Lahori Cola, and minty lemon — and will be launching a ready-to-serve rose flavoured drink in the coming week,” Saurabh Munjal, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Archian Foods, told Business Standard. 

The company this season is exploring contract manufacturing, which will help them produce over 10 million bottles a day.

“We are strengthening our distribution network, which has gone up to over 2,000 from over 1,500 last year. A lot of distributors come in after Holi, so we are aiming to have between 2,500 and 3,000 distributors by the end of this season,” added Munjal.  

Introduced in 2017, the brand is on track to cross ₹530 crore in net sales in FY25 and is aiming to reach a “four-digit revenue figure by next year”. 

Natural ice cream, which originated in Mumbai in 1984 and has 175 stores, is planning to have 200 of them in FY26, including 10 in the coming two months in new cities, including Chennai and Vizag. 

“The peak season usually begins after Holi, but this year we have started seeing an upward trend after Valentine’s Day, which is a good sign. We are anticipating another bumper season with a growth rate of 20-30 per cent in revenue and kilograms,” said Siddhanth Kamath, director, Natural ice cream. 

The company will also debut its family-sized packs on quick commerce platforms like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart.

To cater to this increased anticipated demand, the company is adding a plant in Mumbai. 

“The plant will be operational in March and will ramp up production by 10 additional tonnes a day. We would also like to explore a greenfield project to double our production in the next five years,” Kamath added. 

The company produces 30 tonnes of ice cream a day and is on track to cross ₹660 crore in gross sales this financial year.

Dairy major Mother Dairy is planning to launch more than 25 products this season. 

“Summer is the season we look forward to for many of our categories. With the advantage of an early onset and rising day temperatures, this season looks promising. We expect the demand for categories like ice creams, curd, and dairy beverages to go up by over 30 per cent,” said Manish Bandlish, managing director, Mother Dairy.  

Graviss Foods, which operates ice cream chain Baskin Robbins in India, is expecting a surge in footfall at its stores and higher online orders via quick commerce and e-commerce platforms.  

“We anticipate strong demand growth for indulgent treats and had set up a new plant about two years ago. While our volumes have consistently surged over the past few years, we still have spare capacity at this plant to cater to our growing needs,” said Mohit Khattar, CEO, Graviss Foods.

SUMMER DEALS

 

* Lahori Zeera maker introduces 4 new products, more in pipeline

 

Plans to ramp up capacity to 8.5 million bottles/day with new plant in Lucknow

 

Targets 3,000 distributors by end of season 

 

*  Natural Ice Cream plans to debut on quick commerce channels 

 

Targets 30% growth in revenue & kilograms

 

To add 10 new stores in 2 months; cross 200 stores in FY26