Kwality Wall's India appoints board ahead of Hindustan Unilever demerger

It has access to introduce Ben & Jerry's, Viennetta and Yasso brands in India

Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd. (KWIL), a leading ice cream and frozen desserts company in India, late Sunday night announced the constitution of its board of directors, ahead of its demerger from Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL). 

 

A total of seven appointments have been made, including one non-executive director, two executive directors and four independent directors. 

 

Chitrank Goel has been appointed deputy managing director and executive director, Prashant Premrajka has been appointed chief financial officer.

 

Both Goel and Premrajka have over two decades of experience in the consumer goods industry. 

 

Its independent directors include Ravi Pisharody, Madhavan Hariharan, JV Raman and Shukla Wassan. It has also appointed Ritesh Tiwari as non-executive director. He currently holds the position of global head of M&A, treasury and ventures at Unilever PLC. 

 

 

“The newly formed board brings together seasoned corporate leaders with extensive experience across consumer goods, finance, governance, regulatory affairs, risk management and strategic mergers & acquisitions. These members will be responsible for guiding KWIL as it embarks on its journey as an independent listed entity," HUL said in a stock exchange filing.

 

KWIL will be demerged from HUL on December 1 and established as a separate company. 

 

The exchange filing added that KWIL is one of India’s most loved ice cream brands with a strong heritage and expansive distribution footprint. It is poised to accelerate growth, operating independently with a dedicated leadership and governance structure.

 

In a presentation uploaded on the exchange, KWIL said that the ice cream market is growing in double digits and is supported by strong category tailwinds and a sizeable snacking market. 

 

It also added that its strategy and growth pillars are accelerating growth through strategic pivots, a strong snacking portfolio straddling across the price piano, global brand access, and innovative formats & technology. 

 

India’s ice cream segment is a $2.6 billion market, forecast to grow at 11 per cent and projected to become a $4.4 billion category by 2030. 

 

“We have a robust margin improvement roadmap that enables us to re-invest in growth,” the presentation said. 

 

It said that it already has three of its global brands in the country and has access to introduce three more global brands which include Ben & Jerry’s, Viennetta and Yasso.