South Korea-based Lotte Confectionary has planned to invest Rs. 450 crores in its Indian unit, Havmor Ice Cream, in the next five years, of which the main part will be setting up a new greenfield plant to expand manufacturing capacity.
This investment is done in order to set up a new greenfield plant at MIDC Talegaon in Pune, Maharashtra, expand the capacity of the existing Faridabad-based unit, and implement a go-to-market strategy.
Its Talegaon plant would be operational by the fourth quarter of 2024, where the Lottee range of premium ice cream would be manufactured. Lotte Confectionary, which acquired Havmor Ice Cream for Rs. 1,000 crores in December 2017, has positioned the homegrown brand in the mass-affordable segment while placing Lotte brand ice cream in a slightly higher mid-premium range as per its marketing strategy.
According to Havmor Ice Cream Managing Director Komal Anand, this is a big investment that will use the design and manufacturing technology from Lottee. Also, the company would go for capital investment and create an infrastructure of freezers for its further expansion in the consumer market.
Anand informed that the investment would be funded internally. At the same time, the company would increase its presence and availability in these 20 states and focus on the urban markets of Tier I & II.
Currently, Lottee sells World Cone in the Indian market, which is its best-selling ice cream globally. According to Anand, Lotte World Cone was introduced in 2021, and the acceptance of this product has exceeded expectations. Besides, the company is also planning to introduce one more product from its global portfolio next year.
Havmor is one of India’s fastest-growing ice cream brands, has a presence in 20 states, and operates 216 exclusive ice cream parlours across the country.