After a dry two years, the demand for soft drinks and ice-creams has touched a five-year high. This has happened because of the early onset of summer, improved power supply in villages, stable prices, return of push-cart workforce to cities, and revival of business and leisure travel as well as general mobility.
PepsiCo’s largest South Asian bottler, Varun Beverages, chairman Ravi Jaipuria, said that they have not seen such high demand in over five years in the summer and all plants are running at full capacity. This is because of early summer, the power situation in villages, which has improved significantly so retailers can stock better, minimal price increases, and the return of mobility.
This comes after a complete washout in the past two summer seasons, which saw cold beverages and ice-creams being hit amid local curfews, shut-downs of marketplaces and malls, and misconceptions about cold foods and beverages possibly increasing chances of Covid-19 infection.
Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation managing director RS Sodhi said ice-cream sales of the Amul brand have crossed close to 40% over the summer of 2019 so far.
Summer has come 20 to 25 days early; the push-cart workforce, which had left for the villages the last two years, has returned, which is helping to marshal sales; there have been minimal price increases in ice cream compared to other FMCG products; and there’s pent-up demand.
According to Mother Dairy, its ice-cream sales have grown over 50% from pre-Covid levels on the back of rising temperatures, an enhanced number of distribution assets coupled with the wedding season and the opening up of restaurants, offices and educational institutions. There is a surge in demand across categories, but the demand is more tilted towards the impulse category.
Milind Pingle, CEO of Allana Consumer Products, which distributes the premium London Dairy ice-cream in India, said the company expects to see sharp, double-digit growth this summer. “We have invested in e-commerce and expect sales to not only accelerate across aggregators’ platforms and quick commerce, but also through modern and traditional trade.”