India’s appetite for ice cream is on the rise.
Growing incomes, changing tastes and improving infrastructure are all helping to boost the growth of the ice cream industry.
“Essentially it’s to do with the changing demographics – the buyer is getting younger by the day, disposable incomes are also increasing as per capita income goes up, lifestyles are changing,” says Nitin Arora, the chief executive of Creambell, one of India’s big ice cream companies, headquartered in Gurgaon, north India. “There are so many factors in favour of ice cream. I’m very bullish.”
Mr Arora says there are about six major national brands and some 8,000 ice cream manufacturers, as well as multinational brands, in the country.
The ice cream industry in India generated revenue of more than US$1.5 billion last year and is expected to more than double to generate over $3.4bn by 2021, according to TechSci Research, a global market research and consulting company.
Figures from the consultancy Technopak show that the annual per capita ice cream consumption in India is 300ml, compared with 22,000ml (22 litres) in the US and 3,000ml (3 litres) in China, proving there is ample room for growth.
“Ice-cream earlier was considered as a luxury food product. However, with changing time taste and preference of consumers changed, which propelled growth in the India ice cream market over the past few years,” says Karan Chechi, the research director at TechSci. “Moreover, growing demand for natural and traditional flavoured ice cream, coupled with increasing penetration of international brands, improvement in cold chain infrastructure and rapid urbanisation are set to drive the India ice cream market during the forecast period.”
The most popular classic flavours are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and mango, while more traditional Indian flavours such and kesar pista and pista kulfi are also highly popular, according to TechSci, a consumer market research advisory.
Amul, based in Anand in Gujarat, is the market leader in the ice cream sector, helped by the fact that it is the country’s largest producer of milk.
R S Sodhi, the managing director of Amul, says that the company has a 42 per cent share of the Indian market, with 120,000 ice cream stores, and with its products available across more than 2,000 towns in the country. Amul is aiming to double its sales volume in the next five years.
“Demand for ice cream in India is summer-driven, starting in March and lasts until the onset of monsoon in June. This peak season contributes more than 40 per cent of annual sales. The second mini-peak season of ice cream is after monsoon and before winter season, when there are lots of festivals and also temperature is moderately high.”
He added that Indian consumers are shifting from traditional sweets to ice creams in routine food habits, festivals, gifting, and celebrations such as weddings and birthday parties.
The Amul executive explains that competition in the industry is a challenge that is keeping the brand on its toes. But he says that the “multinationals are limited to big cities and niche products”.
“The next challenge for is to improve distribution depth, especially in the rural market where branded ice cream is still considered a niche product,” he adds.
Ankit Chona, the managing director of Havmor, another of India’s major ice cream producers, based in Gujarat, says he expects the industry to expand by 15 per cent annually “for at least the next five years” and sees “no reason why the market should not explode”.
“The ice cream industry is still at its nascent stages and still has a long way to go,” says Mr Chona.
A few years ago, power was the biggest challenge across villages and even cities in India, but this situation is improving, which has helped to facilitate the rapid growth of the ice cream sector, he says. The availability of more refrigeration facilities across the country is also helping.
In recent months, growth has slowed slightly because of the impact of the government’s demonetisation move in November, which led to a cash crunch following the removal of the country’s two highest value banknotes, he says.
The major “short-term challenge” for the sector, however, is the rise in the costs of ingredients.
Skimmed milk powder was priced at about 140 rupees per kilogram last year and now the market price is 240 rupees a kilogram. Other ingredients including sugar have also become more expensive.
“That’s the industry-wide challenge that everyone is facing right now, so there’s nothing left to do but to obviously increase prices,” says Mr Chona.
But there is a limit to how much prices can be raised.
“There has been a surge as far as the input costs are concerned in the last couple of months,” says Mr Arora of Creambell. “This leads to a situation where most of the brands end up absorbing the brunt of this and we are not able to pass on much to the consumer. It has most of us going back to the drawing [board] and trying to reconstruct the cost model.”
Creambell’s costs this year have increased by about 25 per cent and it has raised prices by 7.5 per cent, he says.
Another challenge that the sector faces is the competition between the organised big brands and the unorganised small-scale ice cream vendors.
“Anybody with a start up capital of 25 lakh rupees [Dh137,000] can start a small ice cream plant,” says Mr Chona of Havmor.
He says that some of these smaller players do not adhere to the health and safety standards and do not pay taxes “and are too small to come under the radar of the government”, meaning that they can undercut the bigger brands in the pricing of their ice creams.
“It’s just not a level playing field”.
Despite the increased presence of multinationals, including the likes of Baskin Robbins, Mr Chona says there is room for branded companies to exist alongside each other and for everyone to grow.
“What happens is as multinationals come in they advertise significantly and that creates consumer awareness and that also helps us,” says Mr Chona. “They advertise a disproportionate amount to their revenues because they have deep pockets, so the overall ice cream market benefits.”
Shivkant Sidnal, the managing director of Adityaa, a relatively new Karnataka-based ice cream company that launched in 2008, says: “With the advent of multinational and national companies mushrooming in the ice cream industry, the competition level in India has gone very high.”
But consumption is also rapidly growing and Indians are increasingly looking for new flavours, he says.
“There is a radical change in the thinking of Indian consumers. Today the consumers are looking for more flavours, variety and range.”
The Ice Cream Factory, which has an outlet in Mumbai, aims to deliver a “live” ice cream experience to its customers by preparing rolled ice cream in front of them and using liquid nitrogen for theatrical effect, with its flavours including “smoking biscuits” and “dragon breath poppers”.
Owais Merchant, the managing director, says he saw “a gap in the market” and that his long-term plan is to expand the brand across the country.
“Companies like Amul, Mother Dairy, Vadilal, Havmor, have been in the industry for a very long time, which has made them able to garner trust and loyalty amongst consumers,” says Laltu Sinha, a research manager at TechSci. “Foreign players entering the market are expected to face tough competition due to the high cost of raw materials, scarce presence in the country, and due to high loyalty of the consumers towards existing brands”
Despite the improvement in refrigeration facilities, this still poses a problem in parts of India.
“Supply chain management is another challenge in the Indian ice cream market,” says Mr Sinha. “The companies looking to expand into rural areas have to deal with the lack of cold storage and transportation facilities, which is not as advanced when compared to other countries.”
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The%20specs
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Company%C2%A0profile
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The Intruder
Director: Deon Taylor
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good
One star
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
Results:
5pm: Baynunah Conditions (UAE bred) Dh80,000 1,400m.
Winner: Al Tiryaq, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Abdullah Al Hammadi (trainer).
5.30pm: Al Zahra Handicap (rated 0-45) Dh 80,000 1,400m:
Winner: Fahadd, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi.
6pm: Al Ras Al Akhdar Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m.
Winner: Jaahiz, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.
6.30pm: Al Reem Island Handicap Dh90,000 1,600m.
Winner: AF Al Jahed, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.
7pm: Al Khubairah Handicap (TB) 100,000 2,200m.
Winner: Empoli, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh80,000 2,200m.
Winner: Shivan OA, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Mumbai Indians 213/6 (20 ov)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/8 (20 ov)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Top 10 in the F1 drivers' standings
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 202 points
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 188
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 169
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 117
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 116
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 67
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 56
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 45
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 35
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 26
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
