Introduction
The ice cream market growth picked up after de-reservation of the
sector in 1997. Of the total size of Rs 15-16bn, around 30-32% is in the
hands of organized sector valued at Rs 4.9bn, rest all is with the
unorganized sector. Among the major players in this industry Hindustan
Lever has a market share of around 50%, represented mainly by Kwality
Walls brand. Amul with an estimated market share of 35% is rapidly
gaining market share and lastly Vadilal is the player in the national
market with 8-9% of the market share.
Production area
In rural areas, kulfis / ice creams made by small / cottage industry
are popular. The market for organized sector is restricted to large
metropolitan cities. In small towns and villages, there are thousands of
small players who produce ice- creams / kulfis in their home backyard
and cater to the local market. Almost 40% of the ice creams sold in the
country are consumed in the western region with Mumbai being the main
market, followed by 30% in the north and 20% in the south.
Growth promotional activities
The Indian government adopted the policy of liberalization regarding
the
ice cream industry also and it is since then that
this sector has shown an annual growth ranging from 15- 20% per annum
for last 1- 2 year. Presently in 1999- 00 it is estimated at worth of
Rs15- 16bn. This growth rate is expected to continue for another next 2-
3 years because of lower base.
Types
Indian Ice Cream market can be segmented in three different
ways, namely on the basis of flavors; on the basis of stock keeping
units / packaging and on the basis of consumer segments. On the basis of
flavors the market today has a number of flavors like vanilla,
strawberry, chocolate, mango, butterscotch a number of fruit flavors,
dry fruit flavors traditional flavors like Kesar- Pista, Kaju- Draksh
etc.
The market is totally dominated by Vanilla, Strawberry and chocolate,
which together account for more than 70% of the market followed by
butterscotch and other fruit flavors.
