With temperatures soaring across India and an early arrival of summer, the ice cream industry is bracing for a significant spike in sales. Ankit Chona, managing director of ice cream brand Hocco, predicts a “bumper year” for the industry, with sales potentially increasing by 30-40% for most players.
Chona cites stable input prices, even lower than last year, as a key factor driving this optimistic outlook. This favorable cost environment allows manufacturers to avoid price hikes, making ice cream more accessible to consumers. Additionally, the extended summer season is expected to further boost demand.
While ice cream sales typically pick up around the festival of Holi, this year, warmer weather in early March has already led to increased consumption. “From the first week of March itself, we have seen the temperatures rising and so we have seen better offtake of ice creams,” Chona told CNBC-TV18.
He also shed light on popular ice cream flavors in India, noting that vanilla remains the top choice, followed closely by butterscotch and chocolate. Interestingly, strawberry, despite its global popularity, does not feature in the top 10 preferred flavors in the Indian market.
With the combination of favorable weather conditions, stable prices, and strong consumer demand, the Indian ice cream industry is poised for a significant boom this year.
