Lotte plans to widen ice cream biz

livemint.com:

₹550 crore over five years to boost production at Havmor Ice Cream. In 2017, Lotte had acquired Ahmedabad-based Havmor Ice Cream Ltd for ₹1,020 crore and has been consistently upgrading its facilities, systems, as well as the team since then. “We have planned investments of ₹550 crore over the next five years," said Komal Anand, managing director of Havmor Ice Cream.

A key element of its expansion plan is a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Maharashtra’s Pune district, likely to be operational by June 2024. Havmor, which operates facilities in Ahmedabad and Faridabad districts, is expanding its capacity as rising demand is outpacing its current production. The investment will help ramp up production lines at its existing units.

“This investment covers the six new lines we put up in our Faridabad facility as well as the new lines that will come up in the Pune plant in 2024. We will add more lines in 2025 and 2026 in stages. The plan is to keep increasing production capability as well as upgrading existing facilities to ensure the highest standards of quality.

There is also an investment of ₹40 crore- ₹50 crore that we will make every year in the market to set up deep freezers," he said. Expanding the distribution network will also be a major focus area for the company, as Havmor seeks to strengthen its presence beyond key markets such as Gujarat and Rajasthan, to high-growth regions such as Maharashtra and south India. “The Maharashtra factory will aid our expansion into these areas through more affordable supply chain costs," Anand added.