Pune Inc: Gajar halwa, til gud and more – Hadapsar firm’s ice-creams set to melt the Middle East

One of the companies enabling this push is Pune-based NIC Honestly Natural Ice Cream, which operates on the principle of containing no artificial flavours, colouring agents or preservatives. It was also among the ice-cream companies that rode out of the pandemic with profits — their gross sales went from Rs 9.65 crore in FY 2017-18 to Rs 56.50 crore in FY 2020-21 and Rs 166 crore in FY 2021-22. This is largely due to a presence on food-tech platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato rather than dependence on local grocery stores. NIC is present in 70 cities across 20 states in the country.

Now, the company, which has a factory in Hadapsar, is setting up another one in Delhi as it gears up to go deeper into India with new flavours. Pune will also see new stores and franchises. A major move is overseas, to the Middle East, before NIC looks at expanding to other geographies. “The Middle East is a promising market in terms of size because, though it has a smaller population compared to metro cities in India, the rate of consumption is high. We have surveyed the market in terms of the brands available and what people like. We have a strong belief that our ice-creams will catch up over there,” says Sanjiv Shah, director of Walko Food, which owns the brand.

In India, the dominant players in the field are Amul — which is the biggest — Kwality Walls, Vadilal, Creambell and Naturals. There are also popular local brands in different regions that have existed for years, such as Arun Ice Cream in the south. NIC has a six-year-old story and its strength, which it is taking to other countries, has been proven in the varied Indian market. “Our ingredients are milk, sugar and the appropriate ingredient, such as mango during the season. Our popular points are flavours inspired by Indian desserts such as gulab jamun, sheer khurma, til gud and gajar halwa as well as the fruit and dry fruit variations of international flavours such as Mediterranean Sea Salted Caramel, Madagascar Chocolate and French Vanilla,” says Shah.

NIC’s small sugar-free range, with two flavours, will be expanded to six in a few months as “healthy eating is gaining ground in India and we are very conscious of getting into this space”. “We want to cater to all segments in the industry and delight diverse taste buds,” adds Shah.