NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, APR 14
City-based ice-cream and frozen food major Vadilal Industries Limited on Tuesday said that it is eyeing Rs 800 crore in sales revenue during FY22 from its ice-cream category. Having taken a hit during the last summer season owing to pandemic-induced lockdown and limited supply, the company is looking to tap into revival in consumer demand and an extended summer, which will aid in its growth this year, says a top official of the company.
Speaking to the media virtually, Aakanksha Gandhi, brand director for Vadilal Ice Cream, said, “Owing to the pandemic 2020 was a tough year for the ice-cream category. We have already started witnessing early signs of demand revival this year. Our sales revenues from ice-cream segment was about Rs 650 crore in 2019-20. We are hoping to cross Rs 800 crore for ice-creams this year.
Launch of new products
The company has launched 12 new products for the summer season expanding its current range of 200 products. Apart from kulfis, the brand is building categories such as gourmet, badabite, flingo and ice-cream cakes for younger audiences who like to experiment with different flavours.
Full throttle campaign
Aiming to cash in on the summer heat an d to create greater recall of the brand, the company has rolled out a new campaign “Waah Vadilal” targeted at youth between 18 and 30 years. Made by advertising agency Lowe Lintas, the campaign will be promoted across print, outdoor hoardings, point-of-sale branding, television, digital media, and radio. Vadilal will also leverage Disney + Hotstar during Indian Premier League (IPL).
Gandhi added that “Through this campaign, we wish to create stronger affinity towards the brand Vadilal among young consumers. We have earmarked marketing budgets for this year, which stand at 8% of total sales, up from 6% in 2019.”
To a query on the volatility in raw material prices- Skimmed Milk Powder, Gandhi said that there will be no price revision in ice-creams.
Exports rake in moolah
Gandhi said, “We have done well clocking revenues of Rs 250 crore for the year 2020-21. The overseas sales have grown by 15% during 2020-21, including ice-creams, frozen and processed foods. This year we expect exports to cross Rs350 crore.”
The company said that it has strengthened its e-commerce verticals with a dedicated website (Vadilal.com) along with presence on third party platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Big Basket. Currently, it is fulfilling online deliveries through 250 retail points which will be increased to 400 this year to continue service at home consumption.
The ice cream industry is growing at 14% and post-2020-COVID tsunami, the company has experienced a surge in buying where consumers are indulging in ice creams more than ever!
Visit: https://youtu.be/nrb4ZVOdiao and https://youtu.be/0eZbKsm7AnU
