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US-based General Mills plans to take its Haagen Dazs ice cream brand to Sri Lanka. The Indian subsidiary of General Mills will launch the brand in the island nation.
Arindam Haldar, Director, Premium Foods, General Mills India, said, “The premium ice cream market may not be as big as India, but there is a luxury segment in Sri Lanka.”
Haagen Dazs is already present in the South East Asian countries, but it has yet to make its presence felt in the SAARC countries. “We are still not present in places such as Pakistan, but Sri Lanka will be the first country in the SAARC region,” he added. Haagen Dazs has been in China for the past 14 years. The brand was launched in India in 2008. Positioned as a luxury brand in the gourmet space, Haagen Dazs ice cream has been growing in places other than retail trade. “Majority of sales of our ice cream comes from our lounges, but we also stock the brand at 200-odd retail outlets,” said Halder. Today, Haagen Dazs has nine lounges and has also entered tier 2 cities such as Chandigarh.
While there are other ‘brands such as Movenpick and London dairy in the category, Haagen Dazs believes it does not face competition from such players. “Our business model is different from the rest of the premium ice cream brands, as we are in the luxury gourmet space. Our products are available across spas and premium coffee chains, which are about giving a similar experience,” he said.
Importing from its manufacturing base in Arras in France, Haagen Dazs has been facing the brunt of the sliding rupee, but will hold on to its prices. “By building efficiencies in the value chain, we will be absorb the high costs and control prices. While margins have gone up for all importers, our pricing strategy is linked to consumer acceptance and is under evaluation at this point of time,” added Halder.
Haagen Dazs had increased prices a year ago by 8 per cent. The price of a single scoop has gone up from Rs 185 to Rs 210.
General Mills is the sixth largest food company in the world.
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