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Chennai-based Hatsun Agro Product Ltd will invest over Rs 50 crore to set up a national chain of ice cream parlours over the next one year.
The exclusive chain, under the brand name Ibaco, will be a stand alone format, offering a range distinct from its flagship Arun Ice Creams brand.
The company plans to set up a chain of 250 Ibaco outlets including 70 in Tamil Nadu. As of now, there are 45 Arun Ice Creams Unlimited exclusive ice cream parlours which will be rebranded, and in the next one month 25 Ibaco outlets will be added.
Mr R. G. Chandramogan, Managing Director, Hatsun Agro, says the company plans to establish a strong presence across South India and in stages will enter the markets in the North over the next one year, when 180 Ibaco outlets will be added to gain a national presence.
Each outlet will involve an investment of about Rs 25 lakh-30 lakh. The company has roped in international consultants for an aggressive expansion. For Hatsun Agro, the largest private sector dairy with a turnover of Rs 1,355 crore last year, Ibaco will be the second national brand after the Hatsun range of dairy products such as ghee, butter, dairy whitener and milk powder. Its flagship brand Arokya milk and Arun Ice Creams are regional brands restricted to the South.
As of now, the ice cream business, including Arun Ice Creams and the parlour chain, account for about 7-8 per cent of its total turnover amounting to about Rs 95 crore. Its ice cream parlours contributed to about Rs 10 crore.
Arun Ice Creams will constitute the ice cream range in cups, cones, sticks and bars.
Hatsun has two ice cream factories in Chennai and Salem with a total capacity of about 70,000 litres a day. Its existing cold chain infrastructure can be used to expand the ice cream distribution, he said.
The company announced to the BSE that it has resolved to sell a new range of ice creams under the Ibaco brand and open 70 outlets in Tamil Nadu and 250 across South India, including select outlets in North India by March 2013.
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