Hatsun Agro Product Ltd will double its exclusive Arun Ice Creams Unlimited outlets by June, said Mr R.G. Chandramogan, Chairman and Managing Director, Hatsun Agro.

The company is set to expand this business backed by its market leading presence in the dairy sector. The company is also widening its ice cream product line with new pack sizes in ice cream.

The flagship ice cream brand of the dairy company has more than doubled sales in the last three years and is set to touch about Rs 100 crore in the current year, up from about Rs 35 crore. Last year, ice cream sales were about Rs 72 crore on total turnover of Rs 1,140 crore from branded liquid milk, dairy ingredients and milk-based products.

Hatsun is uniquely positioned to aggressively grow its ice cream business as compared to most other players present in ice cream alone. As the largest private sector dairy, Hatsun which has the strength of its milk business, can expand this allied product, Mr Chandramogan said.

Retail strategy

The company plans to open over 30 outlets, he said, adding to its 28 Arun Ice Cream Unlimited outlets, which are mostly in Chennai.

The company will spend about Rs 7.5 crore to increase the network. This range of outlets sells ice cream by the scoop and will be expanded to more cities and towns across Tamil Nadu. Arun Ice Creams in retail packs are available in more than 2,700 outlets in South India.

Hatsun Agro, which sells the Arokya brand of liquid milk and a range of dairy products, initially started in the early 1990s with sales of Arun Ice Cream before expanding into branded liquid milk. Between 2000 and 2007, its ice cream sales stagnated around Rs 35 crore.

The company is now a market leader in milk and has now focussed on ice creams also, he said.

The company has launched a 275-ml take-away ice cream tub that is suited for the modern day nuclear family as compared with the typical 500-ml or larger tubs.

In an announcement to the BSE, the company said it has closed down its rural retail chain operations.

In 2008 it had launched a ‘no frills' retail outlet to sell household goods using surplus space available at its milk collection centres. But with about Rs 1.5 crore sales a month, it did not gather the momentum Hatsun had targeted.

So the company decided to focus on selling cattle feed to its dairy farmers. It has leased cattle feed factories and has started sales from the milk collection centres, the Managing Director of Hatsun Agro added.

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