Premium ice cream brand, Baskin Robbins, which has seen its input cost rise by nearly four-to-five per cent, is not mulling a price increase as it feels that would impact demand during the peak summer season. The company, which had not taken any price increases during the last fiscal, is looking to hold on to the current price levels till the end of the busy season.

According to Mohit Khattar, CEO, Graviss Foods Pvt Ltd - Baskin Robbins, there has been close to a 10-15 per cent increase in overall dairy products. However, the company, which primarily relies on skimmed milk powder and fresh cream, has seen its input cost go up by nearly four-to-five per cent.

“As of now, we have taken a conscious call not to increase prices. We did not increase prices last year, and we will absorb the price increase as we do not want customer demand to get impacted. After this busy season is over, we may take a look at it,” Khattar told businessline.

Also read: Ice-cream makers hoping to clock double-digit growth this summer

Robust growth in demand

The company, which saw its sales grow by 38 per cent during FY23, is expecting over 20 per cent growth on a higher base during Fy24 backed by a good demand.

The growth, Khattar said, would primarily come from product innovation, expansion into newer markets in the Tier II towns and strengthening its presence in some of the existing markets.

Baskin Robbins is currently available at over 850 locations across 239 cities. It is targeting to add over 100 stores nationally this year.

“We plan to expand geographically, and we will add 25-30 new cities every year mainly in Tier II cities and beyond. This apart, we also plan to strengthen our presence in some of the existing markets,” he said.

Also read: Ice creams fly off shelves as cruel summer beats down

Nearly 70 per cent of its sales currently comes from Tier I markets but it expects the share of Tier II towns to increase moving forward.

The ice cream market in India is estimated to be close to ₹18,000-₹20,000 crore and has been growing at around 15-17 per cent on a YoY basis. The company expects its growth rate to be higher than that of industry average.

Apart from parlours, the brand also retails through all leading supermarket chains and modern trade stores and leading general trade stores and food service accounts like hotels, restaurants, and caterers, among others. Nearly two-thirds of its sales come from the offline channel, while the remaining one-third comes from online and delivery platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Instamart, Big Basket, and Zepto, among others.

Catering to evolving consumer preferences, increasing demand, and reaching out to newer audiences, Baskin Robbins has expanded its product line with the launch of 17 products across all its parlours for this summer season. These 17 new products include not just new flavours but many new ice cream formats and categories as well, he said.

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