Companies in the business of keeping cool are gearing up for a record summer this year. With temperatures already on the rise in the west, east and parts of the north, firms are readying production and distribution initiatives to meet the demand surge expected in the coming summer months.
“February and the first two weeks of March have been good from a sales perspective. We saw year-on-year sales growth of around 25-30% during this period and we expect numbers to improve as the summer progresses across the country,” Jayen Mehta, managing director at Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), maker of Amul brand of ice-cream and dairy products, said.
“Summer is the most anticipated season for many of our key categories, including ice creams, beverages, and curd. The early arrival of summer this year has already resulted in a 30-40% y-o-y increase in demand for these categories across channels,” Manish Bandlish, MD, Mother Dairy, said.
Bandlish said the firm was strategically expanding production capacities and strengthening cold chain infrastructure at consumer touchpoints. It was also enhancing consumer engagement initiatives to address the surge in demand.
Apart from ice creams and dairy products such as chhaach (buttermilk) and lassi (yogurt drink), colas, beverages such as juices and juice drinks, alcoholic beverages such as beer are expected to ride the heatwave as summer sets in early. Brokerage firm Nuvama says that categories such as talcum powder and cooling hair oils are also expected to gain from the long summer, prompting firms such as Emami to ramp up production and distribution.
Conversations with beverage industry executives reveal that the summer months could see a sales surge of around 25-30% y-o-y between March and May. January and February saw a sales surge of around 17-18% y-o-y, which is expected to get stronger as mercury levels rise.
“January and February have been excellent. In March too, we expect high growth,” Paritosh Ladhani, joint MD of SLMG Beverages, an independent bottler of Coca-Cola India, said.
Beer firms, on the other hand, expect around a 7% y-o-y increase in sales, driven by the above-normal temperature conditions. The Brewers Association of India expects around 430-440 million cases of beer to be sold in FY25, driven by the heatwave, a y-o-y growth of 5-7%.
Ice cream companies, on the other hand, remain confident of turning in good sales numbers, as consumers look to beat the heat. Mohit Khattar, CEO of Graviss Foods, which runs the Baskin Robbins chain of ice-cream parlours, said that growth is likely to be in strong double digits, driven by changing weather patterns, evolving consumer habits, and an increasing inclination towards indulgence.
“With 120 new stores opened overall in FY25 and a laser focus on innovation and premiumisation, we are likely to continue to outpace the market in terms of demand growth for our brand,” Khattar said.
Apart from a surge in footfalls in stores, Khattar said online ice cream orders on the q-commerce and e-commerce channels was also expected to grow especially during the peak summer months.
Komal Anand, MD of ice cream brand Havmor, said category momentum would be high this year as consumers seek comfort foods such as ice creams to stay cool.
“The ice cream category in India has tremendous headroom for growth, driven by rising disposable incomes and evolving consumer preferences. We expect category momentum to continue, fuelled by innovation, premiumisation, and deeper market penetration. Channels such as q-commerce are also expected to contribute to the growth in ice-creams,” he said.