Top 10 Best Ice Cream Brands in India

What could be better on a hot summer’s day than a delicious Ice cream?

Whether you want to treat yourself or family and friends to ice cream or want to bring joy to a party or simply helps your family to enjoy some cool moments.

Regardless of whatever the reasons, ice cream is something that works wonders: it cheers up the mind.

With summers getting warmer and winters milder, ice cream is no longer a seasonal delight in India.

It is consumed over the year. An excellent slice, scoop, bar or cup of ice cream is sure to boost anyone’s spirits and spread cheer all around.

Just as a quick refresher,

Ice Cream makes everything Better.

“Ice cream cravings are not to be taken lightly”.

Are you a True Ice Cream Lover?

Well, who doesn’t love it !!

Do you enjoy flavours? Or get bored eating the same ice cream flavour every day.

Then here in this list, we offer you the top 10 Most popular ice cream brands in India.Ice Cream Industry in India: An Overview

According to various authoritative reports, India’s ice cream industry stood at Rs.40 billion in December 2017.

Best Ice Cream Brands in India

The industry is showing Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 20 percent and is likely to maintain this pace till 2019-2020, according to various estimates, to cross the Rs.62 billion mark.

Though India’s ice cream industry is very robust with top brands manufacturing excellent varieties, available for prices starting from Rs.10 per bar or cup, per capita consumption is very dismal.

Also Read: Top 10 FMCG Companies in India

An Indian consumes average 400ml of ice cream every year- which is insignificant compared to 22,000 ml consumed by an average American or 3,200 by an ordinary Chinese citizen.

However, this figure is valid only for the organized ice cream sector of India and does not depict actual consumption rates that could be significantly higher.

Here we look at the top 10 ice cream brands of India that are making hot favorites for 2021

Top 10 Best Ice Cream Brands in India

1. Amul

amul ice creams

Amul is by far the most popular ice cream brand in India.

It is a brand owned by Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation- which was formed in 1946 and is the brainchild of some of the most prominent freedom fighters of this country.

Amul ice cream made its debut in Gujarat in 1996. The brand is now made at various plants in India that operate under the Amul brand.

Real milk. Real ice cream”


2. Mother Dairy

mother dairy ice cream

Mother Dairy is a brand owned by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), an Indian government organization.

Mother Dairy is the single largest producer of milk and milk-based products in India, with nationwide operations.

Mother Dairy makes very good ice creams and also offer a wide range of common and speciality ice creams that are available across the country.


3. Hindustan Unilever Brands

kwality walls corneto

Dutch multinational company, Hindustan Lever Ltd manufactures some of the topmost brands of ice cream in India. These are internationally acclaimed brands.

  • Cornetto: This is a brand of speciality ice creams from Italy, made in India by HUL. Cornetto range consists of crispy wafers coated in chocolate and frozen with ice cream. “Enjoy the ride, love the ending.”
  • Magnum: HUL produces and sells Magnum range of premium ice creams in India. The brand has origins in Belgium.

In India, the brand is part of ‘Heartline’ range of ice creams sold by HUL. “Enjoy the royal treatment.”

  • Kwality Walls: Kwality Walls is an offshoot of erstwhile Indian ice cream major Kwality and British company Walls.

The brand is also part of ‘Heartline’ range sold in India by HUL. Kwality Walls ice cream is now available in 40 countries.

“A treat for every occasion”


4. Creambell

Creambell has a fabulous range of ice creams, sufficient to delight anyone.

Creambell is a joint venture between India’s Devyani Food Industries Ltd and France-based ice cream major, Candia.

The brand holds over 15 percent of the highly competitive ice cream market of India.

Creambell ice cream has won several awards for their superior quality, excellent flavors, and nutritional value. It is billed as the fastest growing brand of ice cream in India.

“We eat all we can and sell the rest”.

5. Baskin Robbins

Baskin Robbins ice cream

America’s global brand of ice cream, Baskin Robbins was launched in 1993 in India through a joint venture with The Graviss Group.

Baskin Robbins made history in India by opening a manufacturing unit in Pune- the first operated by the company outside North America.

Baskin Robbin’s ice cream brands are available across India through thousands of parlours located in all major cities as well as small and developing towns.

Let’s take a ride in a world of scoops”


6. Haagen-Dazs

Haagen-Dazs

Haagen-Dazs is an American brand of speciality ice creams. In India, Haagen-Dazs ice cream is available through its eponymous parlours and at select stores.

The brand is very popular among ice cream lovers in India: there are several unique flavours that only Haagen-Dazs offers.

The Signature and Classic collections of Haagen-Dazs consists of must-have ice creams for every aficionado.

Pleasure is a path to joy”


7. Vadilal

vadilal-ice-cream

Vadilal Industries owns this eponymous brand of ice creams. Vadilal rightly deserves the accolade as the pioneer of India’s indigenous ice cream industry.

Beginning as a small soda manufacturer in 1907, the founder Vadilal Gandhi also started manufacturing ice creams.

His successors grew the business over the last 110 years to make Vadilal one of the topmost manufacturers and retailers of ice cream in India.

“Nothing but goodness”


8. Dinshaw’s

dinshaws-ice-cream

Dinshaw’s is also a pioneer of India’s homegrown ice cream industry. The brand was launched by two brothers, Dinshaw and Eruchshaw Rana way back in 1932.

Dinshaw’s began as hand-crafted ice cream manufacturer and continues to hold the position today.

It ranks among the super premium brands of exclusive ice creams in India.

Though the brand is now mass produced to meet growing demand in India’s ever hungry ice cream market, the company continues to maintain its tradition of making premium products with superior quality raw materials.


9. Havmor

havmor-ice-cream

Top ice cream brand Havmor finds its roots in the partition of the Indian sub-continent by erstwhile British rulers.

The brand was launched in 1944 in Karachi by an entrepreneur, Satish Chona.

Today, Havmor is a respected brand of ice creams in India and is available across the country. The brand is now owned by South Korean MNC, Lotte.


10. Hangyo

Hangyo ice cream

Hangyo is a very famous brand of ice cream available in various parts of India.

Hangyo is made by an eponymous subsidiary of Karnataka-based dairy products major, Srikrishna Milk & Milk Products.

It began as a small unit in Yellapur district of Karnataka in 1989 and rapidly expanded operations across the state.

High-quality milk and excellent flavours made Hangyo a popular brand of ice cream in Karnataka as well as neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala.

“Share a smile”

Hangyo ice cream is now made at various locations across India. It is one of the fastest growing indigenous ice cream brands and the only one from southern India to have struck big.


Other Popular Ice Cream Brands in India:

While these top 10 Ice cream brands are currently available in India, several large and well-reputed ice cream manufacturers are waiting to enter the country.

  • Top American brand Cold Stone Creamery already operates parlours in major cities of India including Mumbai and Bangalore.
  • Another global brand, Movenpick, owned by Nestle, the world’s largest food and beverages manufacturer also offers speciality ice creams through own parlours in mega cities of India.

These trends clearly indicate that Indian palate for ice cream is getting refined as people look at something more best ice cream brands than just ordinary.

Unorganized Ice Cream Sector of India

India has a very large unorganized ice cream sector too that flourishes as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

These also include individual entrepreneurs who make ice cream at homes such as ‘kulfi’ out of cold chests and handcarts.

Ice cream of various types made by the unorganized sector also has a huge market: it is common to find such ice cream sourced from individual and small manufacturers at weddings and other events.

Ice cream from the unorganized sector sells an average Rs.5 per cup or stick.

Vegan Ice Creams

The vegan movement in India is gaining ground rapidly. With more people shunning food derived from animal sources, ice cream manufacturers in MSME sector are now making variants with coconut milk, peanut milk, and soymilk.

Vegan ice cream brand is also available in myriad flavours and compares favourably with milk and yogurt based competitors.

Challenges to India’s Ice Cream Industry

The main hurdle for India’s organized ice cream industry is the absence of sophisticated cold-chain logistics.

This includes cold vans, reefers and cold storages that are vital to the movement of this highly perishable food product.

Logistics has been the main inhibitor for large ice cream manufacturers in India to stay away from potential markets such as smaller towns and rural parts.

The erratic power supply is another factor that stunts ice cream industry of India. Other than large metros and megacities, electricity outages are very common across the country.

consequently, retailers are reluctant to store ice cream since it requires deep freezers.

In Conclusion

With sufficient knowledge about topmost brands of ice cream in India, you will be able to make the best choice while enjoying a cup, scoop, bar or cone alone or with family and friends.

While we recommend you try at least one variety of ice cream from the top brands, you should also strive to taste those made by smaller, unorganized units too.

They offer some very rare varieties of ice cream such as those made by freezing tea (chai), chili ice cream, vegetable ice cream and spicy ice cream, among others.

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