In recent years, we have been seeing new brands and increasing competition across all fields. From Amul to Kwality walls, these brands have created a massive craze in the Ice Cream Industry.
Did you know there are many regional ice cream brands which still hold great business across India? Yes, I am talking about Havmor, which started before independence in Karachi. Satish was an engineer, but he was always interested in preparing ice cream, he learnt all the skills from his uncle and later started a Have More store in Karachi. The circumstances have changed. India and Pakistan got divided, which made him shut down his ice cream store. He moved to India, wandering across state to state. Finally, he settled in Ahmedabad and started his journey with few resources, after a few years, it became a huge brand locally and later expanded across Gujarat. Every story has ups and downs, his business took over by the next generations.
Ankit took over the company. He was well educated and worked in the food processing industry for a long time. He joined Havmor Ice creams and expanded the business. Eventually, a South Korean-based company, Lotte, wanting to enter the Indian market, acquired Havmor for 1020 crore. Lotte Signed a non-compete agreement that Ankit and his family would never prepare ice cream for the next 5 years. It was a great deal but with few restrictions. It was an emotional and a painful moment, but, financially, he had compromised and he signed the deal.
This story feels simply perfect and all the hard work and passion which they put in had great success. Ankit had all the resources and funds he wanted. He could happily retire, but he started his own new brand, entering into Phab, which is a protein snack bar during the peak time of COVID. Eventually, 5 years passed and the contract with Lotte was completed.
He started his journey of ice cream again, which was his strong domain. He launched Hocco ice cream. It was a difficult task again, but due to his family experience and legacy, they knew how the business works. Instead of starting slowly with step by step strategy. They invested 100 crore rupees and constructed a modernized manufacturing unit, with an advanced cold storage system, a new distribution network with a newly built ecosystem overall. It was a giant operation and management with full-fledged facilities. The ice cream business is all about Taste,distribution, supply chain and logistics. The experience they have and they additional gathered new inputs for a perfect business execution plan for Hocco.
They targeted the audiences with the latest flavours and styles, like Aamchi, charcoal, flavours of Belgium, Europe, and created unique sizes, tastes and shapes. Hocco started receiving funding and the business reached up to 220 crores. The increase in marketing strategies with
* Memes
* Advertisements
* 1400 push carts on streets
* E- commerce collaboration with blinkit and Zepto.
* Social media and digital platforms.
* Traditional methods and word of mouth.
Today it is worth 2,000 crore and has a presence across India. The business and legacy which started in Karachi to Hocco has created a large empire with unique styles, strategies and business models.
