Ice-cream brand Rollick warming up to geographic expansion

Eyes 28% growth over next five years

Homegrown ice cream brand Rollick, owned by Prestige Ice Creams Pvt Ltd, is looking to consolidate its position in the eastern and north-eastern regions by expanding its presence in 100 more towns and villages. The company also plans to enter Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over the next four or five years.

According to Prestige Managing Director Gaurav Khemani, the brand is currently present across 14 States including West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and the North Eastern States, apart from Bhutan.

“We had been growing at a CAGR of around 23 per cent for the last five years and, in 2019, we clocked 30 per cent growth. We are aiming for a CAGR of 28 per cent for the next five years,” Khemani told BusinessLine.

The ice-cream market in India is estimated at ₹15,000-20,000 crore, the majority of it serviced by the unorganised segment. The industry has been growing at 14-16 per cent. Rollick is expecting a higher growth than the industry, backed by both its geographical diversification and expansion of product portfolio.

Rollick recently increased its production capacity from 45,000 litres a day to 1,20,000 litres, keeping in mind the expansion it plans to undertake over the next five years. It also manufactures products for Unilever and Mother Dairy at its plant.

Expanding retail presence

Apart from adding 100 distributors across as many towns and villages, Rollick plans to onboard 100 more distributors in some of the existing towns. The brand, which is currently available across 15,000 retail outlets, is looking to add another 5,000 this year.

Rollick is also available in modern trade outlets such as those of Spencer’s and Reliance Fresh, in Bengal and Jharkhand. Additionally, it is in talks with two or three more retail players.

The company has 20 ice-cream parlours, primarily spread across Bengal, and will look at setting up more for branding purposes.

“Our sales from these parlours are nowhere close to what we get through our retail touch points. But we would look at setting up more parlours — more for branding purposes than aiming at higher sales,” Khemani said.

The company currently offers 120 flavours of ice-cream, with plans to roll out four more this year.