New Delhi, June 13: New Zealand Natural, a parlour ice cream brand from the land of Kiwis, is set to enter India.

Delhi-based Himanshu Maheshwari has tied up with Emerald Foods of New Zealand to bring the New Zealand Natural range of ice creams and sherbets to the country. Emerald Foods operates in 14 countries.

Maheshwari’s Manju Enterprises will be the master franchisee that will set up 100 company-owned and sub-franchisee-owned parlours over the next two years.

Maheshwari wants to set up 35 to 50 stores this year.

The parlours will initially be opened in Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur. The first parlour in Calcutta will open on Roudon Street in the first week of July. Eight such outlets are expected to open in the city in the next two-and-a-half years.

“I expect a turnover of Rs 40 to 50 lakh from each outlet. Therefore, New Zealand Natural should generate business worth Rs 17-25 crore by the end of this fiscal,” said Maheshwari.

“Apart from parlours, our selling points will include express counters and lounges,” he added.

Hot beverages and snacks would also be available in the lounges. There would be tieups with other food chains for these, Maheshwari said.

“We will have no carts for practical purposes,” he said. “The ice cream comes in 16-litre packages, so keeping all the variety in the cart and serving them will be a problem.”

Smaller cities, such as Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad and Nagpur, will also be targeted as the “income level and buying capacities in these towns are rising fast”.

Prices will start from Rs 35 and Rs 45 for standard scoops and cups, respectively. However, prices will vary for different types such as fruit-based ice creams, ice cream cookies and creams, frozen chocolates and sherbets.

The Indian branded ice cream market, worth around Rs 2,500 crore, is dominated by HLL, Amul and Mother Dairy. Up-market parlour ice cream brands account for about 15 per cent of the total market.

However, the market has been growing at 25 per cent and ice cream marketers feel that newcomers will be able to carve up space even as existing players grow.