FROZEN DELIGHTS

New Delhi, Nov. 26: American frozen dessert maker Swensen’s plans to set up a chain of ice cream parlours in India to take on rivals such as Häagen-Dazs and Baskin Robbins.

The company will have factories in south India.

The San Francisco-based company, which is among the top five frozen dessert brands in North America, has tied up with a local partner and will open its first shop in Bangalore by mid-2010. The plan is to become an all-India chain with 80 outlets over the next two years.

“We are looking at various locations and speaking to potential partners to set up a manufacturing unit in the south that will back up our parlours,” Gary T. Moore, head of franchising of Minor Food Group, told The Telegraph.

Minor Food has a 40-year franchise licence for Swensen’s in 34 countries across West Asia and Asia.

The ice cream industry in India is worth Rs 2,000 crore, growing at an annual rate of 12 per cent. The branded frozen dessert market — part of the ice cream industry — is valued at Rs 800 crore at around 100 million litres per annum.

In 2008-09, Amul held the top slot in branded ice creams with a 38 per cent market share, followed by Kwality Walls (14 per cent), Vadilal (12 per cent) and Mother Diary (8 per cent).

Initially, Swensen’s will compete with premium brands such as Baskin Robbins, Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s. “We will price ourselves at competitive rates to cater to a larger segment of ice-cream lovers,” Moore said.

An average Indian consumes 300 milli-litres of ice cream per annum compared with the world average of 2.3 litres per annum. “A low consumption base creates a huge opportunity. There is also a very low penetration of ice-cream parlours in India and we want to tap that market,” said Moore.

Started in 1948 at San Francisco, Swensen’s has over 300 ice-cream outlets worldwide, including Asia, West Asia, the US and South America.