BENGALURU (Reuters) – Havmor Ice Cream said on Wednesday its parent Lotte Confectionery Co Ltd would invest 4.5 billion Indian rupees ($55.36 million) over the next five years to expand manufacturing in India.
The Ahmedabad-based ice cream and frozen desserts company said it would set up a new production facility in Pune that would become functional in 2024.
The investment comes after South Korea’s Lotte Confectionery bought Havmor for 10 billion rupees in 2017.
The plant will be an addition to Havmor’s existing manufacturing units in Ahmedabad and Faridabad.
“The head room to grow consumption is large,” Havmor Managing Director Komal Anand said. “With this facility, we aim to expand our footprint.”
India’s ice cream market is mostly dominated by privately held companies such as Amul and Kwality Wall’s.
Recently, a unit of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd agreed to buy a majority stake in Lotus Chocolate Co Ltd for 740 million rupees.
($1 = 81.2880 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)