Will acquisition of Adityaa Milk aid HUL to beat leader Amul in ice cream space?

The ice cream and frozen desserts market in India, which is growing at 10-12 percent annually, is pegged around Rs 7,500 crore. The aggression on display is not surprising.

Frayed tempersTempers are even more frayed since both brands HUL and Amul have had to face the brunt of challenger brands that have emerged as significant players in regional pockets.

While Adityaa ice cream has a strong presence in the south, Amul leads in Gujarat along with strong pan India presence.

Related stories

Himadri Buch

Assistant Editor|Moneycontrol.com

• 
  Society Tea striving to become a national brand, says Director Karan Shah
• 
  This week in hospitality industry: Night curfew dampens year-end cheer; license fee gives some relie...
• 
  Bar owners welcome Maharashtra government’s move to cut license fee

HUL is desperate to relegate its close competitor Amul which is evident from the case it filed against Amul.

In June, HUL filed a case against the country's largest ice cream maker, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, in the Bombay High Court, successfully obtaining an injunction against an advertisement for Amul ice cream which 'disparaged frozen desserts'.

Amul's ad had said that people should eat real ice cream made from milk, rather than frozen dessert made from 'vanaspati'. The court said the ad was "guilty of disparaging a rival product- Unilever's Kwality Wall's, which is a leader in frozen desserts."

So, what's the difference between the two? An ice cream is made from milk fats, while a frozen dessert is made from the fats of vegetable oil. Vanaspati is a hydrogenated vegetable oil used in cooking, a cheaper substitute for ghee or butter. But it's not used in frozen desserts, say manufacturers.