One Fell Scoop | As summer approaches, ice cream re-emerges as hot favourite

The demand for ice cream, which at one time was seasonal, now spans almost the entire year.

It is a curious fact that hard-nosed world leaders have a predilection towards softies – I mean ice creams here.

Vladimir Putin loves being photographed buying ice creams. Some years ago, he even bought one for his Turkish counterpart, Recep Erdogan, when the latter was visiting Russia. A surprised Erdogan asked Putin, “Will you pay for me?”, to which Putin, in a rare show of emotion, replied, “Of course, you are my guest.” Donald Trump’s plain vanilla talk on trade tariffs seems to match his love for vanilla ice cream, which he is known to enjoy with chocolate cream pie. Barack Obama famously worked at a Baskin and Robbins outlet in Hawaii, while Thomas Jefferson was so fond of ice creams that he wrote a recipe for his beloved dessert.

I always felt that the suggestion that Margaret Thatcher contributed to the invention of “soft serve” was less factual and more a creative copywriter’s invention. “Iron Lady invents Soft Serve” is a headline scoop any editor would s-cream for.

At Swiggy Food, the ice cream ordering patterns of our consumers are so interesting that I could write an entire dessertation on them!

First things first, the consumption is going up. The demand for ice cream, which at one time was seasonal (except for the peak winter months of December and January), now spans almost the entire year. Our data shows that in terms of monthly increase, ice cream orders witness the steepest hikes in February (over January), and March (over February) – conveying that consumers want to get over their ice cream privation the moment the weather improves slightly. At an overall market level, the Indian ice cream market is worth INR 50,000 crore – it has increased fourfold in the last ten years! Clearly, this is one relationship that consumers don't mind going cold.

While total consumption has gone up, the per capita consumption still remains rather meagre compared to developed markets. China’s per capita ice cream consumption is four times India’s, and on a per capita basis, the United States consumes 20 times more ice cream than India. These are deltas investors love, and it is not surprising that a lot of investment is finding its way to India’s flourishing ice cream market, which includes established names as well as new kids on the block. Earlier this year, when Hindustan Unilever demerged Kwality Wall’s as a separate listed entity, it was a cool endorsement of the frozen dessert business’s immense potential on its own. If there are established names on one side, there are new-age brands such as NIC, Go Zero, Hangyo, Dairy Classic, Hocco, NOTO, Minus 30, and many more, which have captured the interest of consumers as well as private equity investors and venture capitalists.

Food and quick commerce deliveries have given a spurt to the ice cream business. No portion restriction ensures that consumers are able to order scoop portions – which enables flavour variety and multiple orders. The ease of discovery on delivery platforms has led to a proliferation of brands – birth of new ones, as well as improved accessibility of legendary names.

Naturals, Giani’s, Nirula’s, K. Rustom, Dinshaw’s, Apsara, Corner House, and Cream Stone are some of the most popular outlets to order from on Swiggy. In fact, I am surprised when I hear the advanced and rather informed conversations on ice creams, with people having strong views on milk vs milk solid content, ice cream vs frozen dessert, gelato vs sorbet, and other such aspects. It is good that these discussions are happening. I am not a food ingredient expert to have an informed view on these aspects, but from a food delivery CEO’s perspective, I can say that not many categories in Indian FMCG have such abundant variety in terms of price points, flavours, and brands as we see in ice creams. There is something for everyone!

In terms of geography, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Goa continue to be the top markets for ice cream deliveries. I am told that ordering patterns reflect the overall demand for the category as well, with Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, and Rajasthan contributing to almost one-third of India’s overall ice cream consumption. Last year, we had an interesting instance of a Mumbai consumer ordering 310 ice creams in a six-week period in March and April! I must give credit to brands here, who have been nimble enough with their packaging sizes to cater to consumers and occasions of various hues. So, the family packs, party packs, as well as single, double, and triple scoops, are available for the consumer to choose from. Dinner peak, of course, is the most popular time for ice cream orders.

In terms of popularity, the most popular flavours are tender coconut, sitaphal, mango, and chocolate. One may find this pecking order somewhat counterintuitive – after all, where are the usual suspects of vanilla, butterscotch, strawberry, etc.?

These traditional flavours reinforce their popularity in larger sizes – bricks and tubs – a fact also reinforced by the quick commerce data. But on food delivery, where the consumer has the choice of ordering smaller portion sizes, these fruit-based flavours enjoy great popularity. While coconut and mango may top the charts, others such as fig, paan, honey, lychees, guava, pistachio, chikoo… have their own dedicated fan clubs.

The plenitude of ice cream variety on offer these days makes me wonder what new surprise is in the offing. Will we live to see hot ice creams, as Willy Wonka imagined in that favourite book of children – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?“Hot ice cream warms you no end in freezing weather. I also make hot ice cubes for putting in hot drinks,” remarks Wonka, the fictional but favourite confectioner of children. Going by the invention and responsiveness to consumer tastes visible in India’s ice cream industry, India’s gelato makers are no less geniuses than Roald Dahl’s loveable entrepreneur!