Mother Dairy targets juice drinkers with fruit ice cream.

Mother Dairy wants you ditch fruit juices for ice cream this summer.

The company is planning to target consumers of fruit-based drinks and fruit juices with a portfolio of frozen treats that will have 17-40% fruit content. Called Fruitolicks, these ice candies will be sweet, colourful and lickable and will be sold for Rs. 10 a piece. The company is also planning to launch a new range of frozen desserts called sorbet made from sweetened water, flavouring and a significant amount of fruit pulp.

Subhashis Basu, dairy head at Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable, feels that the Rs. 2000-crore domestic ice cream market will gain traction if major players continue to innovate. 'Apart from a high-voltage umbrella campaign that we will launch next month, we will also inform consumers through local advertising why our frozen desserts are healthier than fruit-based drinks,' he says.


Compared to the US that boasts a per capita consumption of 17 litres of ice cream per year, India lags far behind with 300 ml. Mother Dairy, which is the third largest ice cream maker after Kwality Walls and Amul, has over the last six months invested more than Rs. 80 crore to increase capacity, upgrade technology and pay for retail assets like ice cream carts to increase its reach.


ET