Opportunities for Ice Cream Industry in India

The opportunities for ice cream industry in India are many, but the industry will need to optimise its production systems, packaging technologies and cold chain management, ensure compliance with quality standards, and get its marketing mix right. The performance of Top 10 ice cream brands in India is also analysed here.

Ice cream, once seen as a rare indulgence, has evolved into a go-to snack for many. The Indian ice cream market is buzzing—with local brands like Amul, Vadilal, and Mother Dairy competing alongside international heavyweights such as Unilever, Mövenpick, and Baskin Robbins. Opportunities are growing fast, but success depends on improving production efficiency, cold chain logistics, packaging innovation, and getting the marketing strategy right.

I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream. It’s not just a catchy chant—it reflects what consumers truly crave. Despite India’s rich culture of sweets and desserts, ice cream holds a special place. That love has turned the Indian ice cream sector into one of the fastest-growing categories within the dairy and food processing industry.

That’s impressive, considering India’s per capita ice cream consumption stands at only 400 ml—far behind the U.S. (22,000 ml) and China (3,000 ml). But the gap is closing, thanks to improved cold storage infrastructure, rising disposable incomes, and changing lifestyles.

Growing Consumption & Market Size

Ice cream is undoubtedly one of the most popular dessert types with consumers,, and trends seem to show it is only growing in popularity. In India, the ice cream consumption rate is growing rapidly with growth occurring because of a combination of increased disposable income, urbanisation, changing dietary habits and the growing phenomenon of eating out. The Indian ice cream industry was valued at INR 20,000 crore in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 10% from 2023 to 2028.

With ice cream brands such as Amul, Kwality Walls, Havmor, and others, a complete culture shift is happening among consumers’ ice cream expectations and consumption behaviour. To gain insights into the key players in the market, please refer to Top 10 Ice Cream Brands in India.

Another interesting fact is that in addition to the metro cities, the Tier II and II cities are rapidly catching up with this phenomenon too. With growing investment in cold chain infrastructure and organised retailing (which assists with penetration of this market), the market will continue to grow due to the logistics of ice cream. If you are interested in the logistics of this growth, please refer to the Importance of Commercial Freezing and Cold Chain in Food Production. To understand the infrastructure behind this growth, explore Importance of Commercial Freezing and Cold Chain in Food Production.

Premiumisation & Innovation

Premiumisation is one of the most important trends in the Indian ice cream industry. Increasing disposable incomes for consumers means that consumers are happy to pay more for better quality, novelty, and attractive packaging. Companies are launching all sorts of products, including low-fat, sugar-free, organic, and functional ice creams, to differentiate themselves from consumers who are health-oriented. See related developments, Rise of Low-Calorie and Sugar-Free Ice Cream Brands. See the trend in action here: Rise of Low-Calorie and Sugar-Free Ice Cream Brands.

In addition, brands are also including traditional and regionally focused flavours as a means of connecting with our local palate. For example, you will see more acceptance for sitaphal (custard apple), gulab jamun, and gajar halwa flavours in ice creams. To see how heritage flavours are being embraced, read about the Seasonal Taste of Love with Naturals Sitaphal Ice Cream.

Rise of Artisanal & Niche Players

It’s not just the big players making waves. Artisanal brands are on the rise—offering handmade, preservative-free ice creams with exotic ingredients. For example, Devyani Food Industries recently launched a premium label called Infino. Learn more in Devyani Food Industries Launches Ice Cream Brand Infino.

Just a decade ago, options were limited to vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate. Now, there’s a burst of creativity—even in frozen yoghurt.

The Competitive Landscape

The space is shared by national giants like Amul and Mother Dairy, international players such as Cream Bell, Mövenpick, and Nestlé, as well as local innovators. Amul leads the market with nearly one-third share, followed by Hindustan Unilever and Mother Dairy. With increasing competition, innovation is not just welcomed—it’s essential.

Baskin Robbins offers over 25 flavours like Rum Punch and Mississippi Mud. Mövenpick focuses on tropical sorbets and sorbet-ice cream blends. Amul recently launched Crème Rich, a new super-premium line. Vadilal sells over 150 flavours in 300+ pack formats—from cones to family-size packs.

Havmor offers unique options like Tiranga Ice Candy, Nutty Belgian Dark Chocolate, Kesar Malai, and Pistoria. It also experiments with bubble gum, paan, truffle bars, and more.

Smaller brands like Kolkata’s Fresh & Naturelle have introduced exotic flavours such as sandalwood and Japanese green tea. Naturals is known for its regional and festival-inspired flavours like sesame-peanut for Makar Sankranti. Mövenpick is even planning a masala chai flavour.

Emergence of Artisanal and Niche Players

As well as established brands, the proliferation of artisanal ice cream makers is on the rise, with their handmade and preservative-free products. Many high-quality ingredients, experimentation, and processes provide them with unique experiences. For example, Devyani Food Industries has recently launched a new brand, showing this niche development of this space—see Devyani Food Industries Launches Ice Cream Brand Infino.

Frozen Yoghurt & Diet Ice Creams

Low-fat, sugar-free, and diet-friendly ice creams are rising fast. So is frozen yoghurt. Brands like Cocoberry, Red Mango, Kiwi Kiss, and Yogurberry are expanding through standalone outlets and kiosks in airports, colleges, and malls.

This segment—making up 10–12% of the frozen dessert market—is growing even faster than traditional ice creams, at a projected CAGR of 15–16%. The entry of global players like Pinkberry and Yogurberry is accelerating this growth.

Industry Challenges & Opportunities

Rising dairy costs are nudging up retail prices, but thanks to widespread distribution, the burden on consumers remains light. This opens the door for newer segments like gelatos and frozen yoghurts to educate consumers and expand their footprint.

To thrive, manufacturers must focus on:

• Streamlining production systems
• Enhancing packaging solutions
• Strengthening cold chain networks
• Meeting evolving food quality standards
• Getting their branding and distribution right

For a deep dive into sustainability efforts across this industry, explore Sustainability Efforts by Ice Cream Brands.

Top 10 ice cream brands in India

Amul Ice Cream

Amul is the first choice of so many ice cream lovers in India. Amul brand, owned by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, was established in 1946 in Anand, Gujarat. In addition to ice creams, Amul manufactures 200 other products such as Milk, Yogurt, cheese, buttermilk, shrikhand, chocolate, flavoured milk, and milk powder too. The ice creams from Amul were firstly available in the Gujarat market in the year 1996. And since then, they have never looked back. Therefore, today Amul is one of the top ice cream brands in India.

Hindustan Unilever Company

Hindustan Unilever is one of the biggest FMCG companies in India. This company owns a few big ice cream brands in India. Cornetto and Magnum are two of the top ice cream brands in India, owned by Hindustan Unilever. These products are available in a variety of flavours. Indian people love ice creams from the Cornetto and Magnum brands. And all of these things led Hindustan Unilever to become one of the top ice cream brands in India too.

Vadilal

The second on the list of top ice cream brands in India is Vadilal. It is another very well-known name among ice cream lovers in India. Vadilal is among the very few companies which mainly focus on its Ice creams and candies. They have been successful in touching the feelings of Indian ice cream consumers. And that’s why today, they are among some of the top ice cream brands in India. The very first outlet of this brand was started in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Today, they have more than 150+ flavours to offer to their consumers.

Mother Dairy

Mother Dairy is a very strong name in the Indian ice cream industry. This company is very similar to Amul, in terms of the products they manufacture and sell. Besides this, Mother Dairy is very popular for its milk, buttermilk, and many more dairy products. The Mother Dairy brand is owned by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), an organisation in India. Thousands of Indian ice cream lovers love the ice creams from Mother Dairy. And therefore, Mother Dairy has made it on our list of top ice cream brands.

Arun Ice Cream

Arun Ice Cream is probably the most well-known brand of Hatsun Agro Products. When other ice cream brands opened parlours exclusively in the cities, Arun decided to take to suburban and even rural areas, leading the ice cream into the hearts of millions. The brand also consistently introduces new flavours every season, just to make sure customers have something fresh to look forward to every time they walk into an Arun Icecreams parlour.

Creambell

Next on the list of top ice cream brands in India is Creambell. Campbell is a joint venture between India’s Devyani Food Industries Ltd and France-based ice cream brand Candia. Creambell has been able to win the hearts of its Indian ice cream consumers. In a very short time, they have been able to register their name as one of the best ice cream brands in this nation. The company is planning to expand its horizon in India and is present in 19 states. They are also named as one of the fastest-growing ice cream brands in India.

Havmor

Another big player in the ice cream industry is Havmor. Havmor Company has been able to stand firm as one of the big fighters in the battle of top ice cream brands in India for a very long. This company is also most popular for selling ice creams and cones. Satish Chona is the founder of Havmor, and it was launched in Karachi in the year 1944. If you are a person who loves to try different flavours, then Havmor will not disappoint you. Havmor is among the few ice cream brands in India that have a wide variety of ice cream flavours.

Baskin Robbins

Slightly on the more premium side is the Baskin Robbins brand of ice cream. This is an American ice cream brand, and it has a global fan following for its ice cream. Launched in India in the year 1993, this company spotted the opportunity and the love for ice cream among Indians. And therefore, they opened their first manufacturing unit outside North America in Pune, India.

There is no doubt that Baskin Robbins is one of the top ice cream brands in the World. But as it is slightly on the more premium side, this brand is not very well-known in some rural parts of the country.

Dinshaw’s

Dinshaw’s is also a very old and strong player in the Ice cream industry in India. It was established in the year 1932 by Dinshaw and Erachshaw Rana. They have been successful in surviving as one of the best ice cream brands in India. They have a variety of ice cream flavours on their menu cards. Dinshaw’s is also regarded as one of the premium brands of Ice cream. And therefore, this brand is not so well-known in some rural areas of the country.

Other than that, Dinshaw’s is surely one of the top ice cream brands of this nation (India).

Top’N Town

Last but not least, Top’N Town, a very popular ice cream brand in India. This company has successfully operated in India for the previous 40 years. And it has been able to register its name in the list of top ice cream brands in India.

At present, TOP ‘N TOWN has a strapping distribution network that spans close to 28000 retail outlets and 300 distributors across India.

Conclusion

Though the per capita ice cream consumption in India is lower in comparison to other major markets, it is, however, an evolving one, growing at a CAGR of ~10-15 per cent. This growth is good for the industry to keep moving on at a faster clip, especially in the branded and new/innovative categories. With the growing consumer base, increasing disposable income, and a greater trend toward eating out, the market stands poised to incorporate bigger players and more innovative concepts.

Some FAQs related to Ice Cream Industry in India

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