South Korea's Lotte Confectionery to invest $55.4 mln in India's Havmor Ice Cream

Lotte Wellfood

18/01/2023 14:43

BENGALURU, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Havmor Ice Cream said on
Wednesday its parent Lotte Confectionery Co Ltd  280360.KS 
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  RELI.NS  agreed to buy a majority stake in Lotus Chocolate
Co Ltd  LOTU.BO  for 740 million rupees. 
($1 = 81.2880 Indian rupees)
 (Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar)
 ((Yagnoseni.Das@thomsonreuters.com; +91 6001289066))