Unilever’s ice cream division looks to capitalise on India’s growing demand as it works through a global turnaround strategy.
The ice cream business recently separated from Unilever, now operating independently as The Magnum Ice Cream Company, has identified India as its most critical long-term growth market. The company believes that India has the potential to overtake the United States to become the world’s largest ice cream market within the next two decades.
However, the company’s leadership has acknowledged that its historical performance in India has been weak. Speaking to investors, Chief Executive Officer Peter ter Kulve said that although the company has a strong base in the country, the business has underperformed for nearly 20 years. During this period, it steadily lost market share, delivered flat profitability, and recorded a decline in the previous financial year.
As a result, the company is now firmly in “turnaround mode.” Its renewed strategy focuses on strengthening premium offerings such as Magnum while increasing investments to regain relevance in a market that is becoming more organised. The company aims to benefit from rising consumer spending, improving cold-chain infrastructure, and growing demand for premium products to rebuild scale and profitability.
India already represents the world’s largest dairy market, but the ice cream segment remains highly competitive. While Unilever remains the world’s largest ice cream producer globally, in India it trails cooperative major Amul, which continues to dominate the estimated USD 5 billion ice cream market.
Meanwhile, Hindustan Unilever has received listing and trading approvals from BSE and NSE for 2.34 billion equity shares of its demerged ice cream business. This clears the path for Kwality Walls to list on Indian stock exchanges on February 16.
During the investor call, Chief Financial Officer Abhijit Bhattacharya said approvals for the Indian listing were secured ahead of schedule, with plans to complete the acquisition process in the first half of the year, subject to regulatory clearance.
The demerger is intended to give the ice cream business greater autonomy, allowing it to respond faster to local market conditions and compete more aggressively in high-growth markets such as India.