New-age ice cream brand Hocco raises $10 million in round co-led by Chona family office, Sauce VC
Ahmedabad-based new-age ice cream brand
Hocco
has raised $10 million as part of a $20 million Series B round co-led by its promoter group,
Chona Family Office
, and existing investor
Sauce VC
.
The funds will be used to increase production capacity, expand into new markets, and strengthen the company's distribution networks, supply chain infrastructure, product innovation and brand marketing.
According to promoter
Ankit Chona
, the current production capacity is about 1.3 lakh litres per day and it is aiming to scale this up to 2.5 lakh litres a day by February next year.
The company is expecting to secure the second tranche of funding within the next four to six months.
'That will be based on our market requirements and other factors. We will finalise the exact amount we need. It will be partly funded by our current investors, and we are also in talks with some new institutional funds, including private equity firms,' he told ET.
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The brand is currently present in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi NCR and a few parts of Madhya Pradesh.
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'The plan going forward is to launch across all of Uttar Pradesh, not just NCR, as well as the entire states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Punjab. We are also evaluating Goa and Telangana,' he told ET.
In 2017, the Chona family sold its legacy brand, Havmor, to South Korean conglomerate Lotte for Rs 1,020 crore. At the time, Havmor's annual turnover was estimated to be around Rs 450 crore.
The
ice cream market in India
is estimated to be worth $5.8 billion by 2026, and pegged to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12-15% to reach $9 billion by 2030, per management consultancy Technopak.
The ice cream market is still dominated by legacy brands Amul, Mother Dairy, Havmor, Baskin-Robbins and Creambell, which cater to the mass segment. However, this has also created opportunities for emerging brands such as Noto, GoZero, Get-A-Way, Frubon and Minus 30 to carve out niche markets.
Commenting on the investment, Manu Chandra, founder, Sauce VC, said, 'The market is witnessing strong growth in India driven by improving disposable incomes and easier access through new-age channels such as quick commerce.'
Last month, actor John Abraham-backed ice cream brand Noto raised Rs 21 crore (around $2.4 million) in a funding round led by Equentis Angel Fund, the early-stage investment arm of Mumbai-based wealth management firm Equentis Wealth Advisory.
In March, new-age ice-cream maker GoZero raised Rs 30 crore (around Rs 3.5 million) in a funding round from existing investors DSG Consumer Partners, Saama Capital, and V3 Ventures.
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