Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has signed an agreement with Vijaykant Dairy and Food Products Limited (VDFPL) and its group company to acquire the latter’s ice cream and frozen desserts business, consisting of its flagship brand, Adityaa Milk, and front-end distribution network across geographies.
The proposed acquisition is in line with HUL’s strategic intent to strengthen its position in the rapidly-growing ice cream and frozen dessert market in India.
The transaction is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions, and the parties will work together to complete this over the next few months. VDFPL will manage the business until the transaction is complete, and will also continue to manufacture for HUL for an agreed period of time.
Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director, HUL, said, “Ice cream and frozen desserts is an exciting category, and we see great potential for growth. We believe the acquisition will complement our existing portfolio of Kwality Wall’s.”
Adityaa Milk is a flagship business of VDFPL, which was incorporated in September 2004. It is a fast-growing brand and brings in distribution and portfolio synergies to Kwality Wall’s across Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.
It has presence in dairy and dairy-based products, and over the last five years, has successfully expanded into ice creams and frozen desserts.
It has its roots in Karnataka and has gradually expanded into Maharashtra, Goa and Kerala. Post the acquisition of its ice cream and frozen desserts business by HUL, VDFPL will continue to pursue its dairy business.
Unilever is the leading ice cream and frozen dessert company in the world. In India, HUL markets ice cream and frozen desserts under the Kwality Wall’s and Magnum brands.
