ITC Master Chef frozen snacks has entered into a strategic partnership with Havmor Ice cream, owned by the Lotte Group, a South Korean conglomerate. The partnership is a part of ITC’s new routes-to-market distribution strategy and will enable ITC Master Chef to leverage 100 Havmor Ice cream carts to make available its delectable range of 15 easy-to-cook tasty snacks that will satisfy consumer cravings for tasty and healthy snacks served hot.
This partnership allows ITC Master Chef to use Havmor Ice cream’s pushcart distribution network during peak season for frozen snacks (November to March) which is generally the non-peak season for ice cream in markets where winter is dominant. It allows ITC Master Chef to enhance the availability and accessibility of its range of frozen food offerings during the winter months when the frozen foods industry registers a 30% increase in sales vis the summer months.
ITC will help Havmor Ice cream in strengthening its distribution reach
For Havmor Ice cream, the partnership creates incremental earning opportunities for its channel partners and vendors and enables leverage of its operating costs during the low season of ice cream.
Commenting on the partnership, Ashu Phakey, vice president and business head ITC (Frozen Foods), said, “Healthy and convenience-based snacking as a trend is growing across the country as consumers become more health-conscious while having less time on their hands due to a busy lifestyle. ITC Master Chef is a trailblazer in this space and has garnered encouraging consumer franchises driven by the taste and quality of its food offerings. Over 50 innovative ITC Master Chef frozen snacks products for both the foodservice industry as well as the retail end-users are currently available in over 100 cities through different distribution channels.”
“We are glad to partner with Havmor Ice cream to further strengthen our distribution reach and offer customers the choicest range of easy-to-cook and healthy snacks through Havmor Ice cream’s sales network. With a strong distribution model in the ice cream space, we are confident that Havmor Ice cream’s consumer-centricity and extensive reach will complement our capabilities in creating innovative products to enhance the overall value offering for the customers.”
The mobile carts will sell ITC Master Chef frozen snacks ranging from burger, patties to fries, pizza pocket to aloo tikki, potato bites to harabhara kebab, mini vada pops to the vegetable patty. The carts will be located at 100 locations across Delhi and NCR via Google MyMap. Upon clicking the link, the user will be directed to a map with all the location points laid out, making it easier to locate the nearest cart. Consumers buying from the cart will receive discount vouchers that can be redeemed at itcstore.in, the company’s own D2C platform.
Commenting on the partnership, Komal Anand, managing director and chief executive officer at Havmor Ice cream, said, “This is a win-win initiative for both the companies and its channel partners. It helps ITC Master Chef enhance availability during the season, and it allows Havmor Ice creams channel partners generate incremental revenues during winter months. Expanding Pushcart operations is an integral part of Havmor Ice creams’ strategy to enhance its reach. Given that the frozen supply chain in India is evolving, leveraging the existing ecosystem to expand reach at optimized cost will continue to remain a focus area,” said Anand.
