Hindustan Unilever to acquire Adityaa Milk ice cream business

MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has signed an agreement with Vijaykant Dairy and Food Products (VDFPL) and its group company to acquire its ice cream and frozen desserts business consisting of its flagship brand ‘Adityaa Milk’ and front end distribution network across geographies.
Adityaa Milk is a fast-growing brand and brings in distribution and portfolio synergies to Kwality Wall’s across Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.
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 company said in a statement, the parties will work together to complete this over the next few months. VDFPL will manage the business until the transaction is completed, and will also continue to manufacture for HUL for an agreed period of time.
Sanjiv Mehta, CMD, HUL, said, “Ice creams 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 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.