Unilever's Spun Off Ice-Cream Division To Set Up A Global Capability Centre In Pune

The Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever's spun-off ice cream division has entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maharashtra government to set up a Global Capability Center for its ice cream business in Pune.

The development was announced at the India Global Forum event on Tuesday in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Abhijit Bhattacharya, global chief financial officer of Magnum Ice Cream. Others present during the announcement included Prashant Premrajka, CFO of India business, and Chief Executive Officer Toloy Tanridagli.

During the announcement, Bhattacharya said that companies like his can help the careers of skilled workers not only in India but internationally. The infrastructure drive of the government has made Pune much more accessible as well, he said.

This is going to be an investment worth Rs 900 crore and will help create over 1,000 jobs, according to a post on Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis' X profile. His post further revealed that this would be Unilever's largest GCC.

"This is a new beginning for Maharashtra to become a GCC hub," the post read.

As reported earlier, HUL's ice cream division—which includes Kwality Walls, Magnum, and Cornetto brands— went through a demerger from the parent company. It formed a small fraction of Unilever's overall business. In fiscal 2023, ice creams contributed to 3% of HUL's revenue of Rs 58,154 crore.

Unlike the home and personal-care categories where HUL is a dominant leader, the company trails Amul in the Indian ice-cream market. It also competes with various local and global brands, such as Vadilal, CreamBell, Mother Dairy, Naturals, Havmor, and Baskin Robbins.