Kwality Wall's is considering replacing palm oil with dairy ingredients across its product portfolio in India as part of a broader strategy to position itself as a fully dairy-based ice cream business, according to an interview given by the company's global chief executive to The Economic Times.
Speaking to ET, Peter ter Kulve said India has emerged as the company's biggest strategic market since the spin-off of Unilever's global ice cream business. The company has already begun transitioning products away from vegetable fats such as palm oil toward dairy ingredients, betting that Indian consumers increasingly associate milk-based products with higher quality and better nutrition.
According to ter Kulve, about half of Kwality Wall's portfolio is expected to be dairy-based this year, with most of the remaining range likely to make the shift next year. “We are not a frozen dessert company anywhere in the world; we are an ice cream company,” ter Kulve told The Economic Times, adding that the company has overhauled its India strategy.
The move forms part of a wider investment push that includes expanding manufacturing capacity, strengthening distribution and significantly increasing cold-chain infrastructure. The company plans to deploy up to one million cold cabinets across India over time, compared with around 350,000 in markets such as Turkey.
The Amsterdam-listed Magnum Ice Cream Company, which owns brands including Magnum, Cornetto and Kwality Wall's, is also cutting prices in some categories and introducing more locally relevant flavours such as kulfi and kesar bhog to gain market share.
India's ice cream market, estimated at roughly $2 billion, is among the world's largest by volume but remains underpenetrated on a per-capita basis. Ter Kulve said that given the category's growth trajectory, India could eventually become the company's biggest market globally.
Kwality Wall's (India) listed on the bourses earlier this year, after its demerger from its parent Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL). The demerger became effective on December 1, 2025, following all regulatory clearances. The company set December 5 as the record date to determine eligible shareholders, and HUL shares began trading ex-ice-cream business from that day.
HUL's board had first cleared the hive-off in November 2024, carving out a portfolio that includes popular brands such as Kwality Wall's, Cornetto and Magnum. The National Company Law Tribunal approved the scheme on October 30, 2025, coinciding with global parent Unilever's own move to separate its ice-cream operations worldwide.
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