"The job at this point is of category creation": Havmor's Shekhar Agarwal on ice cream cakes

While winter is not necessarily ‘off season’ for ice cream brands, the sales are definitely less as compared to the rest of the year. It is also that time of the year when most brands in the space go into hibernation, at least in terms of big advertising campaign.

It is that time of the year now. But interestingly, we spotted Havmor, one of the many brands in the space, advertising for its relatively newer product – ‘ice cream cake’ – on social media.

The brand has roped in Bollywood actress Yami Gautam to say that ‘you don’t need an occasion to have an Havmor ice cream cake.’

Over a call, Shekhar Agarwal, head of marketing, Havmor ice cream, tells us that the other idea behind the digital campaign is to build on ‘why settle for cake when you can get an ice cream cake.’

Havmor had introduced the product a couple of years back to understand the consumers and get a sense of the demand, says Agarwal. Earlier last month (December 2020), the company introduced four new flavours of ice cream cake: Chocolate Fantasy, with a layer of chocolate ice cream between two light and fluffy sponges; Nutty Caramel, created with butterscotch ice cream sandwiched between two baked vanilla sponges; Cookies & Cream, topped with freshly whipped cream and chocolate cookies; and Heartbeat, red velvet ice cream topped with freshly whipped cream.

The four new flavours start from Rs 600 and go up to Rs 750. There are 18 existing ice cream cakes in different flavours, which are available at leading general trade outlets and all Havmor parlours across the country.

Agarwal says that the newly launched ice cream cakes are basically a romance between cake and ice cream. “We have launched the four new flavours to allow the consumers to experience the magical taste when ice creams and cakes come together, and to make sure that they get the best of it, rather settling for either one of them individually.”

He mentions that the job at this point is of category creation. Hence, the whole idea behind the campaign was to pitch the product against cake so that the true scope and merit of the product comes out. “The category is new and the consumers are still discovering the product. We are looking to strengthen the category, both with distribution and communication.”

Though the communication is directed towards the millennials between the age group of 18 and 24 years, the product is, however, meant for consumption universally by all age groups. “It is for someone who is looking for newer experiences and mostly wants every experience to be Instagram-able,” Agarwal states.

We asked him about the impact of the COVID pandemic on ice cream sales and the marketing challenges he faced during the lockdown, especially during the summer months of 2020. “March to June is one of the best seasons for us. The season collided with the COVID outbreak and, hence, was completely off for all of us. The ice cream market was one of the worst hit ones.”

There were three major learnings from the pandemic situation for him. First, the consumers seek products for in-home consumption. They want to eat and be in the comfort of their homes. Hence, there is a possibility of newer formats being developed to work for in-home consumption. “We are going to look into this space and have tied up with major major chains – the likes of BigBasket and Dunzo.”

Second, people want hygiene and sanitisation of the highest standards. Local brands that do not take it as serious manufacturing criteria will find it difficult to sustain in these times. “Meeting international standards and having the best of products/ingredients are going to become very critical marketing criteria in the times to come.”

And third, the consumers are looking for newer and unique experiences. “What use to sell earlier might not be good enough now. So, we are looking for ice creams to enter newer spaces, whether it is desserts, bakery, etc. The new experience factor is not available at this point in time.”

Agarwal says that Havmor’s business is now almost back to pre-COVID levels. “The COVID impact has diluted to a large extent. We have had a strong bounce back since the unlock period, both from business and communication point of view.”

To him, 2021 looks like a promising year, with double-digit growth for the category. This year, the brand has plans to actively communicate with the consumers, especially through its digital media platforms.

“Our one big plan is to trace the consumers and reach to them, rather then ask them to find us,” Agarwal signs off.