Brands
Mother Dairy begins home delivery with Zomato
MUMBAI: To make life easier for consumers in the post Covid2019 world, Safal, the fruits and vegetables arm of Mother Dairy has partnered with restaurant aggregator and food delivery company Zomato for offering the convenience of home delivery of fresh farm produce to the door steps of consumers in select locations of Delhi NCR.
In the first phase, Safal has initiated delivery from 11 booths in select locations of Delhi-NCR. Safal booths located in these areas will ensure stock availability while Zomato will deliver fruits and vegetables at the doorsteps of consumers. Each of the 11 Safal outlets will cater to a radius of 10 km around them. Consumers can avail the facility of home delivery by ordering the products through Zomato application.
Safal, Mother Dairy Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd business head – Pradipta Sahoo said, “To catalyse the ease of living and convenience for our consumers, Safal has initiated the home delivery option in partnership with Zomato. As a consumer centric organisation, we are taking requisite precautions to offer safe and quality produce to our consumers. In the initial phase, key locations of Delhi-NCR like Saket, Vasant Kunj, Dwarka, Janakpuri and Panchsheel Enclave in Delhi and Sector 50 and sector 29 in Noida will be covered. Going forward, the service will gradually be expanded to other outlets to ensure coverage to the entire Delhi-NCR region.”
Safal currently has more than 300 F&V booths across Delhi-NCR selling an average volume of 270 ton of fruits and vegetables per day.
Since the lockdown, Safal has been making all efforts to maintain an uninterrupted supply chain to ensure adequate supply of its products to its network across Delhi NCR including the containment zones. Apart from the fresh F&V, the brand has been a one stop shop for
Brands
Kwality Wall’s reports standalone losses following strategic HUL demerger
Ice cream major faces Rs 64 crore Ebitda loss amid commodity inflation and muted Q3 sales
MUMBAI: Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited (KWIL) has released its first set of financial results as a standalone entity, revealing a challenging start to its independent journey. Following its successful demerger from Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) on 1st December 2025 and its subsequent listing on 16th February 2026, the company is navigating a transition period marked by structural changes and high input costs.
For the quarter ended 31st December 2025, the company reported revenue of Rs 222 crores. Despite the revenue base, the bottom line was impacted by several factors, resulting in an Ebitda loss of Rs 64.2 crores. When calculated on a Pre-IND AS 116 basis, the Ebitda loss stood at Rs 83.8 crores.
Organic Sales Growth (OSG) declined by 6.5 per cent year-on-year during the quarter. Volume growth, however, saw a marginal increase of 1.2 per cent. The company reported a gross margin of 41.5 per cent. Additionally, exceptional expenses amounting to Rs 94 crores were recorded, primarily linked to non-recurring costs during the transition phase.
Performance across portfolios and channels was mixed. Within the impulse portfolio, brands such as Magnum and Cornetto recorded mid-single digit volume growth, indicating steady demand in on-the-go consumption. However, the in-home portfolio, which includes take-home packs, experienced muted consumption. The company is planning a relaunch of this category with improved offerings ahead of the 2026 season.
Quick commerce (Q-Com) continued to emerge as a strong growth driver, delivering robust double-digit growth during the quarter. Meanwhile, the company also expanded its physical distribution network by increasing the number of company-owned cabinets across markets.
Margin pressure during the quarter was driven by a combination of one-off factors and broader cost inflation. Gross margins were impacted by around 600 basis points due to trade investments made for stock liquidation. Additionally, cocoa price inflation contributed to another 400 basis points of pressure on margins.
Deputy managing director Chitrank Goel attributed the muted performance partly to prolonged monsoons and transitional challenges linked to the GST framework. Operating expenses also increased as the company invested in establishing its standalone supply chain, operational systems and corporate infrastructure following the demerger.
Looking ahead, the management remains focused on a volume-driven growth strategy. To restore profitability, the company has initiated a cost productivity programme aimed at reducing non-consumer-facing costs. It is also working on building regional manufacturing networks to optimise logistics expenses and improve operational efficiency.
The commodity outlook for the near term remains mixed. Dairy prices are expected to remain firm due to tight supply conditions and rising fodder costs. Sugar prices may also move higher following increases in the Minimum Selling Price (MSP). While cocoa prices have moderated recently, currency depreciation has offset some of the potential cost relief for the company.
