MAM
Havmor appoints Anindya Dutta as managing director
MUMBAI: Havmor, India’s leading ice cream brand and a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Confectionery, has appointed Anindya Dutta as its new managing director.
He will be the first MD after Lotte acquired Havmor Ice Cream in December 2017.
Anindya will be taking forward Lotte’s vision of expanding its business footprint in India. His mission will be at one end to leverage the legacy, the category expertise and brand equity that Havmor enjoys in the ice cream category to rapidly scale up the business towards a national leadership position and at the other end to evaluate and build synergistic expansion into adjacent categories.
Anindya brings 20+ years of leadership experience in the food industry across business verticals and categories including bakery, dairy and confectionery. Prior to joining Havmor, he was with Britannia for the last 17 years in roles of increasing impact in sales, marketing, strategy and P&L Management.
In his past assignments at Britannia he was heading the dairy and bread business and more recently he was leading the international expansion of Britannia as the vice president of international business.
Havmor ice cream, now a part of Lotte Confectionery, is one of the largest ice-cream brands in India. Over several years of its existence, the brand has worked tirelessly to deliver a differentiated product to its consumers – always keeping things real. With its last campaign the brand introduced ‘The Cool Gaiz (cows)’ and repositioned itself as an ice cream ‘Made of Milk’ which reflects the core brand philosophy and what the brand has always stood for.
In the last decade, Havmor has grown ten-fold, establishing a strong brand presence and emerging as one of the fastest growing, most loved ice cream brand of the country. It is one of the few brands which operates both in retail with a network of over 40,000 ice cream outlets and a franchisee parlour model. Currently it operates 250+ flagship ice cream parlours across the country with a plan to add at least 100 more by 2020.
While innovation forms the essence of every creation at Havmor, the brand ensures to introduce real innovations to its consumers with products ranging from a ‘paan ice cream’, ‘ladoo ice cream’ to premium flavours like Belgian dark chocolate, mocha or hazelnut chiffon. This guarantees the brand caters to audiences across spectrums and with its wide reach and making it accessible to every ice cream lover making it truly a national brand.
Brands
Funskool India crosses US$40 million turnover in FY 2025-26
Toy manufacturer posts steady growth despite global headwinds.
MUMBAI: Funskool India has played its cards well turning challenges into steady growth while keeping the fun alive in the toy business. The country’s leading toy manufacturer has reported a turnover of $40 million in FY 2025-26, demonstrating resilience in a difficult global environment. The company recorded an average growth of 14 per cent over the past two years, with exports growing at a healthy 19% year-on-year.
While domestic business grew at a modest single-digit pace, Funskool saw encouraging traction in key categories such as Fundough (dough) and Handycrafts (arts & crafts).
Funskool India Ltd. CEO K.A. Shabir said, “We successfully navigated the challenges posed by US tariffs last year and continued to grow both our export and domestic businesses. Given the ongoing geopolitical situation in West Asia, we are currently working with a moderate growth outlook of 12–15 per cent, with plans to revisit our targets after Q1 once the situation stabilises.”
He highlighted strengthened partnerships with global companies including Spin Master (Canada), Moose Toys (Australia), Melissa & Doug (USA), Asmodee (France), Learning Resources (USA), and Buffalo Games (USA). The expansion of the company’s Goa plant is progressing and is expected to be completed by the end of the current financial year.
Looking ahead, Funskool expects a significant shift in domestic growth momentum for FY 2026-27, driven by new categories such as friction vehicles under the brand “BlazeTrix”, remote-control cars under “VoltRush”, and the addition of popular licences like Paw Patrol.
In an industry where playtime never stops, Funskool has shown that even in turbulent times, a smart strategy and strong partnerships can keep the business ticking along nicely. As it gears up for the next financial year, the company appears well-positioned to build on its solid foundation and bring even more joy to children worldwide.
