Summer is getting hotter, but the most common trick to beat the heat is facing a meltdown. The ice cream industry, one of the oldest, most traditional ones in the country, will be seeing slower growth at about 10% compared with the 15-20% growth every year. This, thanks to power cuts plaguing most parts of the country.

“Power cuts in places like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh will result in slower growth for the industry, except in places like Gujarat,” said R G Chandramogan, managing director of Hatsun Agro, which runs Arun ice creams and the Ibaco chain of ice cream stores. Yet, this year is seeing several international players entering the country, and domestic ones too planning to expand their operations here.

“The start of the season is definitely muted, but some interest and colour is expected in the industry with the launch of international brands,” said Ankur Bisen, vice-president, retail and consumer products, Technopak.

Several premium international brands like Haagen-Dazs, Swensen’s have entered the growing ice cream market in India, and brands like Magnum – owned by British/Dutch Unilever company, and US-based Mini Melts will follow this summer. “This shows the strength of the Indian ice cream market. These companies have been looking at entering India for a while now,” Bisen said.

Magnum has made a soft entry into India with its test launch in Chennai. “Our ice cream business has been performing very well. We believe that Magnum through its differential product experience will fuel consumption. Ice cream is an exciting category and a huge opportunity for us,” a spokesperson from Hindustan Unilever, which handles Magnum in India, said.

USA’s Mini Melts too have launched in Bangalore, and said it aims to make its product available in 1,200 outlets in the next three years across the country.

It is not just the ice cream segment that international players are targeting. Frozen yoghurt brands like Red Mango and Kiwi Kiss are making their way into the desserts segment in India albeit slowly and only in the premium segment.

And with so much activity amongst international players, domestic companies too are planning to penetrate the ice cream market, which according to a report by research firm Euromonitor International, was amongst the fastest-growing product categories in packaged foods in 2012.

Eighty-year-old Vadilal Dairy International, which sold a once very popular brand of ice creams Vadilal but was later declared a sick company recently said it would infuse Rs 2.50 crore to revive the sick company. Other players too, like Hatsun and Mother Diary which are currently regional players, are on a roll to take their products national.