Vishaka Goswami | IMAWS
From starting in a small shop to a publicly-listed food manufacturing company Gujarat based Sheetal Cool products aims to be an INR 300 crore turnover by the next fiscal. Started in 1987 by Jagdishbhai D Bhuva, this company is the only listed food company and the biggest employer in Amreli district. With a workforce of more than 1500 people, there are about 800 women employees in the company empowering more than 60 families through Sheetal Cool Parlours their aim is to become Atmanirbharand plans to double this number by the end of next year.
USP of the brand
Sheetal Cool Products Pvt. Ltd. has built three different brands namely Sheetal, J’adore and Rich Cream. “Our unique selling point is, we deliver 100% Pure Milk Ice Cream. All our products are made from Pure Milk + Cream and lots of love and none of our products is a frozen dessert. We never compromise on the quality of our products for cost. Because for us, value for money for a customer is our utmost priority” says Mr Bhupat Bhuva, Chairman & Managing Director in an exclusive chat with
Speaking about the competition and the current status of the dairy and ice cream market in the state Bhuva said, “Competition is the best nature of progress. Customers are overwhelmed with various options for food products. Consumers are getting aware of the difference between ice cream and frozen dessert and there has been a phenomenal increase in ice cream consumption in the country after COVID 19; consumer’s buying preference has changed. They prefer more hygienic, packaged and good quality branded product over loose local product available in market-leading to increase in demand of Sheetal Ice Cream.”
Being a cost-leader:
Sheetal as a brand can provide affordable products because most of their products have their entire supply-chain mechanism within themselves. For example, the company has in-house logistics, container, packaging systems and more.
Some of the key aspects of this brand are company-owned containers, the ability to manufacture 7 Thousand litres of liquid chocolate per day. The in-house manufacturing facility of 30,000 corrugation boxes and 1,00,000+ biscuit cones per day. 100% company-owned logistics by more than 55 referred containers. The company has 1.5 & 1.25 MW – Wind Projects & 1.2 MW – Solar Projects resulting in inhouse energy production.
Effects of Pandemic in the business:
In the beginning, the consumers presumed that the ice creams are cold for consumption and they are prone to get sick, it was a huge challenge during the first wave of the COVID-19.
“Many retailers avoided selling of ice cream but we educated them as well as consumers through various campaigns that consuming ice cream isn’t harmful to health and our products are perfectly made of pure milk and nutrient rick nuts keeping up the hygienic measures all in and around which lead to a special image of ours in the mind of consumers.”,said Mr Bhuva
Manufacturing Units & Expansion Plans
The manufacturing unit is situated in Amreli, Gujarat, manufactures more than 650 SKU’s varying in 8 segments including ice cream, milk and milk products, snacks, frozen foods, sweets, chocolates, bakery items, vegetables. At present they are spread in 6 major states of India. They have reached more than 9 foreign countries like Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Rwanda, Uganda, Senegal and more. While speaking about the business expansion Mr Bhuva said, “Our team has launched our Vision 2030 in 2017. Our vision is to achieve an annual turnover worth ₹1500 Crore by 2030. However, we always aspire for our various products to be available in almost all the states of India”.
New Technologies:
To improve the quality of the products; innovation and technology is the key to running the business efficiently. With the adoption of fully automated state of the art machinery and a well-set R&D, NPD, Lab & Micro Lab, SCPL has a team of more than 5 people who are constantly working on improving the quality and experience of products for the consumers.
HORECA of Sheetal Cool Products Ltd.
HORECA plays a vital role in any food manufacturing company. “A wide range of our products such as ice creams, sweets, snacks, frozen foods, milk and milk products are supplied to Hotels, Restaurants and Cafeterias. Along with it, there is also an increase in demand of our products amongst event management companies and food catering businesses leading to higher exposure of our products amongst consumers”, explained Bhuva
As international brands are entering the country, Mr Bhuva believes in focusing on the quality of the products to compete with them.
“We know our people better and their preference always keep eyes vested in the demand of the people which helps us get their choice. We should always keep customer’s needs as our priority”, Mr Bhuva concluded.
