Ice Cream Brand NIC Parent Snags Another $20 Mn From Existing Backer Jungle Ventures

Pune-based Walko Food, which operates ice cream brand NIC, has secured an additional investment of $20 Mn (INR 165.8 Cr) from its existing backer Jungle Ventures as a part of its growth funding round.

The fresh proceeds will help Walko expand its product lineup and customer base as well as to strengthen its presence in the Indian ice cream market.

Jungle Ventures’ latest infusion into NIC comes within a year of its $11 Mn investment into the company in May last year.

Since its last funding round, Walko Food launched Yummo, a new ice cream brand for the Indian retail market, tapping into a $3 Bn opportunity. Walko makes Yummo ice creams from pure milk, and with Yummo, it now has the largest variety of ice cream in India.

Sanjiv Shah, director, Walko Food, said, “The capital raised will help to expand Walko’s operational capacity, enrich our product offerings, and diversify with the mass-market ice cream brand – Yummo.” 

Arpit Beri, partner, India Investments at Jungle Ventures, said, “Walko is tapping into a multi-billion-dollar opportunity in the Indian ice cream industry.”

“Walko has followed an uncharted path in creating its brands; whether it is establishing its own pan-India distribution system or establishing a dark store network to reach the consumers directly in metros and Tier II and III cities,” Beri added.

Founded in 2012 by Jitendra Bhandari, Walko Food offers India’s largest ice cream brand catalogue. It specialises in producing and selling premium ice creams, kulfis, frozen desserts, and thick shakes under its brands NIC, Grameen Kulfi, Yummo, and Cream Pot.

Last year in May, its Pune-based NIC raised $11 Mn in a growth funding round led by Jungle Ventures.

In 2021, Walko Food secured $4.8 Mn in funding from JM Financials. 

According to Statista, the Ice Cream market is projected to generate revenue of US$5.33 billion in 2024, with an expected annual growth rate of 10.86% (CAGR 2024-2028).