Walko Food Company Buys Meemee’s Ice Creams To Enter Artisanal Dessert Vertical

Walko Food Company, which owns popular ice cream brands such as NIC Ice Creams, Grameen Kulfi and Mimo Ice Creams, has bought Mumbai-based Meemee’s Ice Creams, marking its strategic foray into India’s artisanal dessert segment.

However, the company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Walko said in a statement that the acquisition will help it to offer a number of products to its customers under Meemee’s house of brand. The deal will also help it to expand its portfolio into toasties, ice cream cakes, roleys and tubsters.

For Meemee’s, the buyout will drive its expansion and grow its presence across India with the help of Walko’s large supply chain network. 

Founded in 2012 by Jitendra Bhandari and Sanjiv Shah, Walko Food Company offers a number of products such as ice creams, kulfis, frozen desserts and shakes. The direct-to-consumer (D2C) ice cream brand also includes Cream Pot & Café Chokolade under its house of brands. 

The Pune-based startup has a pan-India supply chain and offers its products through more than 200 company-owned delivery kitchens on foodtech platforms like Swiggy and Zomato. It also offers its products through quick commerce players including Blinkit and Zepto. 

According to Walko’s standalone financial statement for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) accessed from Tofler, its operating revenue doubled to INR 2.40 Cr from INR 1.20 Cr in the previous fiscal period. 

On the back of its growing topline, Walko managed to post a net profit of INR 4.04 Cr in the period under review against a loss of INR 8 Lakh in FY23. 

Founded in 2021 by Meha Agarwal, Meemee’s is a local ice cream brand which operates in Mumbai. According to its website, the ice-creams are available in about 14 retail outlets in Mumbai. 

The development comes more than a year after Walko Food Company raised $20 Mn from Jungle Ventures. Jungle is an existing investor in the D2C startup who invested $11 Mn in Walko in 2023 as well. 

Presently, India’s ice cream segment has gained some momentum. Earlier this year other D2C brands in the space such as Hocco and Go Zero also raised funds to support their growth and expansion. While Hocco managed to scoop up $10 Mn from Chona family office and Sauce.vc., Go Zero bagged INR 30 Cr (around $4 Mn) in its Series A round from existing investors DSG Consumer Partners, Saama Capital, and V3 Ventures.

According to various media reports, in January, Hindustan Unilever announced that its ice-cream vertical Kwality Walls will be listed on BSE and NSE in the coming days.

Walko competes with the likes of Go Zero, Hocco, NOTO, Get-A-Way and The Brooklyn Creamery among others to get a slice of India’s growing ice-cream market which is poised to become a $12.60 Bn opportunity by 2033.