Lotte Group eyes investments of $300 million in India

South Korea’s Lotte Group is looking to invest $300 million in India by 2030, to build capacity and strengthen the supply chain network in the country.

The company has set up an ice cream manufacturing facility in Pune with an investment of ₹500 crore, with an annual capacity of 50 million litres and can be expanded to 100 million litres. With the Pune plant, the company aims to strengthen its network in the domestic market and export to the Middle East and Africa. 

The company will operate 9 production lines and later expand it to 16 in the Pune plant and aims to grow its retail presence and introduce innovative products. 

Lotte India has a combined turnover of $350 million. Havmor revenue is $200 million and Lotte India’s revenue is $150 million. 

Lotte’s product portfolio includes Lotte Choco pie, confectionery and Havmor ice cream in India. 

“We have a roadmap of 3 to 5 years. We are looking for an additional investment of $300 million. As we revisit the plan, it will evolve and my estimate is it will go up,” said Paul Yi, CEO – of Lotte WellfoodCo Ltd in a media round table. 

Lotte Group will also diversify into the snacks category with its product offering Pepero, cakes and cookies in the country. Pepero will be made in India and be available in different packaging starting from ₹30 to ₹70. 

Lotte Group, which acquired ice cream maker Havmor in 2017, has a 5 per cent market share in India. The merger of Lotte India and Havmor into one entity will be completed by March. 

“Our distribution network is expanding far beyond Gujarat. The distributor’s demand to participate with us is tremendous. We are also looking to go to South India including Bangalore and Chennai,” Paul Yi added.