Walko Food Scoops Up Meemee's Ice Creams to Sweeten its Artisanal Dessert Game

With the acquisition of Mumbai-based Meemee's Ice Creams, Walko Food Company—owner of well-known ice cream brands like NIC Ice Creams, Grameen Kulfi, and Mimo Ice Creams—marked a calculated entry into India's artisanal dessert market.

The business did not, however, provide the deal's financial details. According to a statement from Walko, the acquisition will enable it to provide a variety of goods to its clientele under Meemee's house brand.

Additionally, the agreement will enable it to diversify into rollies, tubsters, ice cream cakes, and toasties. With the aid of Walko's extensive supply chain network, the acquisition will propel Meemee's growth and visibility throughout India.

Network and Financial Dynamics of Both the Firms

The Walko Food Company was established in 2012 by Jitendra Bhandari and Sanjiv Shah and sells a variety of goods, including shakes, kulfis, frozen desserts, and ice creams. Cream Pot & Café Chokolade are also part of the direct-to-consumer (D2C) ice cream brand's house of brands.

The Pune-based startup sells its goods on foodtech platforms like Swiggy and Zomato through more than 200 company-owned delivery kitchens and maintains a pan-India supply chain. Additionally, it sells its goods using fast commerce platforms like Zepto and Blinkit.

As per the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) standalone financial statement obtained from Tofler, Walko's operating revenue increased to INR 2.40 Cr from INR 1.20 Cr during the previous fiscal period.

Despite a loss of INR 8 lakh in FY23, Walko was able to generate a net profit of INR 4.04 cr during the year under review due to its expanding topline. Meha Agarwal established Meemee's, a local ice cream company based in Mumbai, in 2021. Its website states that there are roughly 14 retail locations in Mumbai where the ice creams are sold.

Moreover, over a year has passed since Walko Food Company received $20 million from Jungle Ventures. In 2023, Jungle, a current investor in the D2C firm, also contributed $11 million to Walko.

Ongoing Developments in India’s Ice Cream Sector

At the moment, the ice cream market in India is growing. Hocco and Go Zero, two other D2C companies in the same market, also raised money earlier this year to help with their expansion and growth.

Hocco was able to acquire $10 million from the Chona family office and Sauce.vc, while Go Zero received INR 30 Cr (about $4 million) from its Series A round from current investors Saama Capital, V3 Ventures, and DSG Consumer Partners.

According to a number of media sources, Hindustan Unilever declared in January that Kwality Walls, its ice cream vertical, would soon be listed on the BSE and NSE.

Among others, Walko faces competition from Go Zero, Hocco, NOTO, Get-A-Way, and The Brooklyn Creamery for a piece of India's expanding ice cream market, which is expected to reach $12.60 billion by 2033.