Published: Updated On – 04:57 PM, Thu – 10 March 22
Anuja and Ravi Kabra, Co-founders of Skippi Ice Pops.
Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based Skippi Ice Pops, India’s first popsicle brand, which has a manufacturing facility in Shamshabad is going to spread its base pan-India. The company is going to raise funds to a tune of about Rs 10 crore to expand its manufacturing and retail presence.
The company recently received Rs 1.2 crore for 18 per cent equity in the first edition of Shark Tank India from six sharks during December 2021. Skippi plans to invest this amount to drive more innovation and introduce more flavours to the Indian market.
Ravi Kabra, founder, Skippi Ice Pops, told Telangana Today, “We have invested in setting up a manufacturing plant at Shamshabad, which has 30 lakh popsicles per month installed capacity, it should be ready to produce by end of March. Currently, we are making about 80,000 popsicles per month at this facility and plan to enhance its capacity utilisation. We are also reviewing Pune and Gurugram for greenfield facilities.”
Niche product
On the product differentiation, he said, “When we were creating Skippi Ice Pops, we knew that refrigeration is a massive problem in India particularly in the tier-2 and tier-3 markets. To address this, we came up with an innovative approach where the ice popsicle is manufactured, sold, and distributed in liquid form at room temperature. Customers when they buy it, take it home and freeze it for 6-8 hours and they consume it. This avoids the need for cold logistics. We have also created a patented (pending) technology to solve the frozen hard ice problem.”
Ravi along with his co-founder and wife, Anuja Kabra, aim to build the ice pops category in India and introduce Skippi to newer markets, expand distribution partners and launch new flavours of ice pops.
On products being natural, Anuja Kabra said, “We are using colours that are derived from vegetables and flavours that are extracted from fruits. We are using 100 per cent RO water. We have increased the shelf life from three months to 12 months.”
Retail spread
The company’s products are available in about 400-500 outlets in Hyderabad alone, and 6,000 outlets across India. The products are available offline in Ratnadeep, Ghanshyam, Q-Mart and Balaji Grand Bazaar stores. The company has made its products available across major ecommerce platforms.
Skipppi sells its products across eight States in India in different formats of retail segment. The company is going to make its products available in kiosks of metro stations. It will also roll out electric karts as well to penetrate the market.
The company offers six flavours that include raspberry, orange, cola, mango twist, bubblegum, and lemon. It will roll out mocktail and several other flavours soon. The company has implemented eco-friendly packaging.
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