Mass brands like Amul, Kwality Wall’s hold steady in Tier II/III markets where price sensitivity is high while in metro and Tier I cities, consumers are buying less frequently but spending more per transaction on premium artisanal D2C brands like EatNoto, Minus 30 and Skei Ice Cream, as per data collated by the cold chain logistics company
Protein ice creams are the new trend with demand driven by gym-going urban consumers, with brands in the 15–20g protein per serving category beginning to move through the cold storage
Mumbai: April 9, 2026 – No Indian summer is complete without a steady supply of chilled, creamy, flavourful ice-cream. With quick commerce and e-commerce platforms, reshaping consumption patterns, new trends emerge in the way we consume our ice creams. ColdStar Logistics, India’s leading temperature-controlled supply chain solutions provider, says that this year, the growth story clearly belongs to the premium-artisanal tier of ice cream brands.
According to ColdStar’s warehouse and distribution data, artisanal brands like EatNoto and Minus 30 are seeing faster replenishment cycles than the previous quarter, with remarkable repeat-order rates on their D2C websites and Q-comm integration. Among the key factors driving the growth of these brands are new, exciting flavours, the introduction of protein and health-focussed ice creams and attractive packaging.
“Our data supports a clear bifurcation — mass brands lead in volume, premium brands lead in velocity. The most interesting structural shift we’re observing in frozen logistics this season is the emergence of niche ice cream brands with the quick-commerce dark-store model genuinely democratising distribution for small-batch producers. In Tier II/III markets well-known brands like Amul and Kwality Wall’s hold steady but in metro and Tier I cities, we see a growing trend of premiumisation among the 25-40-year-old urban cohort,” says Sameer Varma, Executive Director, ColdStar Logistics.
In terms of ice cream demand across cities, Mumbai leads in absolute volume with its size and home-grown brand Naturals’ strong local presence. Bengaluru outpaces Delhi in the premium SKU movement driven by the city’s craft food culture and demand for regional brands like Skei. Delhi NCR sees the highest diversity of brand movement, with both mass and premium brands competing intensely. Chennai shows strong regional brand performance while Hyderabad and Pune emerge as fast-growing secondary hubs.
Other clear trends include the rise of novelty and experimental flavours and products like paan-flavoured ice cream bars, protein-infused dessert pints, and mango-crate-shaped novelty packs as well as the normalisation of high price points. Health focussed, clean-labels and low-sugar ice-creams no longer remain niche even as South India-inspired flavours (filter coffee, coconut jaggery, jackfruit) gain pan-India traction.
These products are typically produced in smaller batches but generate strong demand spikes when they gain traction online and they are establishing new price points this season with the ₹150–₹400 per unit price band, once considered niche, now becoming mainstream among urban buyers, the ColdStar data states.
From an operational standpoint, peak summer creates ‘triple pressure’ — demand spikes 3–4x, ambient temperatures soar (often 42–46°C in North India), and the risk of power fluctuations increases simultaneously.
“At ColdStar, we follow certain non-negotiables when it comes to ice-cream — storage at –18°C to –22°C, transport vehicles pre-cooled to –15°C minimum before loading, temperature logging with IoT sensors recording every 15 minutes and flagging deviations and a zero break in the cold chain at any transfer point, no matter where we move the ice cream from,” Sameer adds
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