The FMCG arm of Reliance Industries, Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL), has entered the competitive ice cream market with its new brand Bombay Creamery to boost the brand, which is available at a budget of ₹10. As a premium dairy ice cream brand with inexpensive and low-cost products (just ₹10).
The launch is a further step forward for Reliance’s consumer products. RCPL has been building a very broad FMCG portfolio: beverages, packaged foods, personal care and home-care with brands such as Campa and Independence. This new move into ice cream is yet another big consumer category in the company’s fast-growing portfolio.
Bombay Creamery is built around real dairy cream and real dairy ingredients. RCPL told us that the goal of the brand is to offer authentic ice cream for an affordable price.
The company built Bombay Creamery on the idea that dairy products should not require any need for shortcuts, T Krishnakumar, director of Reliance Consumer Products Limited, said. He said the launch was a long-term commitment to the ice cream category and that the brand was about bringing real dairy cream for us to access for affordable prices.
The new portfolio will be available in cones, cups, tubs, bars and sticks. Prices start at ₹10, which is the entry point for mass market consumers, while the brand itself is a premium brand.
Bombay Creamery will be available in Western India at first and will eventually be rolled out to other parts of the country. RCPL said a pan-India rollout is planned so that the brand can eventually compete for consumers in India's wide ice cream market.
The timing for the entry is significant. India’s ice cream market already has several national and regional brands (Amul, Vadilal, Mother Dairy and Arun Icecreams), as well as other big players. Reliance’s entry brings another large company with a large distribution and retail reach into the category.
One of Reliance's biggest potential advantages is its existing distribution network. Bombay Creamery will be supported by the national distribution infrastructure, retail scale and consumer insights, RCPL said. This could help the new brand expand rapidly once its geographic rollout beyond Western India is made.
The ₹10 starting price is also likely to attract attention. Reliance has already used competitive pricing as part of its strategy in consumer markets. Its Campa beverage business, for instance, has grown aggressively in India’s soft beverages market and also competes with well-established multinational brands.
So that history has led to speculation that Bombay Creamery would also have more competition in ice cream. But the current positioning of the company suggests that it is not only seeking to combine affordability with dairy-oriented premium credentials, but also not just price-consciousness.
For consumers, the launch could mean more choices on price points and product formats. The availability of small-ticket products starting at ₹10 could also make the brand accessible to a large group of consumers, while tubs and other larger formats will target family consumption.
Reliance’s move is also part of a larger strategy to build a much broader consumer-facing business in addition to its traditional energy and telecommunications business. RCPL has been steadily growing its FMCG business, leveraging Reliance’s retail and distribution capacity to bring brands to India.
The company says Bombay Creamery is part of its broader “Global Quality at Affordable Price” brand positioning. Real dairy cream will be the key selling point for the brand to differentiate itself in a crowded market.
Now with the Western India launch in place and nationwide expansion planned, the next big test will be how quickly Bombay Creamery can build distribution, consumer awareness and repeat purchases.
Therefore, Reliance’s entry into the ice cream market could add another major competitive dimension to the FMCG industry in India. With prices starting at ₹10, several product types and a planned pan-India launch, Bombay Creamery is embarking on a strategy of affordability, dairy positioning and Reliance's distribution reach.
