Note (October 2026): Earlier versions of this article called Cream Bell a foreign company and gave the wrong founding years for Amul and Vadilal; Cream Bell is Indian-owned, Amul’s cooperative was registered in 1946 and Vadilal dates from 1907.
The best-known ice cream brands in India are Amul, Kwality Wall’s, Vadilal, Baskin Robbins, Mother Dairy, Naturals, Arun Icecreams, Cream Bell, Dinshaw’s and Havmor. Amul, run by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, has long been reported as the market leader, while Kwality Wall’s, Vadilal and Havmor are strong national rivals and Naturals is known for fresh-fruit flavours.
Key Takeaways
- Amul ice cream launched in Gujarat in 1996 and is owned by a farmer cooperative, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).
- Kwality Wall’s was demerged from Hindustan Unilever into Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited, effective 1 December 2025.
- Vadilal (1907), Dinshaw’s (1932) and Havmor (1944) are among the oldest names; Cream Bell (2003) is the youngest on this list.
- Several familiar brands now have foreign owners: Havmor belongs to South Korea’s Lotte, and Baskin Robbins is an American chain run in India by a franchisee.
- Under FSSAI rules, a product made with vegetable oil or fat must be sold as a “frozen dessert”, not as “ice cream”.
Ice cream is one of India’s favourite desserts, and the market is served by dairy cooperatives, multinational companies and regional family firms. As a result, many ice cream brands compete for freezer space in Indian shops. The list below covers ten of the best-known names, with who owns each brand, when it started and what it is known for.
Well Known Ice Cream Brands In India
Amul
Amul has long been reported as the market leader in India’s branded ice cream segment. The Amul cooperative was registered on 14 December 1946 as the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union, and Amul ice cream was launched in Gujarat in March 1996 before being rolled out nationally. The cooperative was founded by Mr. Tribhuvan Patel (Tribhuvandas Kishibhai Patel), who served as its chairman until his retirement in the 1970s, while Verghese Kurien led its growth during India’s White Revolution.
Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited manages and markets the brand. Amul offers a wide variety of ice creams in different flavours including strawberry, butterscotch, chocolate, mango and nuts to name a few.
You get to choose between cones, cups, sticks as well as tubs. Moreover, these are available at affordable rates. The brand also sells several other products. It has become one of the largest food brands in the country.
Kwality Wall’s
Kwality Wall’s is another popular ice cream brand in India. It was part of Hindustan Unilever until the ice cream business was demerged into Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited, effective 1 December 2025. The new company listed on the BSE and NSE, and The Magnum Ice Cream Company agreed to buy Unilever’s controlling 61.9% stake. It is widely available across the country. Kwality Wall’s Cornetto and Feast are among the favourite ice creams from this brand. It also sells various other scrumptious ice creams in numerous flavours. The ice creams also come in a variety of different shapes and sizes.
Vadilal
This is one of the oldest ice cream brands in India. Vadilal Gandhi made the company’s first ice cream in Ahmedabad in 1907 using a hand-cranked machine, and the brand opened dedicated ice cream parlours in 1926. Vadilal Industries went public in 1989.
Vadilal offers numerous ice cream flavours to choose from. You can also opt for different sizes as well as types of ice creams such as small/ big cups, candies, bricks and more.
Besides, you will get all the more options on visiting exclusive Vadilal Parlours. Vadilal sundaes and other ice creams topped with delicious sauces, syrups and nuts are a treat for the taste buds.
Baskin Robbins
Baskin Robbins is a premium ice cream brand. It sells ice creams in various parts of India. It is an American brand, founded in 1945 in Glendale, California, and known for its “31 flavors” slogan. In India, Graviss Foods is the master franchisee, and the chain reached 1,000 outlets across India and the SAARC region in September 2024. Worldwide, Baskin-Robbins operates in many countries and is the largest chain of ice cream specialty stores, with more than 7,800 locations.
Baskin Robbins runs dedicated ice cream parlours as well as selling through other retail channels. It keeps coming up with various new flavours of ice creams. It blends the local flavours in its ice creams to offer people just what they love.
Mother Dairy Ice Cream
Mother Dairy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). It was set up in 1974 under Operation Flood, and Delhi NCR accounted for over 65% of its sales in 2025. The brand manufactures delicious ice creams in numerous flavours, shapes as well as sizes.
Mother Dairy ice cream is a mainstream, widely stocked choice, especially in Delhi NCR, where the company makes most of its sales. The brand’s ice cream cups and family packs are particularly famous.
Mother Dairy also sells various other products such as milk, cheese, ghee, vegetable and fruits to name a few. Mother dairy outlets are open in different parts of the country. The quality of Mother Dairy products is good. Besides, these are available at reasonable rates.
Natural Ice Cream
This company was founded by Mr. R S Kamath (Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath), who opened the first Naturals ice cream store at Juhu Koliwada in Mumbai in 1984. Kamath, known as the “Ice Cream Man of India”, died in May 2024 at the age of 70. It got an overwhelming response. Consequently, many other stores were set up in different parts of the country. As of May 2024, the brand had more than 160 shops in 15 Indian states, according to business press reports.
Naturals, as the name suggests, offers ice creams prepared with fresh milk and fresh, ripe fruits. Ice creams in special seasonal fruit flavours are available here.
Arun Ice Creams
Arun Icecreams belongs to Hatsun Agro Product, a listed Chennai-based dairy company established in 1970. Mr. R. G. Chandramogan from Royapuram, Chennai founded the business. The company started small and has earned fame gradually. It offers ice creams in different flavours such as mango, vanilla, chocolate and butter scotch to name a few.
The ice creams are available in cups, tubs, cones, bars and more. You can easily buy these from push carts as well as stores across the country.
Cream Bell
Cream Bell (styled CreamBell) was launched in India in 2003 by the Indian group RJ Corporation, through its subsidiary Devyani Food Industries, in technical collaboration with the French dairy company Candia. Although it is younger than most brands on this list, Cream Bell has built a national presence; the company says its products are sold in more than 75,000 stores.
Cream Bell is an Indian-owned brand, and its ice creams are generally priced for the mass market. It sells wide variety of ice creams in different flavours. Ice cream sandwich by this brand is especially popular.
The brand became popular ever since it entered the market. It competes with other large Indian brands such as Amul, Vadilal and Mother Dairy.
Dinshaw’s Ice Cream
Dinshaw’s was founded in 1932 in Nagpur, and Dinshaw’s Dairy Foods is now owned by the Bapuna Group. It started selling different dairy products such as milk, curd, etc initially. As its products began gaining popularity, the founders expanded the business. As a result, few other products were introduced by the brand.
Dinshaw’s ice cream was one of these. Its ice cream range is broad. They come in different flavours and sizes. You can choose from kulfi, sundaes, cones, bars, cups and more. The brand also offers an exclusive range of sugar free ice creams.
Dinshaw’s ice creams are particularly popular in Central India.
Havmor
Havmor traces its roots to Karachi, now in Pakistan, where Mr. Satish Chona (Satish Chandra Chona) started it as “Have More” in 1944, before Indian independence. After Partition, Chona moved to India, and in 2017 South Korea’s Lotte Confectionery (now Lotte Wellfood) fully acquired Havmor Ice Cream.
Havmor is currently based in Ahmedabad. Its ice creams are quite popular among sweet lovers in India. It sells wide variety of ice creams including roll cuts, cups, sundaes, ice cream cake and kulfi. These are available in numerous flavours including mango, chocolate, dried fruits, etc.
You can buy these from Havmor’s own ice cream parlours as well as general stores and supermarkets.
Which one of these do you prefer? I particularly love ice creams by Mother Dairy and Cream Bell.
Ice Cream Brands in India Compared
The table below summarises who owns each of the ten brands and when it started, based on company and press sources checked in October 2026.
| Brand | Started | Owner or operator (as of October 2026) | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amul | Cooperative 1946; ice cream 1996 | Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), Anand | Mass-market cups, cones, sticks and tubs |
| Kwality Wall’s | Kwality 1956; Kwality Wall’s name from 1995 | Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited, controlled by The Magnum Ice Cream Company | Cornetto, Magnum, Feast |
| Vadilal | 1907 (parlours from 1926) | Vadilal Industries, Ahmedabad | Wide flavour range, Gourmet tubs |
| Baskin Robbins | 1945 in the US | Inspire Brands; Graviss Foods is the India master franchisee | “31 flavors” parlours |
| Mother Dairy | 1974 | National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) | Cups and family packs, strongest in Delhi NCR |
| Naturals | 1984, Mumbai | Founded by Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath | Fresh-fruit and seasonal flavours |
| Arun Icecreams | Parent company 1970 | Hatsun Agro Product, Chennai | Cups, tubs, cones and bars |
| Cream Bell | 2003 | RJ Corporation (Devyani Food Industries) | Ice cream sandwiches, mass-market range |
| Dinshaw’s | 1932, Nagpur | Bapuna Group | Popular in central India, sugar-free range |
| Havmor | 1944, Karachi | Lotte Wellfood (South Korea), since 2017 | About 160 products and plants in Ahmedabad and Faridabad at the 2017 acquisition |
Ice Cream vs Frozen Dessert: How to Read the Label
In India, the name “ice cream” is a legal standard, not a marketing word. Under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) product standards, ice cream, kulfi and softy ice cream must be made from milk or milk products and contain at least 10% milk fat and 3.5% milk protein.
A product made with edible vegetable oil or fat, or vegetable protein, falls under a separate FSSAI standard and must be named “Frozen Dessert” or “Frozen Confection”. Frozen desserts may also contain some milk fat, but they are not ice cream in the regulatory sense.
- Ice cream: at least 10% milk fat, at least 36% total solids.
- Medium-fat ice cream: more than 2.5% but less than 10% milk fat.
- Low-fat ice cream: 2.5% milk fat or less.
- Milk ice or milk lolly: no more than 2% milk fat and at least 20% total solids.
FSSAI also requires the type, such as medium-fat or low-fat, to be shown on the label. Checking the product name on the pack is the quickest way to tell a dairy ice cream from a vegetable-fat frozen dessert, whichever brand is on the front.
How to Choose an Ice Cream Brand
- Check the product name: look for “Ice Cream” or “Kulfi” if you want a milk-fat product, and “Frozen Dessert” if you are comfortable with vegetable fat.
- Look at the fat type: the label shows whether a product is regular, medium-fat or low-fat.
- Think about format: cups and sticks suit single servings, while tubs and family packs suit households.
- Consider regional strength: Dinshaw’s is most popular in central India and Mother Dairy makes most of its sales in Delhi NCR, so availability varies by city.
- Compare current prices: prices change often and vary by city and pack size, so check the price printed on the pack or in shopping apps.
If you enjoy reading about Indian food brands, see our guide to popular chocolate brands in India, the story behind the most expensive ice creams in the world, the role of Indian sweets in weddings and festivals and famous desserts from Odisha.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the No. 1 ice cream brand in India?
Amul is widely reported as India’s leading branded ice cream maker. Amul ice cream is produced by a cooperative network under the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation and has been sold nationally since the late 1990s.
Is Kwality Wall’s still owned by Hindustan Unilever?
No. Hindustan Unilever demerged its ice cream business into Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited, effective 1 December 2025, and the new company listed on the BSE and NSE. The Magnum Ice Cream Company agreed to acquire Unilever’s controlling 61.9% stake.
Which is the oldest ice cream brand in India?
Vadilal is one of the oldest. Vadilal Gandhi made the brand’s first ice cream in Ahmedabad in 1907. Dinshaw’s (1932, Nagpur) and Havmor (1944, Karachi) are also long-established names.
Is Cream Bell an Indian brand?
Yes. Cream Bell was launched in 2003 by the Indian group RJ Corporation through Devyani Food Industries, with technical collaboration from the French dairy company Candia.
What is the difference between ice cream and frozen dessert in India?
Under FSSAI standards, ice cream must be made from milk and contain at least 10% milk fat. A frozen dessert is made with vegetable oil or fat or vegetable protein and must be labelled “Frozen Dessert” or “Frozen Confection”.
Who owns Havmor ice cream?
Havmor is owned by South Korea’s Lotte Wellfood, formerly Lotte Confectionery, which fully acquired Havmor Ice Cream in 2017. Havmor’s registered office is in Ahmedabad.
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