Gujarat-based Topnotch Foods and Topnotch Packaging manufacture rolled sugar cones with aluminium foil sleeves in various sizes, used in the ice cream industry. The company displayed its range of ice cream cones and sleeves at the IntraPac Exhibition held at Greater Noida.
The company manufactures the cones at six different locations – Nagpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Haryana, Gujarat and Karnataka, with a capacity of 65 lakh cones per day. Kwality Walls, Amul, Havmor, Vadilal, Creambell are some of its customers, Manoj Sivaya from Topnotch Group said.
The Topnotch Group also manufacturers IML molds for ice cream packaging in two sizes – one liter and 125 milliliter, Sivaya told Packaging South Asia, adding the company plans to expand to six sizes in the next 6 – 7 months.
Starland machines from China are being used to manufacture the ice-cream cones and JSW machines for injection molding. Mold-Tech molds from China are used to make IML molds, Sivaya said. Nilpeter machines are used for the printing the packaging of the cones.
Topnotch Foods supplies about 12 – 14 crore cones per month, he said, adding the company makes 14 lakh one-liter molds and 22 lakh 125-milliliter molds per month.
Customers now prefer smaller cones for health issues and the price factor, he said. “Compared to the US and Europe, India is far behind in per capita consumption of ice cream. There is a huge potential and scope for growth considering that India has a hot weather, which is condusive to ice cream consumption. The ice cream industry is expected to grow at 20% year-on-year. It is a promising industry and we would like to capitalize on it for the next 10 – 15 years,” he added.
