Kedaara Capital has made its first-ever investment in an ice cream brand, Dairy Classic Ice Creams (Dairy Day). Through the investment, Kedaara seeks to support the company’s vision of emerging as among the most popular ice-cream brands in the country.

The investment will help the ice cream brand of South India further solidify its vision and provide a full exit to Motilal Oswal Private Equity and other angel investors. EY acted as the exclusive investment banker on this transaction. 

Banking on the private equity firm's expertise and in-depth retail and consumer experience  the company will expedite growth, and will set up world-class production facilities in various locations in the coming years. It plans to increase its production capacity from two lakh litres a day to 3.5 lakh litres a day soon. 

Founded in 2002, Bengaluru-based Dairy Day boasts a network of more than 50,000 retailers in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.. It sells a range of products such as candies, sorbet, cones and tubs across general and modern trade, as well as online channels. It entered Maharashtra last month.

Dairy Day has demonstrated strong growth and the capital infusion will make it well-funded to build an enduring business.

Recently, venture capital firm Jungle Ventures made a USD 20-million follow-up investment in Walko Food, which houses ice-cream brands such as NIC and Grameen Kulfi.  Also, global consumer giant Unilever has decided to spin off its ice cream business, which houses brands such as Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s as a cost-cutting measure.