Warm February fuels 30% surge in summer product sales; beverage, ice-cream and AC makers cheer
New Delhi: An early start to summer led to a 25-30% increase in sales of beverages, ice-creams and air-conditioners last month compared with a rain-drenched February 2025, industry executives said. They expect this to set the momentum for a robust season compared with last year when sales of summer-oriented products plunged more than half in the February-September period.
Temperatures have already scaled 31 degrees Celsius in several regions, with Delhi reporting the warmest February in three years with mercury climbing to 31.9 degrees Celsius last week, six degrees above normal. According to the India Meteorological Department and private agency Skymet Weather, the summer season has started sooner than usual.
“The early arrival of summer has provided a significant tailwind to the beverage industry; Feb Warmly Ushers in Summer of Revival Sales leap across beverages, ice-creams and air-conditioners this year as against slump of 2025 we are fully prepared to meet the demand,” said Paritosh Ladhani, managing director of SLMG Beverages, Coca-Cola’s largest bottler in India.
SLMG on March 1 announced an investment of Rs 1,200 crore at a bottling facility in Buxar, Bihar, which will be its largest bottling plant in South Asia.For dairy giant Amul, ice-cream sales are rising 35% month-onmonth, said managing director Jayen Mehta, citing the early onset of summer as one of the reasons.
Deeper retail reach through pushcarts, quick commerce, parlours and ice-lounges and capacity expansion are also contributing to the growth, he said. Amid coolerthan-normal weather last year, manufacturers of products like beverages, ACs and ice-creams had slashed production to adjust inventories.
The scenario seems to have reversed this year, executives said.“With an early onset and steady rise in temperatures, this year’s summer season looks promising for the industry as a whole,” said Jayatheertha Chary, deputy managing director of Mother Dairy, which makes icecreams, curd and dairy-based beverages.
Executives said their companies may not have to expand capacity since they are already sitting on excess capacity, which they had created last year but remained underutilised due to weak demand. AC and appliances maker Voltas’ managing director, Mukundan Menon, said this year’s early season has given AC sales a head start with projections of about 20% growth over last year. “We already have an existing capacity of 3 million units; we are well taken care of in terms of requirements, as far as room ACs are concerned,” he said.
Executives representing cold chain, distribution and infrastructure sectors said they are pulling all the stops as summer season trends have picked up early. “To manage peak summer demand and support long-term growth, we have made investments across fleet, infrastructure and manpower,” said Swarup Bose, founder and CEO of cold chain marketplace Celcius.
The company has expanded its electric vehicle fleet to strengthen last-mile capabilities, is developing more pack houses at the farm level and city-based distribution centres to reduce transit times and minimise wastage, and investing in manpower and capabilities to scale logistics including air cargo and rail movements, enabling part-load shipments and faster deliveries.
Temperatures have already scaled 31 degrees Celsius in several regions, with Delhi reporting the warmest February in three years with mercury climbing to 31.9 degrees Celsius last week, six degrees above normal. According to the India Meteorological Department and private agency Skymet Weather, the summer season has started sooner than usual.
“The early arrival of summer has provided a significant tailwind to the beverage industry; Feb Warmly Ushers in Summer of Revival Sales leap across beverages, ice-creams and air-conditioners this year as against slump of 2025 we are fully prepared to meet the demand,” said Paritosh Ladhani, managing director of SLMG Beverages, Coca-Cola’s largest bottler in India.
SLMG on March 1 announced an investment of Rs 1,200 crore at a bottling facility in Buxar, Bihar, which will be its largest bottling plant in South Asia.For dairy giant Amul, ice-cream sales are rising 35% month-onmonth, said managing director Jayen Mehta, citing the early onset of summer as one of the reasons.
Deeper retail reach through pushcarts, quick commerce, parlours and ice-lounges and capacity expansion are also contributing to the growth, he said. Amid coolerthan-normal weather last year, manufacturers of products like beverages, ACs and ice-creams had slashed production to adjust inventories.
The scenario seems to have reversed this year, executives said.“With an early onset and steady rise in temperatures, this year’s summer season looks promising for the industry as a whole,” said Jayatheertha Chary, deputy managing director of Mother Dairy, which makes icecreams, curd and dairy-based beverages.
Executives said their companies may not have to expand capacity since they are already sitting on excess capacity, which they had created last year but remained underutilised due to weak demand. AC and appliances maker Voltas’ managing director, Mukundan Menon, said this year’s early season has given AC sales a head start with projections of about 20% growth over last year. “We already have an existing capacity of 3 million units; we are well taken care of in terms of requirements, as far as room ACs are concerned,” he said.
Executives representing cold chain, distribution and infrastructure sectors said they are pulling all the stops as summer season trends have picked up early. “To manage peak summer demand and support long-term growth, we have made investments across fleet, infrastructure and manpower,” said Swarup Bose, founder and CEO of cold chain marketplace Celcius.
The company has expanded its electric vehicle fleet to strengthen last-mile capabilities, is developing more pack houses at the farm level and city-based distribution centres to reduce transit times and minimise wastage, and investing in manpower and capabilities to scale logistics including air cargo and rail movements, enabling part-load shipments and faster deliveries.
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