The investment, valuing the company at Rs 600 crore, also attracted contributions from angel investors, including film producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar.
Ahmedabad's ice cream brand, Hocco, has completed a Rs 100 crore ($12 million) fundraising round, as per a report by the Economic Times. This round was reportedly led by its promoter group, the Chona family, and existing investor Sauce VC. The investment, valuing the company at Rs 600 crore, also attracted contributions from angel investors, including film producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar.
Ankit Chona, the managing director of Hocco, told the Economic Times that the fund would be used to expand the manufacturing capacity of the company. The brand anticipates generating sales of Rs 200 crore for the fiscal year that ends in March 2025.
In 1994, Hocco started as an ice cream parlor in Karachi by Satish Chona. In 2017, the Chonas sold their legacy brand Havmor to a South Korean company, Lotte, for Rs 1,020 crore. After the funding, early-stage consumer VC fund Sauce VC owned around a 10 percent stake in Hocco. Sauce VC has backed brands like The Whole Truth, Mokobara, and Supertails.
In 2019, Hocco, also known as House of Chonas, was introduced, expanding their longstanding food service enterprise. According to the corporate website, Hocco gained popularity in 2023 and established over 100 stores across the nation. With the opening of its first QSR location in Virginia, it also joined the US market.
Speaking to the Economic Times, Chona said, “Currently, our plant capacity is between 40,000 and 50,000 liters a day, and our original projection by May was 15,000 liters. By next summer, we will triple our capacity, reaching 1.3 lakh liters a day.”
The company has also highlighted that they are looking at quick commerce as a category to increase their presence beyond Gujarat. The company plans to expand in Delhi, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. Speaking to the Economic Times, Chona said, ““The way we plan to do that is to penetrate deeper into Gujarat and expand into nearby geographies. Before next summer, we will launch in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Delhi-NCR.”