Two Brands, Two Roads

Two Ahmedabad-based companies set up in the 1940s have taken different paths and had contrasting fortunes. Havmor and Rasna are both entrenched in the minds of consumers, but while the former has now been acquired by a Korean confectionary company, the latter is striving to stay relevant through innovations and diversifications

- Naini Thaker

Havmor: Melting Point

What began as a humble entrepreneurial effort in Karachi 75 years ago grew to an almost 500 crore business (FY 2016-17). Adding flavour to ice cream maker Havmor’s journey was its acquisition by $110-billion South Korean major Lotte Confectionery for about 1,020 crore in 2017. “It [the acquisition] is like getting your daughter married… you have to let go and use your mind over heart at some point,” says Pradeep Chona, 64, chairman, HRPL Pvt Ltd (the parent company was called Havmor Restaurants Pvt Ltd prior to the sale).

The emotions are understandable. “My father, Satish Chona, learnt how to make ice cream from his uncle and set up a shop in Karachi in 1944. After Partition, he came to India, and went to Dehradun and Indore to set up an ice cream business, but it didn’t do too well. Finally he settled in Ahmedabad and started an ice cream and food brand, Have More, with the help of Kasturbhai Lalbhai [renowned industrialist and co-founder of Arvind Mills] in 1953,” says Pradeep.

Have More was renamed Havmor in the 1960s and during its initial days the focus was mostly on ice creams along with a couple of restaurants in Ahmedabad, including their first one in Kalyan Bhavan on Relief Road.Ice cream, food and quality run in the family’s DNA. “While he was on a stretcher prior to a major surgery, dad (Satish Chona) called me. I thought he would ask me to take care of my mother and sister, and tell me where the will is kept. Instead, he told me he was not happy with the way they are cleaning butter and that I should attend to that,” recalls Pradeep, who did more than that by taking the Ahmedabad based brand across Gujarat.