HLL’s ice-cream for diabetics to take time

MUMBAI: HLL’s performance was satisfying but the fast moving consumer goods company has a long way to go, its chairman Harish Manwani told shareholders at the 74th annual general meeting on Friday. Commenting on product launch details, he said the company was on course for a roll-out of Pureit, its water purifier brand, in Mumbai. “Pureit is still new in Maharashtra as bulk of our efforts for its sales are with doctors and at point of sales,” he said.

He further said the launch of the much-publicised diabetic ice-cream will not happen as of now. Continuing efforts to expand rurally, Mr Manwani said he was confident of making Project Shakti available across every nook and cranny of India.“15% of our rural sales come from Shakti and we serve 1 lakh villagers across 15 states. Our endeavour is to cover the entire rural community,” he said. Mr Manwani also said the recent price-hike introduced in various products was a result of rise in input costs. This has led to an increase in prices, he said.

Meanwhile, there were protests outside the AGM location as residents from Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu demonstrated against diseases caused by the HLL thermometer factory in their area.