Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin delivers a speech at a congratulatory ceremony for the construction of Lotte Wellfood's new manufacturing plant in Pune, India, Thursday. Courtesy of Lotte Corp.

Lotte Wellfood has launched a new manufacturing plant in India, where the Korean confectionery giant is looking to expand its presence, Lotte Corp., the holding company of Lotte Group, said Sunday.

Lotte Wellfood on Thursday (local time) held a completion ceremony of its plant in the city of Pune in India's western state of Maharashtra. Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis attended the event, along with Lotte Group Vice President Shin Yoo-yeol and Lotte Wellfood CEO Lee Chang-yeop. The dignitaries toured the new plant during the ceremony.

"After we began our ice cream business in India by acquiring Havmor, Lotte has accomplished noteworthy growth in line with India's rapid economic growth," Shin said during his speech at the ceremony.

"The new plant's establishment will be a significant milestone for Lotte's global food businesses. We will further strengthen our commitment to creating the best products to make Havmor the most beloved brand in India."

The plant is the first manufacturing facility established after Lotte Wellfood acquired Indian ice cream manufacturer Havmor in 2017. It occupies a 60,000 square-meter site, as large as eight football fields put together, and six times larger than Havmor's other manufacturing plant in India's Gujarat State.

According to Lotte, the plant houses a series of advanced production technologies from Korea, including Lotte Wellfood's automated systems, significantly improving production efficiency. The plant has begun operating with nine production lines and is set to expand the number to 16 by 2028. Lotte Wellfood expects the plant will bring a 15 percent year-on-year increase in its ice cream sales this year.

The plant comes as a strategic foothold for Lotte Wellfood due to the geographical importance of the city of Pune in western India. Lotte said the products from the Pune plant will first cover India's western regions and then its southern regions, taking advantage of its proximity to ingredient suppliers to save costs.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, right, checks Lotte Wellfood's new manufacturing plant in the city of Pune in India's Maharashtra State, Thursday. Courtesy of Lotte Corp.

Based on the Pune plant, Havmor will introduce more Lotte Wellfood products to Indian consumers. Currently, Havmor's Gujarat plant is producing Lotte's World Cone ice cream, and the Pune plant will start producing a number of Lotte ice creams including the Crispy Crunch Ice Bar, also known as the Piggy Bar, this year.

Lotte Group made its entry into India with Lotte Wellfood in 2004, as part of its bid to capitalize on the potential of the world's biggest market with a 1.4 billion population. Lotte Wellfood now controls two subsidiaries — ice cream maker Havmor and dried confectionery maker Lotte India — with its revenue at 270 billion won ($185 million) in 2023.

Lotte Wellfood plans to establish a new Indian subsidiary by merging Lotte India and Havmor within the first half of this year. The bid, according to Lotte, will further strengthen the Korean company's product portfolio in India and improve its local distribution capacity by merging the logistics departments of both companies.

Lotte Wellfood has also designated Havmor's other manufacturing plant in Haryana State as the first overseas manufacturing base for Pepero, one of Lotte Wellfood's signature confectioneries, starting the second half of this year.

Lotte said Shin had also met Reliance Group Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra and Standard Chartered Bank Group Chief Executive Bill Winters in separate meetings during his latest visit to India to mull future partnerships.