Delhi summers are to die of. Not for. Come school vacations and Delhiites head for the hills in droves—the middle class to domestic hill stations and the affluent to ‘foreign’ ones. Those constrained by work schedules take refuge in air conditioned offices and homes. Shopaholics abandon the open air markets and head for air conditioned showrooms and malls in air conditioned cars. Street urchins turn amphibious and are to be found beside or inside the canals at all times. Mounds of succulent water-melons and refreshing green coconuts line the roads for the relief of the scorched wayfarers. But for children (and indeed youngsters) summer is synonymous with ice cream!

And when the brand of ice-cream in question evokes the tingle of the most delicious kulfi and chilled rabri in living memory, it is hard to resist in any weather, by any generation.

The Giani chain of ice cream stores is a name to reckon with in the Capital’s dessert and ice-creams market—one of the few businesses that continued to expand unfazed, even in the teeth of the recent economic downturn. And why not, since besides catering to the Capital’s sweet tooth in the most economically viable way, it also felicitously combines the nostalgia of Chandni Chowk’s traditional rabri-faluda and chilled mango shakes with the contemporary demand for chocolate whisky ice cream, a variety of sundaes, mousses and shakes, as well as that for gelatos, frozen yogurts, ‘lite desserts’ and innovations like jamun sorbet for the health conscious.

Over the past 12 years, Giani ice creams have made it from a single (though celebrated) traditional dessert shop in the lanes of Fatehpuri in Chandni Chowk, to franchise outlets in every nook and cranny of the Capital, and into the hearts of its people. You do, of course, have other ice cream and dessert chains, but Nirula’s is largely nostalgia value for the generations of the 1970s, 80s and 90s; Baskin Robbins is for the ‘hip crowd’ and Cocoberry, with its extremely niche clientele, is yet to tap the mass market. The Giani chain, however, has managed to cut across age groups and find universal appeal among the Capital’s ice cream lovers.

It all began in 1956 at Giani di Hatti, nestled amidst the bazaars of Fatehpuri, Chandni Chowk, and still one of the landmarks of old Delhi. It was here that Gyani Gurcharan Singh, a traditional sweetmeat maker from the then Layallpur (Faislabad), Pakistan, set up shop upon migrating to Delhi and started serving his famous rabri-faluda and mango shake. His mouth-watering goodies, made with loving attention and dedication, with the best quality ingredients, struck an instant chord with the discerning residents of the walled city. In no time at all, Giani di Hatti was a household word. And even today, more than half a century later, customers continue to flock to this home of traditional desserts and the most popular delicacy, the rabri-faluda, is prepared non-stop as long as the shop is open.

His son, Paramjeet Singh, joining him in 1989, augmented the range of traditional desserts with ice creams. But not just any ice creams. Taking a ‘learning tour’ around the world with brother Amanpreet, the two scions of Giani di Hatti absorbed the craft of fine ice-cream making and preparation of gelatos from Italian dessert chefs and imbibed marketing savvy in the world’s biggest ice cream market, USA. They combined the two to give to the Capital’s inhabitants, fine ice creams and desserts—both traditional and international, at affordable prices, playing the ‘volume game’ to scale new heights in their business. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Around 12 years ago, on the eve of the new millennium, the next generation at Giani, decided to spread the family business further. That is when, in 1999, Giani’s first branch came up in Rajouri Garden, then a newly ‘happening’ market in West Delhi. To keep up with the changing demand trends, the outlet had a much wider range of ice cream flavours, sundaes, shakes, gelatos, sorbets and mousses.

Says Taranjeet Singh, Head of Giani Ice Creams, “The magic prevailed once more and we realized we could grow really big.” Soon there were franchisee outlets, literally springing up all over Delhi, with the two branches of the family naming their respective outlets ‘Giani’s’ and ‘Giani Ice Creams’ respectively. Taranjeet Singh’s Giani Ice Creams, retaining the rights for the range of gelatos, has also expanded into fast foods such as burgers, pizzas, sandwiches and French fries—all strictly vegetarian.

Today, you literally can’t step out in Delhi without falling over a Giani outlet—all doing roaring business. With these placed so conveniently, business is not as brisk as of yore, even for the ice cream carts making the rounds of colonies on summer evenings. The new generation prefers its consumables in glitzy packaging, and the new look of the Giani parlours and outlets is definitely a big draw. The staff members at these outlets speak to ‘upmarket’ customers in English; and the decor at some of the ‘posh’ outlets is reminiscent of New York’s Haagen-Dazs.

But despite all this, the philosophy behind the success remains simple, the same as that of the founder of the house: ‘Never lose touch with the middle-class customer. Keep your customers happy and the rest will follow’.