New Delhi: As Wimbledon enters its final weekend, a unique collaboration has brought the tournament’s famous strawberries and cream tradition to Delhi. Kuremal Kulfi, the legendary 120-year-old ice-cream brand, has partnered with the All England Lawn Tennis Club to launch a limited-edition Strawberries and Cream Kulfi, giving the classic British dessert an Indian twist.
Vishal Sharma, one of the co-owners of Kuremal Kulfi, still sounds amused when he talks about how the collaboration came about. Three to four months before the tournament, Wimbledon’s team reached out.
“To be honest, I thought it was fake,” Sharma told ThePrint. He and his brothers, who have carried forward the legacy of the iconic shop, considered the offer too good to be true.
“I was worried I would get scammed, and people would laugh at me for believing something so bizarre,” he joked.
It took some back-and-forth, including a request for a security deposit to build trust, before they fully committed. Once they were convinced, they got to work on the samples. It took them over a week to develop the recipes.
“We tried the cream and strawberry dessert in three different formats—stick kulfis, strawberry cream versions, and the signature stuffed fruit format,” Sharma explained.
In the end, Wimbledon chose the classic Indian stick kulfi.
The strawberries themselves were another story. Since they are out of season in India during Wimbledon, the team had to source premium imported berries.
“Strawberries are not available in this season in India. The imported variety is more expensive, but necessary for getting the flavour right,” Sharma said.
They had catered strawberry-based desserts before, but creating a consistent, scalable Strawberries and Cream stick kulfi was different.
“The whole game is about the texture of the cream. Strawberries can be hit or miss, sour or sweet, but the cream quality is in your hands,” Sharma explained.
Wimbledon’s team visited the factory and shot videos of the production process, which later appeared on their official channels as promotional content. By 20 June, official branding, stands, and stickers were making their way to the stores. That was the moment the collaboration finally felt real to Sharma and his family.
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Sweets on the green
For both a novice and a Wimbledon die-hard, strawberries and cream are part of the game’s atmosphere. The tradition goes back well over a century. Every year during the fortnight, the All England Club serves massive quantities, with recent figures showing over 27,000 kilograms of strawberries and more than 10,000 litres of cream being consumed. It can be seen everywhere from television shots of picnics on the grass and in player areas to endless social media posts. It has become one of those rituals that define Wimbledon alongside the white outfits, the grass courts, and the queue.
Bringing that feeling to Delhi through kulfi is notable, especially at a time when India has grown into Wimbledon’s largest global viewership market. While there is no Indian participation in the singles this year, the passion for the event is unmistakable.
For Sharma, the collaboration also carried a personal significance. Before joining the family business full-time, he used to play tennis himself, giving him an appreciation for what the tournament represents.
“Wimbledon’s official account has posted about us. The feeling is surreal,” Sharma said, noting the spotlight the partnership has brought to the brand.
The customer response has exceeded even Sharma’s expectations. Sales of the limited-edition Strawberries and Cream Kulfi have been significantly stronger than anticipated. The team is now exploring the possibility of extending the collaboration further, and they have even started receiving orders for the special kulfi from outside Delhi.
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A multi-generational love story
Kuremal Kulfi began in 1906 when Sharma’s great-grandfather started the business in Old Delhi’s Chawri Bazar. The original shop is still operating in the narrow, crowded lanes of Kucha Pati Ram. But as Sharma points out, getting there is not convenient for most people today. Before the other branches, locals used to await the Kuremal stall at the famed Ramleela in Ram Lila Maidan.
“At the Ramleela people, used to tell us how they wait for the stalls, because coming to Chawri Bazar is not feasible for them,” Sharma noted.
The practical accessibility issue led the family to expand. Today they have eight outlets across all of Delhi, including Bengali Market, Connaught Place, Hauz Khas, Chandni Chowk, and others. Sharma himself left a well-paying corporate job in Gurgaon’s Cyber Hub in 2018 to join the business full-time. The family was hesitant about his decision, but he felt it was the right time to grow what had been built over generations.
“It took some convincing for my family, but I realised the business needed to grow,” said Sharma.
Kuremal has been a generational business for the owners and staff alike.
“A lot of the kitchen staff have been part of the team for decades, with youngsters joining in after their parents. Our customer loyalty and staff loyalty are really good,” noted Sharma.
According to Kuremal’s website, the brand has focused on 100 per cent natural kulfis. Their signature style often involves real fruits—the pulp is used in the kulfi and frequently served back inside the fruit shell. It is this emphasis on fresh, recognisable ingredients that sets them apart from mass-produced frozen desserts.
Kuremal does significant catering work, including destination weddings and events in India and abroad—in places like the UAE, Italy, Germany, South Africa, and Thailand.
A few years ago, the family set up modern factories to handle higher demand as outlets multiplied. But Sharma is careful about how far and how fast they grow. The Wimbledon collaboration has already brought new attention, including franchise inquiries from Europe. Sharma received a call from someone interested in opening a branch abroad just days ago.
“We haven’t given out a single franchise yet. I don’t want to open so many outlets that 10 years later the brand becomes ordinary to people. I want to maintain an exclusivity that lasts another 100 years,” Sharma said.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)