Parag Milk Foods has recently made a foray into the production of whey powder, and plans to launch a range of milk beverages in the next few months.

Whey, a by-product of the cheese-making process, will be produced at Parag’s milk processing plant at Manchar, around 60 km from Pune, where the company has an installed capacity of making 40 tonnes of cheese a day.

“We are the first large dairy company in India to begin making whey powder,” Devendra Shah, Promoter and Chairman of Parag, said. The company has invested around ₹110 crore for the first phase and will increase it to ₹170 crore over a period of time.

While supply of the first product — demineralised whey protein (dwp 28) — to the pharmaceutical and baby food industries has already started, more products, including 70 per cent and 80 per cent whey protein concentrate, are in the pipeline. The production volume will be around 450 tonnes a month.

“In the next few months, we will also enter the consumer segment with whey,” Shah said.

While last year saw Parag introduce a range of flavoured milk products into the Indian market, it plans to take this to the next level with the launch of milk-based beverages. “This could be cold coffee or fruit-based products that will have real fruit content,” Shah said. The new product range will come into the market in the next two to three months.

The company, which has a total milk processing capacity of 20 lakh litres a day between the Manchar plant and the Palamaner plant in Andhra Pradesh, has grown by 40 per cent in 2014-15 to ₹1,475 crore.

“We expect to grow by 30-35 per cent and touch ₹2,100 crore in 2015-16,” Shah said, adding the whey business will contribute mainly to this growth.

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