This summer, Mother Dairy plans to introduce 30 new products, primarily focusing on the ice cream and yogurt categories, anticipating a 25-30% surge in consumer demand, according to a senior company executive. As a prominent milk provider in Delhi-NCR, Mother Dairy operates nine company-owned dairy processing facilities with a total daily capacity of more than 50 lakh litres.
Manish Bandlish, the Managing Director of Mother Dairy Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, expressed, “For our business, summer is the most eagerly awaited season, particularly for categories such as ice creams, curd, and beverages.”
“Given the Indian Meteorological Department’s (IMD) forecast of above-normal temperatures and a hot summer ahead, we anticipate a significant increase in demand for these categories,” he added.
Bandlish noted that there has already been an increase in ice cream sales compared to the previous year.
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He mentioned that the company is fully equipped to meet this rising demand and has invested up to INR 50 crore to expand capacities, ensuring ample availability of its products.
“As we enter the season, we are fully prepared to delight consumers in our golden jubilee year with a lineup of over 30 new enticing products. In addition to Greek yoghurts and other dairy products, the upcoming line will feature about 20 new ice cream flavours”, stated Bandlish.
Overall, he expressed that the company is highly optimistic about the season.
“We anticipate a 25-30% increase in demand for our dairy products compared to last season,” Bandlish commented.
Mother Dairy has also unveiled its expansion plans for both the dairy and fruits and vegetables (F&V) sectors.
The company plans to invest INR 650 crore in establishing two new processing plants for milk and fruits and vegetables.
Additionally, the company will invest an extra INR 100 crore to enhance the capacities of its current plants, bringing the total capital expenditure to INR 750 crore.
“In our efforts to broaden our distribution network and connect with consumers, we have allocated a capital expenditure (capex) budget of more than INR 750 crore to improve our dairy and fruits and vegetables processing capabilities across strategic locations,” Bandlish remarked.
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Mother Dairy is establishing a large dairy plant in Nagpur with an investment of approximately INR 525 crore.
The new plant will have a daily processing capacity of 6 lakh litres of milk.
In addition, Bandlish stated, “we plan to set up a new fruit processing facility in Karnataka with a budget of over INR 125 crore, operating under our Safal brand.”
These two plants are expected to be completed in approximately two years.
For the horticulture (fruits and vegetables) segment, the company operates four of its own plants, and for edible oils, it produces through 15 affiliated plants.
Mother Dairy recorded a turnover of approximately INR 14,500 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23.
Regarding the anticipated turnover for this fiscal year, Bandlish commented, “Despite facing a challenging year and a lackluster summer season last year, along with deflation in the edible oil sector, the company is expected to conclude 2023-24 with a modest growth rate of approximately 7-8% in volume terms.”
Established in 1974, Mother Dairy is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
Mother Dairy was established as part of ‘Operation Flood’, the world’s largest dairy development program aimed at making India self-sufficient in milk production.
Mother Dairy, a prominent player in India’s dairy industry, produces, markets, and distributes a range of milk and milk-based products, including cultured items, ice creams, paneer, ghee, and more under the brand name ‘Mother Dairy’.
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The company also boasts a diversified portfolio, offering edible oils under the ‘Dhara’ brand, and fresh fruits & vegetables, frozen vegetables & snacks, unpolished pulses, pulps & concentrates, and more under the ‘Safal’ brand.
It operates numerous milk booths and Safal retail outlets in the Delhi-NCR region.
Mother Dairy sells over 35 lakh litres of fresh milk (both pouched and token milk) daily in the Delhi-NCR region.
