Parag Milk Foods Announces INR 100 Crore Investment to Expand Paneer Capacity

On September 22nd, Parag Milk Foods announced plans to increase production of paneer (cottage cheese) by investing around INR 100 crore. The company's Manchar plant in Maharashtra and its Palamaner operation in Andhra Pradesh are both slated for 60 MT per day capacity expansions.

Parag Milk Foods stated that their current paneer manufacturing capacity is 20 MT per day. Regular and high-protein paneer will be made in the enlarged facilities, which are scheduled to be operational by June 2027.

Why Parag Milk Expanding its Capacity?

Parag is increasing its capacity by a factor of four in order to keep up with the growing demand for consistent quality. Further, the firm is also broadening its presence across the country in both the regular and high-protein categories. This is in response to the fact that organised players now make up just about five to six percent of the category. Rahul Kumar Srivastava, chief operating officer of Parag Milk Foods, expressed the company's delight at the news of its intention to increase capacity by 60 MT/day.

Accordingly, with an investment of around INR 100 crore, it will increase its overall paneer capacity from 20 MT/day to 80 MT/day. Paneer, one of the company's signature categories, has grown at a rate of 28% per annum over the past two years, and the statement noted that value-added items account for more than 90% of the sales. The decision to expand is in line with the fact that food inspectors in different states are closely monitoring food business operators (FBOs). Many online meal delivery platforms, like Zomato and Swiggy, have also requested that their restaurant partners cease using imitation paneer as a result of these regulatory moves.

Zomato Cracks Down on Analogue Paneer

Analogue dairy dishes, such as those created with imitation paneer, are no longer allowed on Zomato. According to the corporation, they will not budge from their zero-tolerance stance on the selling of foods that use substitute dairy products. Also, these kinds of listings that restaurant partners have reported have previously been removed by the brand.

Analogue paneer and other dairy alternatives are coming under increasing scrutiny in India, prompting this approach. The manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, and retail sale of counterfeit paneer have been outlawed in multiple Indian states. These include Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.

Dishes that restaurant partners have reported as having analogue dairy in them have been immediately removed from the Zomato site, according to a statement. Zomato claims that the policy's stated goals are the promotion of more openness in meal listings and the safeguarding of consumer interests. The restaurant partners are being asked to comply immediately by implementing the rigorous measures. Natural dairy products should be the norm in restaurants.