Parag Milk Foods (P) ltd, one of India’s largest private dairies is aggressively expanding its market in Chhattisgarh, with the launch of its Gowardhan Gold & Tea Star range of fresh milk here on Thursday. Gowardhan Gold Milk shall cater to the growing demand for fresh, hygienic and 100 per cent pure Cow’s milk with rich and creamy taste.
Speaking to reporters here on this strategic move, Devendra Shah, Chairman, Parag Milk Foods (P) ltd. said, “Chhattisgarh is a resource-rich and fast-growing state with scope for long-term sustained socio-economic development. In fact, its major economic centres like Raipur and other nearby cities are one of the fastest growing urban areas in the country.
We were one of the first to spot an opportunity in this new State and established one of our first Depots at Raipur, almost three years back. Since then, we have been selling our Go & Gowardhan range of products in this market, most prominent being, Go UHT Milk, he said.
looking to the overwhelming demand of Go UHT Milk and low penetration of fresh milk players, we realized the need for launching fresh milk as well in the market and saw appetite of consumers to accept our products, which are pure, fresh and are of the highest quality, Shah said.
He further commented, “By launching our fresh milk in major towns of Chhattisgarh, we are looking at consolidating our presence in this region after having successfully establishing ourselves in fresh milk markets of Nagpur and nearby towns within a period of just two years.
launching of fresh milk in the State would also help in further strengthening the brand pull and acceptance of our range of products which are already available in the market, Shah said.
In the first phase, the focus will be on Raipur city and other large towns of State viz. Durg, Bhilai, Bilaspur and Rajnandgaon markets. Milk market of these large cities having combined population of around 30 lakhs, estimated at 7 lakh litres per day, translating into Rs900 crores business potential, he said.
In these towns, the current penetration of packaged milk is hardly 20 per cent, which is quite low compared to urban areas of neighbouring States like Maharashtra & Andhra Pradesh with around 50 per cent or more penetration. Thus, there is large untapped potential to be explored. Further with rising income levels, concern about food safety, urbanisation etc, branded fresh milk market is growing at the rate of 8 per cent per annum in this region.
The company would also be investing in developing cold chain in transportation and retail outlets to ensure that good quality product at right temperature reaches in the hands of consumer, he said. It also has plans to establish a total of 50 preferred retail outlets selling entire range of Gowardhan, Go and Topp up products in the area, Shah said.