South India's Dairy Giant Milky Mist Plans Major Northern Expansion

Milky Mist Dairy Food Limited, a major dairy brand in South India is eyeing aggressive expansion in the states of North and West India in addition to taking necessary steps of going through an initial public offering (IPO) by the middle of 2025, with the benchmark valuation of 2,000 crores. This is a clear indication that it is ready to make this big financial jump as it has over the years changed first to a private and then a public limited company under T. Sathish Kumar who was its founder in 1985.

Milky Mist with its farm-to-fork business model sells more than 150 items under 20 categories, which include paneer, curd, ghee, cheese, and yogurt. The Erode plant at Perundurai, Tamil Nadu is the largest paneer factory in India, which produces 60 tonnes a day. It is setting out 620 crore to boost its Erode plant to 20 lakh liters capacity per day by the end of this year, processing capacity of which is currently at 12.5 lakh liter capacity per day. This encompasses the development of new cheese and paneer production units due to the a rise in the demand of protein rich dairy products.

• Milky Mist to Launch ₹2,000 Cr IPO, Expands Footprint into North and West India
• South India’s Dairy Leader Milky Mist Boosts Erode Plant, Eyes Global Exports
• Milky Mist Targets 20 Lakh Litre Daily Capacity Amid Rising Demand for Value-Added Dairy

The dairy giant registered a 27 per cent rise in revenue to 2500 crore in FY25 despite the slackening in consumption. They expect to generate 65 crore rupees as net profit, and Milky Mist is taking advantage of high demand value-added dairy products such as probiotics curd and sweetened condensed milk and this has been fuelled by the enhanced health awareness. Milky Mist will compete with giants such as Amul and Nandini since the Indian dairy market is projected to expand by 11-13% in Fiscal Year 26, where the size of the market is projected to be of 18,975 billion 2024.

Expansion strategy of Milky Mist involves a bolstering its power in NCR and Maharashtra, and export to Middle East, Singapore, Australia and US. JM Financial, IIFL Capital Services, Axis Capital, have been appointed as bankers to the IPO that will consist of fresh issues and an offer-for-sale.

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As Milky Mist goes through this growth period, its orientation towards quality, innovation-solutions and a well-stocked supply chain makes it a brand to reckon with in the Indian dynamic dairy environment.