• Food safety checks: Milky Mist said it had received no communication from central or state authorities about recent media reports; routine inspections occur every 2–3 months, and Rathnam welcomed the authorities’ broader food-safety drive.
• Paneer opportunity: Rathnam said India’s paneer market is about $10 billion, with 92%, 93% from the unorganized sector, and expects the organized sector to reach 25% of total paneer volume. Milky Mist has a 150-tonne capacity per day facility; it reported paneer volume growth of 24%, 25% and value growth of 30%, 35%, which it expects to continue.
• Value-added growth: The value-added dairy sector is growing around 15%, while Milky Mist has grown 30% year-on-year for 5–6 years. Rathnam sees value-added products as a key industry growth driver as liquid milk consumption growth has declined from 6% to 4%, 4 and 1/2%.
• Pricing and margins: Milky Mist took a 5%, 6% price hike a couple of months back and expects to maintain margins through operational levers, while noting it cannot pass on every cost increase to consumers.
• Capacity and outlook: Rathnam said the margin peak is yet to come, citing capacity, demand and 15%, 20% year-on-year growth across categories including ice creams, cheese, paneer and yogurt. He expects demand for high-protein, value-added products to continue growing.