Mr. Rahul Kumar, COO of Parag Milk Foods Ltd., reflects on insights gained across Amul, Lactalis, and now Parag—highlighting innovation, farmer partnerships, and a rapidly evolving dairy ecosystem. He also outlines the industry’s biggest challenges, from climate-driven uncertainties to generational shifts, and how Parag is building sustainable, future-ready solutions. Tune in to the entire conversation:
Mubina Kapasi: Hi everyone and thank you so much for joining us. Today I have with me Mr. Rahul Kumar, he is the COO of Parag Milk. First, Mr. Kumar, thank you so much for joining us today.
Rahul Kumar: My pleasure, my pleasure.
Mubina Kapasi: You have a very rich experience in the entire dairy industry, Amol India, Laxilis and now of course Parag Milk. I want to know how is your experience helping you look at your approach to Parag Milk differently. What have you learnt that you are applying in Parag Milk today?
Rahul Kumar: I feel myself lucky that I started my career with Amol which is the largest dairy brand in Asia and it is the largest cooperative in the world. So, I spent about 22 years in Amol. So, it was all learning curve for me.
I worked in various areas in Amol, in milk procurement, in plants, in marketing, in general management. I was MD of Amol dairy at age of 33. So, I was the youngest MD that time.
So, basically it was a learning and the system was like that that I got appreciation and rewarded the way I was working. So, I would say that Amol was fantastic years for me for formation year of my career. 10-15 years then I became MD, learnt lot of things.
There was change, there was lot of change you know which is basically came from 1991 post liberalization. So, the whole industry was changing, the way technology was coming in India. So, we have to adopt those technologies so that we are not far behind versus rest of the world.
So, this was a change in any industry during that time between 1991 till 2003-04. Lot of 10 years what formation stage. I joined Amol in 1992.
So, it was that period right which is post liberalization period you know that was there. After that, after working with cooperative, I worked in largest dairy company in the world. Luckily this is the French dairy company in the world, French company which is largest in the world.
So, you learn lot of things how the global company works. How a company works with the headquarter in France and they work in more than 80 countries with more than 250 plants, with more than 300 brands and how do they adopt with the local culture, local market and local need. I just give you an example, Lactalis is a French company.
So, they have never sold milk in pouch all across there and it’s almost it was formulated in 1933. So, it’s a very old company. So, they never sold milk in pouch but when they come to India, they started selling milk in pouch.
So, it’s not that you know the same bottle or tetra pack. So, you learn lot of things how the global system works. When we are working with all the continents with more than 80 countries and with different culture, different mindsets, different kind of set of skills.
How you implement the global systems all across uniformly. So, these were the learning days. After working Lactalis for 10 years, I joined Parag which is a totally different because it’s a listed company.
You are in public. So, these are different kind of working efficiency which you have to demonstrate to the shareholders. So, I always feel that I was so lucky to work in the best of the dairies in their business model.
A cooperative which is Amul for 22 years. The global company MNC which I set up Lactalis in India. We acquired two more companies under Lactalis Brahma Dairy and Anik after Tirumala in South.
So, that was also how various companies are acquired and they are integrated. Because each company has its own culture, own systems, own mindset, own set of methodology. How do they work?
They are maybe promoter based. They are listed. They may be very, very unorganized.
But how to integrate them with the global system? So, I always feel lucky that I am learning. But learning was so good from cooperative to multinational to listed company.
So, whatever I learn, I try to use it in my daily management working. That’s what I am doing in Parag. When I came to Parag, I found Parag is not a normal dairy company.
They are basically FMCG. So, they have very good innovative products. So, one side they have a cow ghee brand which is called Govardhan which is number one brand in cow ghee segment.
Which because of that is very popular. Then we have a brand called Go which is Go Cheese. So, we are number two in cheese in India.
And with the latest technology what we have. So, we have lot of innovative product in cheese like four cheese and Gouda and lot of other cheeses we have. Then we have our farm which is a largest farm in India where we have 4500 cows.
With automated milking and under brand name of Pride of Cows which is becoming very popular. Because it is a direct from farm to consumer milk. And then we expanded Pride of Cows milk to other products.
So, we have Pride of Cows Ghee, we have Pride of Cows Paneer, we have Pride of Cows Yogurt, we have Pride of Cows Curd. And in future we will be having more and more Pride of Cows products. May be Gourmet Cheese which is exotic cheese varieties and all these things.
So, this is what you know innovation is all about. So, I see that after when we are making lot of cheese then the way was there. So, Para was the only company started using way for the value added protein which is called Avatar.
Which is very popular in India for gym goers. We have not stopped there because it is not that protein is needed only to the gym goers. So, we started developing product.
So, recently we developed product which is a protein wafer bar. So, we have just like any wafer coated with chocolate and coffee and cheese. But the wafer has a protein which is our protein which we derive from cheese.
So, 40 gram bar has about 10 gram of protein. So, you can just while walking, while going outside you can take that and bring back protein. It is not that you have to add powder and all these things.
So, I saw Para is a very innovative company. And ahead of the time. So, the management, the promoters they were quite visionary in terms of approach.
Including the setting of such a big farm which is going to have about 20,000 cows in next 5-6 years. So, the pride of cows will become bigger and bigger. And this is all under sustainability approach.
So, whatever cows are there, they are kept very comfortably. They are fenced, their temperature is maintained. They are fed with very good variety of silage and feed.
So, we have 2000 acres of land where we cultivate our own crop for silage. And then we feed them those high protein, high quality grass and other feeds. And then whatever waste we generate, we use it for the biogas.
As a biogas, we generate power. We generate, we make manure. We sell that organic manure to the consumer.
So, what I mean to say is that it is a full ecosystem. And whatever I have learned in Amul, whatever I have learned in Lactalase and still learning in Parag. So, all put together, I am quite excited to do things differently, do new things.
So, I don’t say that I have learned and now I am using it. I am still learning and I will keep learning. That’s the way I think.
Mubina Kapasi: What do you think is the biggest challenge for the dairy industry? Because I think from the demand side and the consumption side, I think Indians have a great appetite. So, there is more and more to be given.
In fact, I think consumption will only increase. But what do you think are the key challenges or key risks that the industry of Parag milk faces?
Rahul Kumar: See, first of all, we have to understand that dairy or milk is a natural product. And it has a lot of seasonality and a lot of factors. For example, if you have good rains, then water will be available, the grass will be available.
Even the other crops will be good like wheat and rice or any other thing. And in India, whatever we eat as a human and whatever waste is there, that is fed to the cattle. Like wheat straw, rice straw, oil cakes, which we cannot eat after consuming the main product.
So, this is there. So, if you have good rains, good monsoon, good agriculture crop, then you have good availability of the raw material. So, that can be fed to the animals so that they will give more milk.
Unfortunately, if you don’t have good rains and there is some kind of drought somewhere, then you will not get that kind of water and kind of raw material for the cattle. Then the milk production will go down. When the milk production will go down, the farmer’s income will go down.
When the farmer’s income will go down, he will not be able to take care of the animal properly. Because we have very small holding farms. In India, we have 9 crore families which are doing milk business. 9 crore, 90 billion.
Mubina Kapasi: And they are all dependent on rains.
Rahul Kumar: Yeah, rains. Because rains have to be there. That’s why the entire ecosystem is there.
Mubina Kapasi: Other irrigation systems?
Rahul Kumar: No, no, no. Because each cattle needs grass.
So, grass has to be there. When the rains are there, the grass is there. The main crops will be there.
Wheat, rice production will be good in India. So that when we process them, then we get wheat and rice. Then we get whatever rice bran and wheat bran and all these things.
Then we have oil, so we get oil cakes. So, these are the feeding material for the animal along with the water. Each animal needs about 80 to 90 litres of water per day.
So, you need water. So, underground water has to be there or some source of water has to be there. Or pond or river or whatever it is.
So, one factor is there which is challenging in terms of that we are so much dependent on that. Second is that when we talk about agriculture, any agriculture, we have limited resources. See, India is the largest producer of milk in the world.
We produce close to about 330 million metric ton of milk per year. Just to make it simple, 60 crore litres per day we are producing. This is a big amount.
And in most of the cases, the farmer is quite under stress. Because where the cooperatives are strong, private sector is strong, it’s okay. Otherwise, they have to search for the market.
Sometimes they are exploited by the unorganized sector. This is also very important. Because in India, the milk is not going 100% to the organized sector.
Only 30-40% goes to organized sector. So, this is the case. They also face problem in getting the cattle feed.
As I explained to you, sometimes they don’t get proper cattle feed. If the cows or buffalos don’t get proper cattle feed, proper nutrition, their body will be weak. So, pregnancy cycle will be prolonged.
Gap will be there. So, they are not able to get pregnant. And after that, milking will not be there.
So, farmer has a lot of uncertainties in terms of how to do the business. Another point which is challenging, I see that when you are having limited resources, same land is used for horticulture, floriculture, fruits and vegetables. Land is same.
And for milk production also, you need land for the grass, fodder and all these things. So, there is a competition between one commodity, agri-commodity and other agri-commodity. Suppose there is a good demand of fruits.
So, even if the limited land is there, some people will go for the fruit production or vegetable production. Or for floriculture, flowers and all. Second is that, the interest of the new generation in this business.
It’s not a very, I would say, so-called, quote-unquote glamorous business. So, you have to handle the cattle. Wake up early in the morning, cleaning it and all these things.
So, whether the new generation is interested. And this is what we are trying to, you know, launch something where new generation is interested. So, technology like, you know, rotating platform kind of thing.
So, people are not hand-milking. So, this is what, you know, there are challenges. So, I would say three challenges.
One is, farmers have some uncertainty. Second is that seasonality. Raw material for milk production is not easily available because of the weather and climate and all.
And third is that whether new generation is interested. Because the business has to be continued. People might be doing for last two generations.
Whether next generation is interested or not. Or he is interested in some kind of very small job in city. He doesn’t want to do milk business.
So, I think these are the challenges what we have.
Mubina Kapasi: But you have 4500 of your own cows.
Rahul Kumar: Yeah, yeah.
Mubina Kapasi: In which you are mitigating some of these challenges.
Rahul Kumar: Yes, yes, yes. And we are also, one more thing, your question is very right. Because one thing we are doing in Faraz is that we are, you know, having good relationship with the farmers.
We don’t maintain the relationship as a buyer-purchaser. We maintain the relationship as our partner. Because they are giving milk to us.
They are doing lot of hard work. So, it’s our responsibility to help them in terms of best quality cattle feed. So, we give them cattle feed which is best quality.
Because 60% of the cost of milk production is the cattle feed cost. So, if I am not supporting him or her, then what will happen that his cost of production will go up. So, he will not be able to earn the profits and all.
So, these are the things we have to do. So, we have to be very close to the farmer. Try to understand their problems.
And as a professional, as a big company, how the technology, how can knowledge and sharing of knowledge, maybe IT, how we can give them some, you know, predictive advice in terms of disease management and feeding practices and overall management of the cows and buffalo. So, this is what, you know, we have to, it’s our moral responsibility to help the farmers. So, this is what we are doing in Faraz, where we are very much associated with the farmers.
We do a lot of camps with them. We also encourage women to come in the front end. So, we have some chilling center where milk is chilled, which is what we call bulk milk chilling center.
So, there are centers which we are totally managed by women, which we call the Ashoda centers. So, we have to do a lot of, you know, social, it’s a sociology, you know. It’s not only purchase of milk and buying of milk.
It’s not done. I would say a lot of things which we were importing earlier, including machines. Now, it has come in India.
I can see a lot of India, make in India machine with a global quality in drink tech exhibition. I was just taking round in a bottling machine, even, you know, blow molding or pet molding kind of machines. All machines are available here.
So, this is, I think, a good development. Packaging is a part of the product now. Packaging is a, first you see the packaging and then you feel the packaging.
And then you also, after consuming, you should be satisfied that this packaging has recycled. So, that is not burden to environment and sustainable. So, I think we have come a long way and India is prepared to use globally standard packaging with the sustainability as a core.
Mubina Kapasi: Thank you so much, Mr. Kumar.