Heritage Foods Expands into West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand, Eyeing Eastern Dairy Market Growth

Heritage Foods, India's second-largest private dairy company, is entering West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand with four long-shelf life milk variants and a range of value-added products. The company views Eastern India as one of the fastest-growing dairy markets in the country.

Launching in the three states simultaneously, Heritage Foods is introducing long-shelf life milk, beverages like milkshakes, lassi, flavored milk, cold coffee, ghee, and laddus. This expansion brings the company’s presence to 14 states.

“Today, we announced the launch of these products in the three Eastern states simultaneously. East India is one of the fastest-growing dairy markets because it is coming from a lower base,” said Srideep N Kesavan, Heritage Foods Chief Executive Officer.

Kesavan noted that while per capita consumption of dairy products in the Eastern region is currently low, shifting consumer attitudes towards nutrition, rapid urbanization, and increasing disposable incomes are driving significant growth. “It makes it a very attractive market for us. That is why we are looking at the East as a growth market,” he said.

Heritage Foods entered Odisha nine months ago with a slightly different product portfolio. The company aims to grow its revenue contribution from products like lassi, ghee, and laddus by about 3 percent annually. “Our objective is to increase our value-added product contribution to the company’s revenue by around 3 percent each year. This expansion into the East is part of that strategy,” Kesavan explained.

Heritage Foods aims to boost revenue contribution from value-added products to approximately 45 percent within the next three years. Last fiscal year, value-added product contribution increased by around 1.3 percent.

In West Bengal, the company plans to reach around 20,000 retail outlets within the next six to twelve months. “We aim to maximize retail outlet reach in the next three months to align with Durga Puja, a major festival. We want our products available statewide to maximize consumer outreach,” Kesavan said.

Regarding the potential launch of fresh milk in Bengal, Kesavan indicated this would be in the second phase of their operations. “Fresh milk requires capital investment. Currently, we are focused on generating demand and momentum for the brand. Once we have a sufficient consumer base and demand, we will move to phase II, where we will look at investment to integrate raw milk procurement,” he added.

HBL