On a 26-acre farm a couple hours’ drive inland from Mumbai, hundreds
of black-and-white Holstein-Friesian cows laze around, dining on
seasonal greens and listening to a custom playlist of rap, pop,
classical and even devotional music. They are treated to a routine
medical checkup before heading to a "rotary milking parlor," where their
udders are gently squeezed, until the cows step away, at will.
Within a day, the milk – never touched by human hands – is bottled
and whisked away to hotels, restaurants and homes in nearby cities.
The dairy, Pride of Cows, is one of the largest players in the
growing business of farm-to-table milk, part of India’s new crop of
organic, fair-trade and artisanal food products. While cows have long
been revered in India, the country’s dairy industry has only recently
started buying into the belief that happier heifers breed healthier milk
– and potentially bigger profit.
Devendra Shah, the chairman of Pride of Cows’ parent company, Parag
Milk Foods, regularly uses the word "love" to describe his operation,
referring to his cows as "pampered and cherished."
This new marketing approach targets an increasingly health-conscious
and brand-savvy Indian consumer, a growing niche within an already
swelling middle class that has the means to afford costlier products.
But the appeal of this milk is as much about food safety, after a milk
adulteration scandal shocked the nation.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India found in 2012 that
nearly 70 percent of the milk samples it tested nationwide did not meet
food safety standards. A majority of samples were diluted with water or
contained impurities like urea, liquid formaldehyde and detergent
solution.
In a country where dairy is considered a fundamental life force, let
alone most people’s main source of animal protein, the revelations
struck many as surreptitious sacrilege. This past January, India’s
Supreme Court strongly suggested that states around the country join
Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in amending their penal codes to
punish milk adulteration with possible life sentences.
Indian entrepreneurs have responded to regular milk’s troubled
reputation by leasing farms and opening dairies that pledge fresh, 100
percent pure milk.
Nikhil Vora, a former managing director at a market analysis firm in
Mumbai, said that the so-called farm-to-home market accounted for less
than 1 percent of the $70 billion market for milk, cheese, yogurt and
other dairy products. But the segment is forecast to increase by more
than 20 percent a year.
Pride of Cows provides more than 2,600 gallons daily to customers
through its subscription service in Mumbai and nearby Pune, including
five-star hotels and a French creperie called Suzette. The milk costs
about 75 rupees a liter, or $4.69 a gallon, almost double the rate for
pasteurized milk at a neighborhood store.
Pride of Cows reaches customers much the same way a new winery or
brewery might. The company regularly attends food exhibitions and
invites potential or existing customers to the farm for guided tours.
Pride of Cows has also expanded its outreach into schools, mostly
private, hosting workshops on nutrition and enrolling 150 students for a
planned 45-day internship this summer through which participants "will
get hands-on experience in the various aspects of Pride of Cows’
business operations," according to a company spokeswoman.
The Parisian who runs Suzette, Jeremie Sabbagh, said he tried Pride
of Cows’ milk at a food exhibition and was struck by the "huge
difference in taste."
"We realized at some point that many of our customers were already their customers," he said.
The appetite for upscale food products in India’s metropolitan areas
is also reflected in the proliferation of grocery stores like Nature’s
Basket and Modern Bazaar, whose shelves are filled with imported brands.
Ashmeet Kapoor, founder and chief executive of I Say Organic, an
organic foods subscription service in Delhi, said that his company had
grown in particular among "those that have moved back" to India from
abroad.
"It’s mostly those who’ve just started a family and want to make sure
that they are eating the healthiest possible food," Kapoor said. "These
are well-placed professionals who may be influenced by the organic food
movement abroad."
The push into such premium products comes even as the broader economy
shows signs of weakness. Chakradhar Gade, a graduate of the Indian
Institute of Management who quit his job as a financial analyst, sees
the dairy business as recession-proof.
About a year and a half ago, Gade and a business partner
subcontracted a farm just outside Delhi, with around 50 cows, to form
Country Fresh Milk. He went door to door in Delhi’s sprawling technology
suburb of Gurgaon and found a receptive consumer base of young
professionals, new families and recent arrivals from rural communities
who missed the taste of farm-fresh milk and were skeptical of regular
milk’s purity.
Most milk adulteration occurs at the small-scale farms that supply
most major milk companies. By adding water, farmers can increase the
volume they are able to sell, while other additives increase the fat
content and thus the value of the milk.
Gade spends 5 percent of his revenue on quality control. An
independent lab tests his milk weekly as it leaves his farm, checking
for water, fat and 24 other adulterants.
Despite the extra costs, the company is charging the going rate for
regular milk, and Gade said many customers immediately wanted to make
the switch. He plans to keep his prices low until he has a more solid
customer base.
After adding four more farms, Country Fresh Milk now delivers milk,
cheese and clarified butter to 1,000 customers in Gurgaon. He said his
goal was to eventually supply 4 percent of Gurgaon’s daily milk
consumption, which he estimates is around 130,000 gallons a day.
Sanjay Sharma, the founder of Mothers Nature Foods, also in Gurgaon,
said he saw pure milk as a moral imperative as well as a business
opportunity.
"My guru, Avdhoot Shivanand Baba, advised me to start this business,"
Sharma said, referring to his spiritual adviser. "He explained the
concept of ‘life force energy’ to me, wherein the fresher the food, the
greater the energy that one can derive from it."
Formerly a flight instructor in California and Europe, Sharma bought
two cows because he missed the quality of milk he was able to get
abroad. Three years later, his company has more than 500 cows on two
farms, and 2,000 customers.
At Sharma’s new farm in Alwar, Rajasthan, he operates a "spa for
cows," where he is landscaping waterfalls into the pasture to replicate a
"village atmosphere" that he says cows are used to.
"I thought if I can make my cows healthy and happy," Sharma said, "then I’ll also get even more good hormones in the milk."
"Big Milk is slow poison," he said, referring to India’s dominant
dairy producers. "See how we only get one or two medals in the Olympics?
People aren’t even growing properly here anymore."
