Parag acquires Danone’s manufacturing facility in India

Indian dairy company Parag Milk Foods has expanded its operations in the country by acquiring Danone’s manufacturing facility in the northern state of Haryana.

Neither company has divulged financial details of the deal thus far.

Parag chairman Devendra Shah said: “North India is one of the key markets for Parag. Given that dairy products hold a large space in many households here, consumption of milk and milk products is the highest in this region.

“The acquisition of the manufacturing facility of Danone will strengthen our product offerings and leverage our strength in distribution of various products. Currently, the products that are sold in the northern part of India are supplied from our Manchar plant in Maharashtra.

“It will bring us closer to the end consumer and will give us an edge to understand the consumer preference in northern India and expand our product offerings. This will be  in line with our long term strategy to make the goodness of cow’s milk reach different parts of the country.”

With a space of 5,500m², the manufacturing facility is strategically located on the outskirts of Indian capital city Delhi and provides an easy access for the company to target consumers.

The plant has a milk processing capacity of 75,000l per day, along with a curd processing capacity of 15mt.

The dairy company intends to further expand the manufacturing capacity by installing processing units for pouch milk, flavoured milk, pouch butter milk, cup curd, misthi dahi (a fermented milk dessert) and also expand the existing yoghurt facility.

With the acquisition, Parag has become the largest company in the Indian private dairy sector.