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Nova Dairy sees value-added milk products shaped India’s F&B direction in 2025
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Thursday, 18 December, 2025, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijayasimha, Bengaluru
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Sterling Agro Industries’ Nova Dairy, as a player in India’s dairy sector, reflects on the impact of both changing consumer preferences and industry innovations in the food and beverage industry in 2025.
According to Ravin Saluja, director, Sterling Agro Industries’ brand Nova Dairy, the sector in India has traditionally been volume-driven. For decades, success meant moving more liquid milk. That started to change a few years ago, but 2025 is when value-added dairy finally became central to the way the industry thinks and operates.
"Consumers today have more demands. They check labels, compare brands, and want to know exactly where their food comes from and how healthy it is. Plain milk still has its place, but growth has clearly shifted toward products that offer convenience, longer shelf life, and consistent standards. Products such as ghee, butter, paneer, curd-based products, flavoured milk, and milk powders have taken off because they fit right in with how consumers prefer to eat now," he added.
Food safety is an important factor, too. Over the past year, worries about adulteration and spotty quality really came into focus. That made people shift toward organised dairy brands, the ones with real testing, certifications, and clear sourcing. Value-added products cannot succeed without tight quality control, and that reality helped separate serious manufacturers from the rest of the market, Saluja told FnB News in an email.
"From an industry standpoint, value addition also helped manage volatility. Milk procurement prices fluctuate sharply due to seasonality, weather, and feed costs. When a company depends only on liquid milk, margins become unpredictable. Value-added products allow better planning, smoother inventory movement, and a more stable procurement structure for farmers as well," he noted.
Health awareness played a quiet but consistent role in shaping demand. Consumers did not drastically change diets overnight, but you can see a clear shift. People lean toward products that seem cleaner, lighter, or just better for them. Dairy items like skimmed milk powder, fermented dairy, and low-fat options kept moving, even when customers kept up with their budget, according to Saluja.
Export demand has also added another layer of importance. International markets look for consistency, documentation, and compliance. In 2025, Indian dairy exports were less about bulk shipments and more about processed products that have met the global specifications. All this has pushed manufacturers to step up; better systems, more certifications, tighter audits. "The end result has made local products stronger as well," he said.
Behind the curtain, it is not flashy marketing that makes the difference. "What really counts is how well companies run things; processing, cold-chain logistics, and trained staff. That is what keeps value-added dairy moving. Plants with modern equipment and strong R&D support handled scale far better than those relying on fragmented systems," said Saluja.
What became clear is that value-added dairy is no longer optional. It is not a premium segment meant for a few urban consumers. It is becoming the foundation for sustainable growth in the dairy sector. The lesson from 2025 is simple: the future of dairy will belong to companies that respect the product, the consumer, and the supply chain equally. "Growth will come from consistency and trust, not shortcuts," pointed out Saluja.
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