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Britannia and Bel Group inks pact to announce local cheese manufacturing in Pune for The Laughing Cow
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Friday, 11 October, 2024, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Bengaluru
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Britannia Bel Foods, a leading Cheese player in India, marked a significant milestone in its growth, nearly two years after being established as an ambitious joint venture. The company announces the inauguration of its Cheese factory in India, dedicated to the local production of Britannia’s The Laughing Cow products.
Maharashtra is a leading state in India for milk production, making it the ideal choice for the Cheese factory location within Britannia’s Dairy food park in Ranjangaon.
The plant is fully integrated with a robust milk procurement program, sourcing 4 lakh litres of 100% cow’s milk daily from over 3,000 farmers in Pune and surrounding areas. Britannia has scaled up the milk procurement program within a few years to 70 Village-Level Bulk Milk Coolers installed within a 100 km radius from the factory, spanning 10 tehsils in the Pune and near districts. The farmer program is integrated with Britannia’s village development and malnourishment programmes under the efforts of Sir Ness Wadia Foundation and Britannia Nutrition Foundation.
Britannia’s Milk Collection Centres have advanced testing capabilities, ensuring that raw milk quality is assessed across 31 quality parameters at site and 20 additional parameters at unloading before being accepted at the factory.
With an investment of nearly Rs 220 crore (around €23.9 millions) from the joint venture including the Britannia Dairy facilities being leveraged, the new Greenfield factory is located in one of Maharashtra’s largest food parks. It is integrated within Britannia’s state-of-the-art dairy production facility, which produces a comprehensive range of Britannia dairy products including now Britannia The Laughing Cow Cheese with a full range of products: slices, blocks, spread, diced and cubes. Equipped with 5 production lines, the facility boasts a total production capacity of approximately 6,000 tons per year for natural Cheese varieties like cheddar and mozzarella, and around 10,000 tons per year for processed Cheese.
Maharashtra state government has extended immense support for the Britannia Mega Food Factory at Ranjangaon recognizing it as an Ultra Mega project and providing Britannia with a customized incentive package.
The facility’s technology, including Pasteurizer, Bactofuge, and auto-standardization units, provides best-in-class Cheese experience to consumers. Cheddar, Mozzarella & Processed Cheese are being manufactured by using world-class equipment imported from global leaders.
Varun Berry, executive vice-chairman and managing director, Britannia Industries, said, “Supporting over 3,000 milk farmers, our integrated farmer support program focuses on empowering them through sustainable cattle management, breeding, and feeding practices. Our integrated milk procurement program, we are setting new benchmarks in quality and sustainability while empowering dairy farmers at the core of our supply chain.”
Cécile Béliot, CEO of Bel Group, said, “It is also a great moment to celebrate the growth of the national distribution of our Britannia The Laughing Cow range of products, and our triangular portion of processed cheese specifically developed and designed to please millions of children in India. At Bel Group, we aim at contributing to healthier and more sustainable food, creating value alongside our ecosystem, with accessible products answering local nutritional needs.”
Abhishek Sinha, CEO Britannia Bel Foods Private Limited, said, “This plant embodies our commitment to delivering premium, locally made Cheese that meets the highest benchmarks in quality and innovation. This facility further solidifies the relationship between Britannia and Bel, and the journey of further strengthening our Cheese business in India, supported with a fully integrated dairy program. With this, we are poised to offer Indian consumers an unmatched Cheese experience, tailored to their evolving tastes.”
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