Cheese Industry in India

chillibreeze writer — Kaushik Ghosh

Cheese manufacturers in India say ‘cheese’! The Indian cheese industry is going from strength to strength, due in part to the lifestyle changes of the Indian middle class where ‘cheesy’ food items such as pizza, burgers, and sandwiches have replaced traditional meals to a great extent. Paneer or the Indian cottage cheese remains popular with the masses but it is the processed cheese variants which have made significant inroads into the market today that has cheese manufacturers laughing all the way to the bank.

While the cheese industry in India is still in its infancy compared to the West, it is showing signs of huge growth potential. According to some estimates, the market for cheese in India is growing by about 20% annually. Keeping in mind the billion plus Indian population out of which an estimated 50 million comprises the Indian middle class, even a fraction of it taking to cheese means huge business. Add to this an Indian’s traditional disregard for calorie intake and you have all the ingredients for a booming cheese business. That being said, the ‘get healthy’ wave has also found its own set of followers in India. So when we have a ‘diet’ version of almost every calorie-heavy product these days, did you think cheese would be left behind? There are indeed low-cal varieties of cheese spreads available to cater to the modern youth’s size zero goals. Interestingly, apart from being good for health in moderation, cheese is supposed to be especially good for your teeth – so cheese consumers can nibble away at their favourite cubes right into their ripe old age without dentures!

The cheese market in India is still dominated by the milk producing giant – Amul. The brand itself is immensely popular throughout India and has created enormous goodwill for itself over the years. As with most of its other milk products, Amul cheese is also the first choice for most Indian consumers. Amul also launched its own pizza outlets a few years ago but it did not really gain popularity. Britannia is the only other brand which enjoys a decent market share in the Indian cheese market with a good variety of spreads, slices, and blocks.

The Indian market is also responding well to a variety of cheese products besides the ever popular cubes. Cheese spreads in different flavors have definitely managed to strike the right chord with consumers, as has the mozzarella variety. Cheeses spreads seem to have gone down especially well with Indians because of its versatility – spread it on your bread or cracker, dip your pizza slice into it or even replace your calorie heavy butter with this light and tasty wonder. The Indian cheese market is poised to grow even further with new entrants such as Laughing Cow, LeBon, and Boursin. It is also pertinent to note that the rich and nouveau riche in India are falling in love with gourmet cheese. The high priced and high status varieties like cheddar, Swiss, Brie, Parmesan and their kith and kin are also finding takers in the sophisticated wine loving circles.

The primary consumption of cheese is still concentrated in the metros, especially Mumbai and Delhi, but the trend is spreading across other cities as well. So, when you wake up tomorrow morning and get yourself a toast with your favorite cheese spread on it, don’t forget to raise a toast to the Indian cheese industry!

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in February, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Kaushik is a senior Human Resource professional working with a multinational IT firm. Previously he has also spent some time in one of India’s leading advertising and public relations firms. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and a PGDM in Marketing. Kaushik loves writing and believes creative people can do justice to any topic just like a Master Chef can conjure up mouth-watering Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican or Indian dishes with equal ease.

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