The diary of a school dropout: How a nightly ritual built a ₹2,350 crore empire

Mint.Today, Milky Mist is one of India’s fastest growing milk product brands with a 30% compounded annual growth rate between FY23 and FY25. Last fiscal year, the company clocked revenue of ₹2,350 crore with a product range that spans the entire milk spectrum—paneer, ghee, butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, chocolate and more.It is this exercise that has also emboldened him to try something few private sector dairy players have attempted so far—become a pan-Indian brand.The milk sector in India is dominated by strong regional players, almost all of them backed by state governments. They include Mother Dairy (Delhi), Nandini (Karnataka), Saras (Rajasthan), Aavin (Tamil Nadu), Milkfed (Punjab), Milma (Kerala) and Parag (Uttar Pradesh), to name a few.

Amul, a brand of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, is the only one with a national recall. These brands are so well-entrenched, both in distribution and brand loyalty, that dislodging them is a tough ask in their respective markets.Four years ago, Kumar noted in his diary about a new trend. Consumers in India were beginning to look for choices and were beginning to explore new brands that offer a differentiated experience.

As he mulled over, he saw an opportunity to break the stranglehold of the regional brands. Indeed, the biggest national brand.Kumar took Milky Mist to Gujarat, the home of Amul.“People warned me against entering the lion’s den. No brand, they said, had succeeded there,” he recalled.The company proved sceptics wrong.