Tamil Nadu-based Milky Mist Dairy Food Ltd is updating its books with the fiscal year numbers for 2025-26 and will soon file an updated draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) to proceed with the IPO process as planned, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), K Rathnam, has said.

“We recently raised ₹357 crore in a pre-IPO round from Temasek,” he told businessline in an online interaction.  

The dairy firm, based in Perundurai in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district, obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Bureau of India (SEBI) for a ₹2,035 crore initial public offering in October 2025. SEBI’s approval expires in October this year. 

In April, Ratham said the company’s IPO offer will comprise a fresh issue of up to ₹1,785 crore and an offer for sale of up to ₹250 crore by promoter shareholders. 

Baramati Facility

As part of its expansion plans, the company has acquired land in Baramati through the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation to set up its second facility. It is a long-term project which will likely be ready in 2-3 years. 

“This facility will help us to establish a strong footprint in the Western and Northern markets,” he said.

The company plans to set up a milk processing and dairy processing manufacturing facility at an outlay of ₹1,130 crore. It signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government at Davos in January this year. 

Health segment focus

Milky Mist, which is focusing on the health segment - particularly within the protein category, has begun to offer high-protein paneer, high-protein Greek yogurt, Skyr, and high-protein cheddar. 

“While the technology for Skyr and Greek yogurt was acquired in 2022, we spent two years on marketing and seeding, and these products have seen great acceptance over the last 18 months,” the company’s CEO said.

The company is witnessing significant demand for protein products across all consumer sectors. While many protein products, such as whey protein concentrate (WPC), are already in the market, Milky Mist believes that ‘taste is a key differentiator’ for consumers. As a dairy-first product, it is gaining significant traction in this area, he said.

Milky Mist offers protein milk, whey protein, and high-protein variants of staple products, which are available across the country through its network of 3,100 distributors in the health and protein category.  

TN competition

“We reach consumers via more than 3,50,000 retail touchpoints across multiple channels, including general trade, modern trade, hotels, restaurants and cafes/catering (HoReCa), and digital platforms such as e-commerce and quick commerce,” said Rathnam, adding that quick-commerce accounts for about 14-15 per cent of its topline.

In addition, the company operates over 100 exclusive parlours and exports its premium dairy offerings to over 15 countries.

The dairy firm handles 1.5 million litres of milk daily, with milk coming from 75,000-77,000 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and parts of Maharashtra. 

Dwelling on facing competition in procurement in Tamil Nadu, he said that while there are many players, such as State-owned Aavin and Hatsun, there is still a significant surplus.

“Tamil Nadu produces about 3.5 crore litres daily, and organised players only tap about 80-90 lakh litres. Roughly 50 per cent of the milk is still available to be tapped from local traders. Since we focus on value-added products rather than commodities or pouch milk, we have been able to grow our procurement from 2.5 lakh litres in 2019 to 15 lakh litres now,” said the company’s CEO.

Founder’s initial focus

On competing in Maharashtra, Rathnam said that dairy players in Maharashtra focus on pouch milk, which contributes 70-80 per cent of their business. However, Milky Mist’s focus will exclusively be on value-added products, which present a huge opportunity for the company nationwide.

Regarding the maintenance of its cold chain during procurement, he said it takes care of the cold chain by chilling at source through bulk milk chillers, controlled chilling centres and transportation of milk to the plant within 6 -8 hours.

On why Milky Mist is focusing on value-added products, he said the company, founded by T. Sathish Kumar in the 90s, initially focused was on paneer. Thereafter, it has consistently concentrated only on value-added products through product expansion, catering to the entire needs of the consumer from breakfast to dinner table.

On the post-COVID impact, he said there has been a major shift towards health-based products. “Consumers are moving away from unbranded products toward branded, packaged and hygienic products with clear nutritional value,” said Rathnam. 

Earning farmers’ loyalty

India is a protein-deficit country, with average consumption being 40-45 g against a requirement of 60-65 g. “This makes dairy products, such as paneer and Greek yogurt, a perfect fit for evolving consumer needs,” said the company’s CEO.

To ensure farmers’ loyalty and encourage them to sell to the company, he said the company prioritises timely payments every 7 to 10 days and offers competitive rates. It follows a cooperative-style model, providing extension services such as doctors-on-call, health camps and artificial insemination. 

The company facilitate bank loans for farmers by providing recommendations to nationalised banks and managing loan deductions from milk payments.

Milky Mist also helps farmers with productivity improvement and breeding through sex-sorted semen (which ensures a 95 per cent female calf rate) and by providing high-quality seeds for fodder, compounded cattle feed, pregnancy testing, calf rearing programme, and more.

On the company’s approach to sustainability, Rathnam said it was a major focus and currently,  the company is 90 per cent energy neutral as it has been investing in renewable energy continuously. “We also recycle 70-80 per cent of our water,” he said.

Published on June 15, 2026