Britannia, Bel Group announce local cheese manufacturing in India

Maharashtra is a leading state in India for milk production and boasts of a mature well-integrated dairy ecosystem, 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 programme, sourcing ~four lakh liters of 100% cows milk daily from over 3,000 farmers in Pune and surrounding areas. Britannia has scaled up the milk procurement programme within a few years to 70 village-level bulk milk coolers installed within a 100 km radius of the factory, spanning 10 tehsils in Pune and nearby districts. 

This initiative supports local farmers, ensures a sustainable supply chain, and reinforces Britannia's commitment to community and agricultural development.  Britannia's Milk Collection Centers have advanced testing capabilities, ensuring that raw milk quality is assessed across 31 quality parameters at the site and 20 additional parameters at unloading before being accepted at the factory.

To support the local community of its 3000+ milk farmers, Britannia operates an integrated support program focused on three pillars of management, breeding and feeding of cattle. The program encapsulates enabling best farm practices such as door-to-door animal health camps, farmer training and breed training programmes, quality fodder seeds distribution and transparent direct payment services to the farmer. 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.

With an investment of nearly 220 crores 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 five 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 tonnes per year for processed Cheese.

The establishment of this factory is creating numerous job opportunities, significantly boosting local employment and contributing to the region's economic growth. Over the past few years, the Maharashtra state government has extended immense support for the Britannia Mega Food Factory at Ranjangaon recognising it as an Ultra Mega project and providing Britannia with a customised incentive package. This has enabled facilities for manufacturing the entire product range of Britannia across biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissant, salted snacks, wafers, dairy drinks & powders & Cheese. Further, the seamless approval cadence of the state government for plans, licenses, infrastructure, development, power and several other factors has greatly benefited this strategic investment.

The facility’s technology, including pasteuriser, bactofuge, and auto-standardisation units, provides a best-in-class cheese experience to consumers. Cheddar, mozzarella and pProcessed cheese are being manufactured by using world-class equipment imported from well-known global leaders of equipment manufacturers. This cutting-edge technology and practices ensure the highest food safety and quality standards, enabling the production of premium Cheese products that consistently deliver the highest quality to end consumers.

Together, Britannia Bel foods brings Britannia The Laughing Cow products range to Indian consumers—high-quality products tailored to local tastes, produced domestically and backed by a century-old global brand distributed in 120 countries. Worldwide, 20 million Laughing Cow portions are produced daily.

The Laughing Cow products have been adapted to the Indian market with a tailored approach to meet local preferences and nutritional needs. The recipe for success lies in delivering a unique Indian recipe enriched with five essentials (protein, calcium, vitamin A, D and B12) tailored for Indians specifically. Packaging has been optimised for accessibility, ensuring easy consumption and preserving food security by maintaining strict hygiene standards. The use of 100% local ingredients further reinforces the brand’s commitment to the Indian consumer, as these ingredients are now sourced and processed domestically at a new factory, with careful management of both the primary and secondary transformation processes to maintain high quality and sustainability.

Varun Berry, executive vice-chairman and managing director of Britannia Industries, said, “Britannia is deeply committed to the well-being and prosperity of the milk farming communities that are at the heart of our business. Supporting over 3,000 milk farmers, our integrated farmer support program focuses on empowering them through sustainable cattle management, breeding, and feeding practices. By harnessing 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. The choice of Ranjangaon is a strategic one, as Maharashtra’s leadership in milk production aligns with our vision to create a hub for premium, locally sourced dairy products. We believe the new cheese facility will further strengthen Britannia and Bel Group’s strategic partnership and commitment to driving growth and innovation in the industry.”

Cécile Béliot, CEO of Bel Group, said: “I am proud to celebrate with Britannia the start of a state-of-the-art cheese factory leveraging the Bel 160-years legacy of operation on cheese. 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 to contribute to healthier and more sustainable food, creating value alongside our ecosystem, with accessible products answering local nutritional needs. I believe that Britannia and Bel, through this joint venture, and even more now with the opening of this factory have the right know-how and market capabilities at hand to take a leading position with Britannia The Laughing Cow in India.”

Abhishek Sinha, CEO, Britannia Bel Foods, said, “Britannia Bel Foods’s state-of-the-art Cheese facility brings the best of Bel Groups’ global expertise to India, combining cutting-edge technology with world-class manufacturing standards. 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.”

Announced in December 2022, the joint venture between Britannia, one of India’s leading food companies, and Bel, a global food pioneer committed to promoting healthier and more sustainable food through dairy, fruit, and plant-based products, united two industry leaders with a shared vision: to provide healthier, more sustainable food for all.