India’s growing demand for whey protein is creating an opportunity for domestic dairy companies to move beyond traditional milk products and capture greater value from cheese manufacturing. Parag Milk Foods and Milky Mist Dairy Food are strengthening their cheese and whey capabilities as rising protein consumption and high import dependence highlight the potential for local production.
Rising Prices and Import Dependence
The cost of whey protein concentrate bases in India has increased sharply. According to the supplied report, prices have risen from around ₹700–800 per kg before 2024 to ₹2,000–2,300 per kg, while retail prices for a 1 kg tub of whey protein powder range between ₹3,000 and ₹6,000.
Despite being the world’s largest milk producer since 1998, India imports an estimated 80–85% of its supplement-grade whey proteins. Imports could reach up to 23,000 tonnes in 2025. The gap exists because India’s dairy industry has historically focused on liquid milk, curd, paneer and ghee, while cheese production—and the specialized processing required to produce supplement-grade whey—has remained comparatively limited.
Parag Milk Foods: Building an Integrated Whey Business
Parag Milk Foods is positioned to benefit from the growing demand through its integrated dairy model. The company has around 10 lakh litres per day of whey-processing capacity, enabling it to extract value from cheese manufacturing rather than treating whey as waste.
Its Go Cheese business provides an important raw material base. Management has stated that the company holds a 35% market share in cheese and is expanding cheese capacity from 60 MT per day to 120 MT per day. This expansion could support higher whey generation and create opportunities to scale both cheese and whey businesses together.
The company’s Avvatar brand is central to its protein strategy. Marketed as a “Made in India” and vegetarian whey protein brand, Avvatar has expanded beyond traditional whey products into blends, isolate protein, performance whey, mass gainers, creatine, protein bars and ready-to-drink products.
According to the supplied report, Avvatar’s top-line increased from 1x in Q1 FY22 to 15x in Q1 FY25 and 37x in Q1 FY27. More than 75% of sales revenue is generated through e-commerce, quick commerce and the company’s website, supporting direct access to younger consumers.
Milky Mist: Moving Further Up the Value Chain
Milky Mist Dairy Food is also expanding its cheese and whey capabilities. The company has commissioned a cheddar cheese plant with an installed capacity of 120 MT per day and is looking to increase yogurt, cream cheese and natural cheese capacities.
Milky Mist generates around 1 million litres of cheese whey per day and currently sells whey powder primarily to B2B customers. Its planned whey protein concentrate plant, expected to take around 15–18 months, could allow the company to serve internal consumption, B2B and B2C markets.
Distribution and Growth Potential
Milky Mist’s pan-India distribution network spans 22 states and 5 Union Territories, supported by more than 4,200 distributors and nearly 4 lakh daily retail touchpoints. The company also operates a logistics network of more than 375 primary vehicles and over 600 secondary transportation vehicles.
Its reverse-logistics model and AI- and IoT-enabled fleet management are intended to improve efficiency and reduce costs, supporting the company’s ability to distribute higher-value products.
Outlook
The whey protein opportunity reflects a broader shift in India’s dairy industry from commodity products toward value-added nutrition. Parag Milk Foods has an established protein brand and expanding cheese capacity, while Milky Mist is building its own whey protein capabilities alongside a growing cheese business.
If both companies successfully scale their operations, cheese whey could become an increasingly valuable source of revenue and margins, helping reduce import dependence and strengthen India’s position in the global dairy value chain.
