Parag takes the whey route

The Pune-based dairy company looks to expand its brand footprint with a new launch

Be it the local supermarkets, chemist stores or mushrooming health and fitness counters in malls in metros and small towns, it is impossible to miss the squeeze on the shelves that stack health supplements and nutritious consumables. The brands on the shelf are largely global, imported into the country by a small group of licensed traders, but they are familiar to the people that throng these stores. It is this familiarity that Parag Milk Foods, makers of the Go brand of cheese and other dairy products, wants to leverage as it targets the fitness conscious consumer with a new brand called Avvatar.

The sports nutrition powder market is growing rapidly in India despite the steep price for such products. Most whey brands are priced between Rs 3,000-4,000 a kg, but consumption is on the rise especially among long distance runners and the burgeoning gym-going population in the country. Parag is dipping its toes into this space with Avvatar Absolute, which the company claims is completely vegetarian and is gluten, sugar and lactose-free. The company is banking on the high proportion of Indian vegetarians and their desire for complete purity of the product. It is also following a global trend as a Euromonitor survey on fitness trends points out, globally customers are demanding free-from products (free from gluten, free from additives and so on). 

However, the challenge with whey and whey products is that they need an advanced processing and packaging environment, otherwise the product loses its freshness and utility as a protein supplement. Making whey on a mass scale could involve a high degree of spoilage and hence is an expensive proposition. This is probably why most dairy majors have stayed away from the business. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the Amul brand, had launched a whey-protein based sports drink in 2006, but it did not make much of an impression at the time and the brand soon faded away. The federation re-launched it around 2015, but Stamina is yet to make its presence felt. 

Why is Parag Foods driving into the whey market? Is the company trying to position itself as a foods player? Mahesh Israni, chief marketing officer says that he is open to entering segments that were connected with milk and dairy in some way. “We may have brand extensions of the Avvatar brand in the future,” Israni said. Once the brand is established pan India, Parag plans to come up with variants for kids and old people and rope in a celebrity for mass media connect. Parag already has popular milk and dairy products brands like Gowardhan and Go in the market.

Devendra Shah

 The company has invested Rs 110 crore in its manufacturing facility at Manchar in Maharashtra to make the whey protein powder. Israni said, “Being a cheese player we always had whey as a by-product which we wanted to convert into powder for sportsmen and athletes.” The market size for whey protein-based sports nutrition powder is estimated to be around Rs 1,000 crore and is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 15 per cent. 

Protein-based foods are in demand as urban lifestyles and increasing fitness consciousness leads people to consume such products. “Protein-based foods are becoming popular amongst people from all walks of life. With changing life style there is growing interest of the younger generation towards sports and nutrition. Considering these factors, we at Parag have always anticipated consumer demand and believe in constantly innovating our product offerings thus matching international standards in taste,” Devendra Shah, chairman and managing director of Parag Milk Foods said. 

Parag is also hoping to score with its ‘pure vegetarian’ tag. Whey offers vegetarians a reliable source of protein with high biological value (BV). Whey has a BV of 105-169 while eggs have 100, fish 83 and chicken 79, according to nutritionists. 

Vegetarianism is also on the rise in the country. A sample registration system (SRS) baseline survey 2014 released by the registrar general of India showed that the percentage of non-vegetarians in India over the age of 15 years has fallen from 75 per cent in 2004 to 71 per cent in 2014. Also, Euromonitor International’s survey on health and nutrition trends finds that more consumers are looking at natural sources of protein.

Israni added, “Our go to market strategy is in place and is customised with an emphasis on reaching out to nutrition supplement stores, pharmacies, modern retail stores and e-commerce portals.” The company is also launching a targeted awareness campaign. “Educating gym trainers and owners, key influencers in this category is on the cards. Marketing plans are in place, which will kick off once we get our distribution done,” Israni said. 

As per Zion Market Research report, the global whey protein market is expected to grow fast and reach $12.4 billion by 2021. Parag is hoping that the Indian market lives up to its part of the promise.