Britannia Bel’s new cheese factory in Maharashtra

Two years after the joint venture was established, Britannia Bel Foods, a leading cheese player in India, has announced the inauguration of its cheese factory in Ranjangaon, Maharashtra, dedicated to the local production of Britannia The Laughing Cow products to serve the best quality products to Indian consumers made locally.

Maharashtra as a leading state for milk production with a mature well-integrated dairy ecosystem was the ideal choice for the cheese factory location within Britannia’s dairy food park in Ranjangaon.

Aiming to support local milk farmers and establish a robust milk procurement program, the plant is fully integrated with a procurement program, sourcing 4 lakh liters of 100% cow milk daily from over 3,000 farmers in Pune and surrounding areas. Britannia has scaled up its milk procurement program 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.

Britannia’s milk collection centers have advanced testing capabilities, ensuring 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 more than 3,000 milk farmers, Britannia operates an integrated support program focused on three pillars: management, breeding, and feeding of cattle. The program encapsulates enabling best farm practices such as door-to-door animal health camps, farmer training & breed training programs, quality fodder seeds distribution, and a transparent direct payment service to the farmer.

With an investment of nearly Rs 220 crore (around 23.9 million Euros) 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 dairy production facility, which produces a wide range of Britannia dairy products, including now Britannia The Laughing Cow Cheese with a full range — slices, blocks, spread, diced, and cubes.

Equipped with five production lines, the facility has a total production capacity of approximately 6,000 tons per year for natural cheese varieties such as cheddar and mozzarella and around 10,000 tons per year for processed cheese.

Over the past few years, the Maharashtra state government has extended support for the Britannia mega food factory at Ranjangaon, providing Britannia with a customized incentive package. This has enabled facilities for manufacturing the entire product range of Britannia across biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissants, salted snacks, wafers, dairy drinks, powders, and cheese.

The facility’s technology, including pasteurizer, bactofuge, and auto-standardization units, provides a quality cheese experience to consumers. Cheddar, mozzarella, and processed cheese are being manufactured by using equipment imported from known global equipment manufacturers. This technology and practices ensure the highest food safety and quality standards, enabling the production of premium cheese products.

Together, Britannia Bel Foods brings Britannia The Laughing Cow products to Indian consumers, 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.

Commenting at the launch of this facility, Varun Berry, executive vice-chairman and managing director of Britannia Industries said, “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-year 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. 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 of Britannia Bel Foods, said, “Britannia Bel Foods’s Cheese facility brings the best of Bel Foods’ 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.”

The joint venture of Britannia and Bel was announced in December 2022 and united two industry leaders with a shared vision. With a robust integration, milk procurement program, and advanced manufacturing equipment, a strong foundation has been laid in place. Along with Bel Group’s global expertise and Britannia’s understanding of the local dairy industry and pioneering distribution, the Cheese plant marks a pivotal shift allowing the business to grow exponentially.