The plant has witnessed its revenues rise from Rs 19 lakh to Rs 2 crore in three years.
The revenue growth of the Experimental Dairy Plant (EDP), College of Dairy and Food Science Technology at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, within a short span of three years from Rs 19.6 lakh in 2020-2021 to Rs 2.02 crore in 2023-2024 exemplifies the transformative impact of value addition, innovative practices and market strategies the university has been promoting over the years.
Dr Inderjeet Singh, vice-chancellor, said that one of the critical factors contributing to this success was the emphasis on value addition of milk into high value milk products.
“The amount of milk used for value-added products increased from 8 per cent to 28 per cent during this period and consequently, the EDP significantly boosted its revenue from 19.6 lakh to over 2 crore. Value-added diversified product range played a crucial role in driving the revenue growth of the EDP. The introduction of products such as kulfi, pinni, dahi, mozzarella cheese, flavoured milk, barfi, milk cake, ghee, whey drinks and recently launched desi ghee biscuits expanded the product portfolio, attracting a wider customer base and meeting diverse consumer preferences,” he said.
Dr Singh said that the introduction of premium Sahiwal Ghee, prepared from cream separated at the university’s Sahiwal farm at Kaljharani and processed at the university exemplifies the value addition strategy. “While Sahiwal milk was being sold to cooperatives at Rs 30-35 per kg, sale of its ghee has hiked price realisation to more than Rs 100 per kg of milk. This premium product, marketed for its superior quality, quickly gained popularity, contributing to substantial revenue growth and high demand. Similarly preparation of double toned milk also pushed up revenue receipts through sale of ghee prepared with extra fat,” he added.
Dr Singh said to ensure the highest quality and compliance with regulatory standards, the EDP had attempted adopting new environment-friendly packaging initiatives. “Packaging was upgraded to meet standards and innovative solutions like vacuum packaging for paneer, tin packing and glass bottle packaging for Sahiwal Ghee were introduced in place of plastic polyfilm. These packaging improvements not only enhanced product shelf life but also appealed to health-conscious and quality-seeking consumers,” he said.
Dr R S Sethi, dean, College of Dairy and Food Science Technology, said that a large spectrum of value added milk products added practical skills to the graduates in dairy technology to go for entrepreneurship in this sector. EDP has also extended collaboration with Verka, Milkfed, Punjab by providing R&D facilities to develop new products at the numerous Verka milk plants.
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