Dairy plays a significant role in several aspects of Indian society, including cuisine, religion, culture, and the economy. Milky Mist initially mastered the art of making paneer, a highly liked ingredient in the kitchens of south India and kept improvising to build an empire. The company’s mission is to build a sustainable rural economy by involving farmers at every stage of the production process.
To commemorate their success story, Milky Mist introduced the ‘Building Health India’ campaign. Dr K Rathnam explains the objectives and goals of the campaign and says, “Sourcing good quality milk directly from farmers is the key portion in all our dairy products.” Citing the farmers of south India, he adds, “They wake up every day, milk cows, and directly send it to us. There are no middlemen to steal money. Further, we check the quality of milk and pay them good rates, fulfilling their monetary needs.”
When Milky Mist first entered the frame, there were several challenges upfront. The local milk business was traditionally prone to adulteration as the dairy farmers were forced to sell their produce at low price to agents, who got the lion’s share of profits by reselling it. At that time, the concept of unadulterated milk was rare and it took the firm immense effort to convince the farmers to break away from this exploitative practice.
Dr K Rathnam says,
“Our entire value chain is based on direct benefit to our farmers. Each and every farmer is a member of Milky Mist. To ensure that there is no quality deviation, middlemen are eliminated. We have about 50,000 plus farmers in our dairy. The major factor setting us apart from the rest is that we care for the cattle and provide them excellent cattle food leading to production of more milk than usual.”
The company achieves this by keeping a special eye on fodder composition and its quality. Milky Mist understands milk farmers’ lives and their income revolves around cattle and it must give them maximum benefit. Besides, it also has a fully automated dairy production process that guarantees freshness of products with 99.9 per cent human hands-free productions.
Milky Mist and its rural development go way beyond dairy farming. The company is also involved in community outreach, environmental welfare and sustainable growth. Dr. K Rathnam elucidates, “Our responsibility also lies with the community and the planet because they have made us what we are today. We have shifted to efficient and renewable green energy, which is powering our plants as well as our entire ecosystem. Over the years, more than one lakh trees have been planted in this region and we have taken active initiatives to make conscious choices that help us reduce our waste.”
He adds, “Milky Mist also creates an eco-friendly environment and has installed solar panels to harness the perennial energy of the sun, thus, weakening the dependence on conventional non-renewable energy. The company has also aided and supported several self-help groups working to revive, protect and clean up polluted lakes and rivers.”
Understanding the social corporate responsibilities is the need of the hour. The progress earmarked by dairy industry in India, and especially by Milky Mist sponsors varied interests of the society. As of today, the firm has created employment opportunities for over one lakh people. Besides offering them a good life and fair income along with benefits and healthcare, makes it stand out of the crowd.
“Humane work hours, quality medical care to family members of employees, and modern sanitary toilets in various government schools were once a rare sight, but Milky Mist has ensured it all. The company has brought about the revolutionary change in sustainable rural development and community welfare in India whilst maintaining its exemplary guide that puts light on how profit and welfare can go hand in hand,”
-concludes Dr K Rathnam.