Traditional Indian Dairy Products (DT-303) Assignment

Traditional Indian Dairy Products

In the rural India surplus milk is converted into a variety of traditional products primarily as a means of preservation. These products include curd, ghee, khoa, chhana, paneer, shrikhand and a variety of milk sweets, some of which are now increasingly produced even by the organized sector milk plants. In addition to preservation of milk solids for longer time at room temperature, manufacture of traditional dairy products add value to milk and also provide considerable employment opportunity. It is estimated that about 50% of total milk produced in India is converted into traditional milk products. Traditional dairy products not only have established market in India but also great export potential because of strong presence of Indian diaspora in many parts of the world.

The organized dairy sector has not done much in terms of investments in research and development of innovative dairy products. The product portfolio of the Indian dairy industry has hardly shown

any departure from its traditional product base. The exception being some fragmented efforts in promotion of traditional milk products like Curd, Shrikhand, Gulabjamun and Buttermilk in last few years. The inadequacy of these efforts has resulted 

in widening gap between milk production and sale of milk and milk products .

Classification of Traditional Indian Dairy Products

A variety of traditional milk products are 

manufactured in India with most of them being region specific. The classification of Traditional Dairy Products based on the principle of manufacture is given in Table:

Classification of Traditional Dairy Products of India

Curdled Dairy Products
1. Paneer is an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or other non-rennet food acid, and then removing the whey and pressing the result into a dry unit.
2. Chhena is like paneer, except some whey is left and the mixture is beaten thoroughly until it becomes soft, of smooth consistency, and malleable but firm.
3. Sandesh is a confection made from chhena mixed with sugar then grilled lightly to caramelize, but removed from heat and molded into a ball or some shape.
4. Rasagola is a confection made from mixture of chhena and semolina rolled into a ball and boiled in syrup.

Non-Curdled Dairy Products
1. Khoa or Mawa is made by reducing milk in an open pan over heat.
2. Peda is a confection made by mixing sugar with khoa and adding flavoring, such as cardamom.
3. Barfi is a confection made by reducing milk and sugar until it solidifies and adding flavoring, such as pistachio.
4. Gulab jamun is a confection made by mixing khoa and sugar, caramelizing it by frying, and soaking it in syrup containing rosewater.
5. Kulfi is made from slowly freezing sweetened condensed milk. In comparison to ice cream, kulfi is not whipped or otherwise aerated.
6. Ghee is type of clarified butter that is cooked long enough to caramelize the milk sugar and sterilize the liquid.

Fermented Dairy Products
1. Mishti doi is dahi (Indian yogurt) mixed with sugar
2. Shrikhand is strained yogurt mixed with sugar, and often flavorings such as cardamom, saffron, or fruit.
3. Wheyvit is an alcoholic beverage prepared by fermenting whey with yeast.

Other Dairy Products
1. Kheer is made by boiling rice or broken wheat with milk and sugar, and sometimes flavored with cardamom, raisins, saffron, pistachios, or almonds.
2. Chhena Murki is made by frying cubes of chhena to burn the outside, then soaking them in syrup flavored with cardamom.
3. Pantooa is like gulab jamun, except with some chhena mixed with the usual ingredients.

New Product Development - Opportunity and Challenges of Traditional Indian Dairy Products

Opportunities

Dairy products viz. cheese, butter, ice cream, milk powder, etc. manufactured by the organized dairy sector are reaching near saturation level in current domestic and international markets. In the Indian context, stimulating opportunities seem to

arise with regard to development of new products, especially Traditional Indian Dairy Products. India’s market potential and current growth rate of traditional dairy products is unmatched and all set to boom further under the technology of mass production. Indian dairy products have not only served as a cultural link with the modern dairy industry but also provided a technological base for diversification, export promotion and as value added products to make the modern dairy industry economically strong enabling the milk producer to benefit from it. The framework also brings out the fact that innovative development of products is governed by number of complex factors and it will be necessary to understand these factors with particular reference to dairy industry in India. There is also need for a unified efforts at the level of industry to communicate the right consumer message on traditional dairy products to enable

this product category to compete with other food and beverages.

Challenges

The commercialization aspects of new product introductions or existing products have not been adequately emphasized in the Indian marketplace. Significant investments will be required in understanding consumer behaviour and preferences; new product research and 

development; technology development and its management and commercialization of new products in the market place. The consumer acceptance of new products does not occur overnight but it requires a sustained effort to maintain quality, convenience through easy to handle packages and above all crossing consumer

affordability barriers to generate economies of scale. The requirement for convenience and quality will grow with increasing disposable incomes and consumer consciousness for health and balanced diet. However, affordability will remain a critical factor influencing consumption for a large section of Indian consumers in smaller cities, towns and 

rural areas. These constraints/requirements of the target market will require the dairy industry to respond through appropriate interventions in the areas of quality control, innovative packaging and cost management to keep price affordable to their target markets.

New Business Model for Traditional

Products

Two major interventions are required to integrate the organized dairy sector to become an integral part of supply chain for traditional milk products. Firstly, the organized dairy sector undertakes the manufacture of intermediate products on a

large scale to supply to the unorganized sector for conversion into variety of ethnic products as per regional preferences of the consumers. Such reconfiguration of the supply chain will not only require introduction of technology for their large 

scale manufacture but also a second intervention in terms of a business model to expand the demand of traditional products in future and upscale their

quality standards.

Innovations Made in Manufacture of

Traditional Indian Dairy Products

The market of conventional indigenous milk products is increasingly getting overcrowded and our future success will depend on our ability to provide innovative products, which consumers want and need. Whatever the innovation – products,

processing method or packaging – it should meet the real consumer need. We know today’s families want “grab – and – go” convenience. They are also concerned about nutrition and health. Different ages

and demographics want different things. Therefore, investments at this level is essential if we are to respond rapidly to customers who are increasingly demanding new and different taste experiences

from products that are competitively priced. Following are the ways by which organization can manufacture wholesome traditional dairy products at competitive prices.

• Mechanization of Manufacture of Traditional Dairy Products

• Application of Membrane Technology in

Manufacture of Traditional Dairy Products

• Developments in Preservation of Traditional Dairy Products

• Developments in Packaging Conclusion

Product development does not occur in isolation as a separate functional activity. It is a company philosophy, a basic company strategy and a multifunctional company activity. In recent years to show this all-encompassing basis, bringing together

product, process, marketing and organizational innovations, there has been development of an overall innovation strategy. This innovation strategy is related to the company’s overall business aims and strategy, as well as the social, economic and technological environment, and the company’s own knowledge and skills.

Conclusion
Product development does not occur in isolation as a separate functional activity. It is a company philosophy, a basic company strategy and a multifunctional company activity. In recent years to show this all-encompassing basis, bringing together product, process, marketing and organizational innovations, there has been development of an overall innovation strategy. This innovation strategy is related to the company’s overall business aims and strategy, as well as the social, economic and
technological environment, and the company’s own knowledge and skills.

Reference
1. Wikipedia: Wikipedia.org
2. The Dairy Site: thedairysite.com
3. Assignable: Assignable.org
4. Dairy For All: dairyforall.com
5. Dairy Knowledge: dairyknowledge.in