Big potential in India's ethnic yoghurt market

The world may be getting smaller, but ethnic foods are as popular as ever.

Recognizing this, Chr. Hansen now targets the market for Dahi - traditional ethnic Indian yoghurt. The company is launching DAC-03, a new dairy culture tailor made for making Dahi.

"India is the world's largest producer of milk and dairy products, and the majority of the population of almost 1,100,000,000 are vegetarians. Today, most Indians make simple yoghurt and other fermented milks at home, but as the country's economic boom continues and creates a middle class, the demand for prepared foods increases," explains Mark Johnston, Chr. Hansen?s Regional Industry Manager for dairy.

Today, organized dairies make only one to two percent of the Dahi consumed in India, but demand for industrially produced Dahi is currently growing at a pace of 20% per year. More Indian consumers are following global trends, and favor healthy products and greater food safety.

Foods with deep cultural roots

Dahi is made from cow or buffalo milk and is enjoyed in different ways across India. In the Northern regions, Dahi is generally consumed for breakfast together with Indian bread (paranthas), whereas in the Southern regions it is usually enjoyed for lunch and dinner mixed with rice or as a side dish.

Dahi is also consumed as Chass - with salt and spices - or with cane sugar and water as the popular sweet beverage known as Lassi.

"Traditional foods have deep cultural roots in India, and it has been an important part of our growth strategy to introduce a culture solution that delivers Dahi with the authentic, Indian taste. We have now done just that, and the first reactions from the market have been very positive. We see a big potential in this," says Tansukh Jain, General Manager of Chr. Hansen India.

Cooperation between Denmark and India

The new Dahi culture, DAC-03, has been developed in close cooperation between Chr. Hansen's dairy experts in Denmark and India, and is the latest addition to the company's range of freeze dried cultures. Freeze dried cultures are particularly useful in a country like India, where distances are vast and the infrastructure is often not suitable for distribution of frozen cultures.