🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Milky Mist grew fast while carrying heavy debt

• Crisil Ratings said Milky Mist’s revenue rose at a three-year compound annual growth rate of 32% to 23.3 billion rupees (US$245 million) in fiscal 2025. The company reported FY25 revenue from operations of 23.5 billion rupees (US$247 million) and profit after tax of 460.7 million rupees (US$4.85 million) 12.
• Milky Mist held about 17% of India’s organized packaged paneer market by value in fiscal 2025, making it the largest private brand in the segment 2.
• The company also relied heavily on borrowing. Crisil Ratings put gearing, which measures debt against equity, at 4.26 times on March 31, 2025. Its draft IPO papers say about 7.5 billion rupees (US$79 million) from the fresh issue will go toward repaying debt 13.

Temasek-backed funding supports a branded dairy play

• The pre-IPO round supports Milky Mist’s push to run dairy more like a fast-moving consumer goods business. It focuses on value-added products and avoids liquid milk, which the company says helps margins 3.
• That approach departs from many dairy companies that still depend on liquid milk as a core line.
• Jongsong Investments Pte. Ltd. is affiliated with Temasek, Singapore’s state-owned investment company. It joined the round 3.
• The deal adds weight to businesses in older sectors that pair premium goods with automated plants and in-house logistics. Rival dairy and packaged-food groups may need to lean harder on branded products to support valuations like Britannia’s price-to-earnings ratio of 65.05 in the peer comparison 23.