From farmer empowerment to tech-led innovation: How Heritage Foods is shaping India’s dairy future

Srideep N Kesavan is a seasoned business leader with over two decades of diversified experience across the beverages, food, and agribusiness sectors. He holds a PGDBA (Marketing) from XLRI Jamshedpur and a B.Tech in Electronics & Instrumentation from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET), University of Kerala.

In an interaction with Bizz Buzz, CEO, Heritage Foods Limited, shared how he has built deep expertise in sales & distribution, marketing, category management, P&L ownership, and general management. His career includes key leadership roles at prominent global organizations.

At Coca-Cola India & South-West Asia, he served as Vice-President – Marketing for the Juices and Value-Added Dairy categories, and earlier held roles such as Director – Operations (INSWA BU, East Franchises) and General Sales Manager at HCCB. He also served as Country Head at Olam International Limited in Gabon, West Africa, and began his career as a Control Systems Engineer with ONGC in Mumbai.

Appointed CEO of Heritage Foods in 2021, Kesavan has spearheaded the company’s strategic transformation, focusing on expansion, product diversification, and sustainable growth. He has accelerated the company’s shift toward value-added dairy offerings, which contributed 38% of revenue in Q1. The ice cream category has emerged as a strong driver of this growth.

A new state-of-the-art ice cream manufacturing facility in Telangana is poised to raise annual revenues from this segment to approximately Rs700 crore over the next five years. During his tenure, Heritage Foods attained debt-free status in November 2021. The company continues to strengthen its long-standing commitment to farmers, positively impacting over 300,000 milk producers through its extensive procurement network

Could you take us through your journey before becoming CEO of Heritage Foods?

I have nearly 29 years of experience, most of it in the food industry. Before joining Heritage Foods in August 2021, I spent about 16 years with Coca-Cola across various roles and geographies.

I also worked with Olam International in Singapore, one of the world’s largest agri-commodity companies. Including my time at Heritage, I’ve spent nearly three decades deeply immersed in the food and agri sector—an industry I’m passionate about not only from a business standpoint but also in terms of food science, product creation, and consumer experience.

What core values define Heritage Foods today?

Heritage Foods was founded in 1992 as a solution to a severe agrarian crisis in Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh. Our origins are rooted in social purpose, and that remains our guiding philosophy. Our mission is twofold: To delight every household with fresh and healthy dairy products and to empower farmers.

These two pillars — consumer delight and farmer empowerment — drive all our decisions. We aim for significantly superior quality in every product. If consumers cannot perceive a clear difference, we don’t do it. This superior quality allows us to create a value chain that strengthens farmer incomes. The entire business operates as a principled, purpose-driven, virtuous cycle connecting farmer, product, and consumer.

How would you describe Heritage Foods’ current position in India’s dairy sector?

We are among India’s top 10 dairy companies that includes cooperative and private firms. Among public-listed private dairies, we are the second largest, after Hatsun Agro.

In the southern states—our core markets—Heritage is one of the most loved dairy brands. Our quarterly brand health tracking consistently shows high loyalty, strong awareness, repeat purchase, and consumer stickiness, ranking us number two across all players, including cooperatives.

Which product categories are driving the highest growth?

Indian consumers are increasingly shifting from plain milk to value-added dairy products such as curd, paneer, yogurt, cheese, and butter.

This aligns perfectly with our strategy. Over the last five years, our value-added product portfolio has grown at a 22–23% CAGR, compared with overall revenue growth of about 14% CAGR. We aim to grow 50% faster than the dairy industry average, targeting 15–16% annual growth.

How has consumer behavior evolved in dairy and FMCG in recent years?

Covid was a major inflection point. Three big shifts followed: Consumer curiosity:

People became more digitally aware, researched more, discovered nutrition, protein, probiotics, gut health, and holistic wellness.

This curiosity has permanently changed how consumers choose products. Purpose-led consumption: People began reflecting on life’s fragility, leading them to choose purposeful and responsible brands. Purpose-led individuals want to associate with purpose-led companies—like Heritage.

Increased feedback culture: Consumers are now actively sharing reviews and expect brands to respond. We receive daily feedback that helps us adapt quickly.

What role does technology play in Heritage Foods’ operations?

We aspire to be a technology company dealing in dairy. Our operations are fully digitized end-to-end through SAP ERP—from milk procurement at village centres to consumer sales. We use over two dozen tech applications supporting sales, procurement, and farmer engagement.

A flagship example is VetPlus, our veterinary app with over 1.2 lakh daily active users. With only 40 veterinarians on staff, this platform amplifies their reach by delivering videos, guidance, and best practices directly to farmers.

We are also exploring deeper integration of artificial intelligence to strengthen both farmer empowerment and consumer delight.

How is Heritage Foods supporting farmers and rural communities?

Being rooted in farmer welfare is our foremost value. We work across 9,000–10,000 villages and engage with around 3 lakh farmers. About 1.8 lakh farmers supply milk daily. Women account for 40% of both farmers and village-level representatives.

We operate with 100% cashless payments, transferring earnings directly into farmers’ bank accounts—most of them women. Out of our annual revenue of Rs4,500–4,600 crore, nearly Rs3,400–3,500 crore goes directly to farmers for milk procurement, creating massive rural impact.

What are the company’s key strategic priorities for the next 3–5 years?

Four major priorities: Sustain mid-teen revenue growth of 15–16%. Reduce earnings volatility through higher value-added contribution and operational excellence.

Achieve market leadership—we operate only where we can be No. 1 or No. 2. Double farmer income in five years, with annual measurable targets.

How is Heritage strengthening its presence in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets?

Urbanization is driving dairy consumption, and new district headquarters are creating fresh demand. We aim to expand rapidly into Tier-2 and Ttier-3 cities, but only within distances where we can guarantee fresh, high-quality products.

Our omni-channel, fit-for-purpose route-to-market model enables us to adapt to the unique dynamics of each city—what works in Warangal may not work in Khammam or Karimnagar. Agility and tailoring are our biggest strengths.

What is the company’s approach to innovation in products and packaging?

Innovation starts with deep consumer understanding. We speak to 40,000 consumers each year across about 48 research studies and indirectly reach 1 lakh households through syndicated panels. No dairy company in India undertakes research at this scale.

Insights from this extensive research guide our R&D team, led by one of India’s most respected dairy scientists with six additional dairy scientists and a fully equipped lab. We collaborate with institutions like NDRI, CFTRI, NIFTEM, and TACTASTE. Our philosophy: If we can’t create something exceptional, we won’t launch it.

Climate volatility and feed costs strain dairy. How is Heritage building supply-chain resilience?

Climate change is the biggest risk—excess rainfall, unpredictable weather, and inconsistent patterns directly affect milk supply.

We focus on three controllable levers: Increasing the number of farmers: Village-level collection centers have grown from an average of 15 farmers to about 21–22 per centre. Increasing herd size: We facilitate around Rs200 crore in loans annually to help farmers buy more animals. Improving per-animal productivity:

Productivity in our operational villages has risen 20% in 4–5 years due to better feed practices. We supply subsidized, high-protein concentrate feed, increasing adoption from 55–60 grams per litre to 75 grams, with a goal of reaching 100–120 grams for optimal yield. We focus on what we can control—farmer, animal, and productivity—while climate patterns remain uncertain.

What operational challenges concern you most today?

Climate unpredictability and the inherent volatility of the dairy value chain remain major challenges. Managing supply consistency, cost pressures, and rapid shifts in consumption patterns requires continuous innovation, agility, and disciplined execution.