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Mother Dairy — A Delhi NCR Dairy Company That Started With Loose-Milk Vending Machines

2026.09.19

Article summary

Mother Dairy is a wholly owned subsidiary of NDDB (National Dairy Development Board) that sells dairy products mainly in the Delhi capital region. It has placed loose-milk vending machines (bulk vendors) around the region, expanding on a model where even households without a refrigerator could buy just what they needed for the day. It also runs the edible oil brand "Dhara" and the produce and frozen vegetable brand "Safal," which also runs its own produce stores. Revenue for FY2026 (year ended March 2026) was ₹20,300 crore (1 crore = 10 million rupees), up 17% year on year, and it has set a target of ₹24,000 crore for the next fiscal year. It says it has no plans to raise milk prices. Because it runs its own frozen vegetable processing, it's also a candidate for contract manufacturing of frozen foods.

This article is based on what we could verify As of September 19, 2026 This page is based on the disclosures and news reports from each company that we were able to confirm as of that date. Amounts in the text follow the notation commonly used in India, with ₹1 crore = 10 million rupees, and yen figures are approximations calculated at a little over 1.7 yen to the rupee. Store counts, funding raised, and results at Indian companies change over short periods, so when making a business decision, please check the latest information in primary sources such as each company's own announcements.

Mother Dairy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) that sells milk and dairy products mainly in the Delhi metropolitan area. It also handles Dhara cooking oil and Safal fresh and frozen vegetables.

Company profile

Item	Details
Legal name	Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Private Limited
Headquarters	Noida (Uttar Pradesh)
Parent company	A wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)
Revenue	₹20,300 crore (FY2026, year ended March 2026; up 17% year on year, about ¥353 billion)
Next-year target	₹24,000 crore (company-published target)
Main brands	Mother Dairy (dairy products), Dhara (cooking oil), Safal (fresh and frozen vegetables)
Listing	Unlisted

How to sell milk to households without a refrigerator

Mother Dairy has placed loose-milk vending machines (bulk vendors) throughout Delhi. Customers bring their own container and buy just the amount they need. It spread in an era when many households lacked refrigerators, as a system for buying only what would be drunk that day.

This method treats the store not as the end point of delivery but as a tap. It costs less in packaging than pre-packed milk and keeps the unit price down. Even now that refrigeration has become common, these machines remain, adding depth to its retail presence in the capital region.

As a subsidiary of the NDDB, it can use the cooperative structure to collect milk from dairy farmers. Government figures put the number of farming households in Indian dairy at more than 80 million, most of them keeping one or two animals and milking only a few liters each. Whether a company has a system to aggregate that determines its ability to source raw milk.

A third pillar beyond dairy

Alongside dairy, it also runs the Safal-brand produce stores and frozen vegetables, and the Dhara edible oil brand. Safal operates its own produce stores across Delhi NCR, running both fresh retail and frozen processing.

Revenue for FY2026 (fiscal year ending March 2026) was ₹20,300 crore, up 17% year on year. The company has set a target of ₹24,000 crore for the next term. It says it does not plan to raise milk prices.

Points for Japanese companies

For selling chilled or frozen food in Delhi NCR, Mother Dairy's store network and Safal's produce stores are a channel that can't be ignored. Being concentrated in the capital region makes it efficient if that's the only area being targeted.

Since it runs its own frozen vegetable processing, it could also be a partner for contract manufacturing or joint development of frozen foods. When reaching out, it's worth first checking what packaging formats it can handle (bulk bags for foodservice or small retail bags) and which cities it can reach with frozen distribution.