The young demographic and India's urban middle class are seen to be driving demand for non-traditional cheese. It is believed this sector of Indian society are more experimental and have been exposed to Western diet more so than older people or low income earners.
A portion of 60% of total Indian cheese sales comes from urban India. In organised retail, most sales are of paneer and processed cheese due to price. However, 80% of the total cheese market is processed cheese which is also often used in the increasingly popular fast food industry for burgers and pizza.
The level of cheese imports is relatively low but it is mostly influenced by demand from restaurants, hotels and institutions.
While the world average cheese consumption per capita is 7kg a year, India's national average is just 200g. Its urban consumption is 700g per capita. This shows the potential of further growth in this sector as incomes are raised and the urbanisation trend continues. Further influence of Westernised diets will also add to this growth as other cheese types become a normal part of living.
A limitation in the Indian cheese industry is the underdeveloped and inconsistent cold chain sector. This creates challenges around distribution of cheese products around the country.