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Founded in 1916 by Nariman Ardeshir, Parsi Dairy Farm is no stranger to a Mumbaikar. From its little beginnings on Princess Street, which is officially called Shamaldas Gandhi Marg (named after the Indian freedom fighter and journalist), the brand is quite possibly India’s oldest operational dairy farm.
However, much like a bona fide success story of an Indian legacy brand, Parsi Dairy Farm didn’t really become a legend overnight; it took its founder several years before he even started delivering milk to neighbouring households. It’s said that circumstances compelled Ardeshir to start working at an early age and he did all kinds of odd jobs to make ends meet before venturing into the dairy business.
Of course, 108 years later, its fourth generation torchbearers – Bakhtyar K Irani, Sarfaraz K Irani, Zeenia K Patel and Parvana S Mistry – who’ve given the brand its current identity, continue to share the sweetness of its products.
In an interview with Zee Zest, Zeenia, who’s also the brand director for Parsi Dairy Farm, talks about its quaint beginnings and the not-so-quaint growth story. “When Nariman Ardeshir (our great grandfather) founded Parsi Dairy Farm, its sole agenda was to supply the best possible quality of basic needs such as milk, butter and ghee all across Mumbai, and this is the pre-independence era that we are talking about. Nothing has changed since then. We stuck to the original principles of serving preservative-free and delicious products which eventually brought us to where we are,” she says.
And it all began with just milk!
Parsi Dairy Farm, which might just make the thickest lassi in Mumbai, over time added far more products to its inventory than Ardeshir would have imagined. Today it serves mithais of all kinds too – from pedas and kaju katlis to suterfeni and even the rasgulla. And let’s not forget a few of their star products - the kulfi and ‘The Great Indian Toffee’ and the malai khaja and pipe jalebi, which also happen to be two of Zeenia’s favourites.
“Not many people would know this but Parsi Dairy Farm was the first brand to introduce yoghurt in India as well,” Zeenia goes on to say, adding, “Of late, two of our new introductions – the walnut chocolate fudge and the raspberry kulfi falooda – have also garnered a lot of appreciation. And that reminds me of a funny story; we made samosas for our in-house canteen – it became so popular that we started selling those and we are sold out every single day by 6pm!”
Ask Zeenia what keeps Parsi Dairy Farm thriving, given that there is is always some controversy surrounding dairy products in India, what with product quality being compromised and severe trust issues among customers, which is also in fact what led to the birth of several homegrown brands that are set on delivering milk and related products without any additives and enhancers.
“As I had said earlier, our core principle was only to sell the purest and best quality products. It’s the one thing we have never and will ever compromise upon, which is also what keeps us grounded and our customers loyal,” she says.
Despite being available in multiple cities, Parsi Dairy Farm produces dairy products out of their 300-plus acres of land in Talasari on the outskirts of Maharashtra (property that was acquired in 1960 in order to consolidate their scattered production units across the State), and Zeenia says that unlike other industries where the manufacturing unit can be setup anywhere, “this industry is different as it is dependable on livestock”.
“The reason why most dairy products never venture out of the State is not because it is not easy to set up an entire dairy unit, but due to the management of livestock and availability of good quality raw materials. So, in order to maintain quality, it is preferable that all products are manufactured at one place. However, our vision is to make long shelf-life products available all around the world,” she explains.
One can of course buy their products in cities such as Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Surat, Kolkata, Nagpur and Guwahati, among others, and they’re also available online.
In 2023, the new owners decided to give the brand a makeover. It had been a while since the Parsi Dairy Farm got a ‘new look’ so to speak, and it was time to create a new identity that stayed true to the brand’s legacy and heritage and yet connected with the current generation of consumers.
“Giving a facelift to the entire brand has been a refreshing process. The vibrant colours and exciting forms of our new packaging have been highly appreciated – from the functional tilt of the ghee jar, which makes the home-maker’s experience easier while cooking, to the fun and dramatic packaging of The Great Indian Toffee that gives an exciting circus-like feel. Even the everyday boxes have been designed and coloured with pastel tones and quaint details to retain our legacy and heritage feel along with connecting us with today,” Zeenia says before signing off.