Shuddh Dairy: How Indian Entrepreneurs Brought Traditional Dairy Products to Sydney

The taste of home in a new country

For many Indians living overseas, food is one of the strongest connections to home.

A plate of paneer curry, fresh dahi with a meal, homemade sweets or a glass of chilled lassi can bring back memories of family kitchens, celebrations and everyday life in India.

But recreating those experiences abroad is not always easy. Some traditional dairy products can be difficult to find, and imported alternatives may not offer the freshness, texture or taste that consumers expect.

In Sydney, this gap became a business opportunity.

Indian-origin entrepreneur Harman Singh recognised that Australia's growing South Asian community needed more than imported grocery products. It needed locally manufactured dairy products that could deliver the familiar flavours and textures of Indian kitchens.

That observation became the foundation of Shuddh Dairy, an Australian dairy business specialising in traditional Indian dairy products.

Led by Harman Singh and supported by an NRI-led team, the business set out to bring products such as paneer, masala paneer, dahi and Indian dairy sweets into the Australian market.

The ambition was straightforward: make traditional Indian dairy products locally, maintain their authenticity and build a business capable of supplying households, restaurants and retailers.

Harman Singh: From banking to entrepreneurship

Harman Singh's professional journey did not begin in the food industry.

He arrived in Australia in 2001 and started his career in banking. According to a 2018 profile published by The Indian Sun, he worked with the National Australia Bank (NAB), American Express and HSBC.

His professional experience gave him exposure to corporate systems, financial management and business operations.

But Singh had ambitions beyond a conventional corporate career.

He came from a family in Punjab, India, with an established agricultural background. His father was one of the region's major citrus growers, and Singh had the option of joining an existing family business.

Instead, he wanted to build something of his own.

After leaving HSBC, he entered the hospitality industry and established a restaurant business, which he managed for approximately six years.

That experience became an important turning point.

Working in the restaurant industry brought him closer to food consumers, ingredients, suppliers and the practical challenges of running a food business.

He began noticing a gap in the availability of authentic Indian dairy products in Australia.

The opportunity was not simply to open another restaurant or grocery shop. It was to manufacture products that restaurants and households regularly needed.

That realisation led him towards dairy manufacturing.

Identifying the opportunity in Indian dairy products

Indian cuisine uses dairy in ways that are different from many Western food traditions.

Paneer is a central ingredient in dishes such as palak paneer, paneer butter masala, matar paneer and paneer tikka. Dahi is used in everyday meals, marinades, raitas and traditional recipes. Ghee is valued for cooking, sweets and religious occasions.

Traditional Indian sweets also rely on specialised dairy preparation.

For Indian families living in Australia, access to these products was important. Restaurants needed dependable supplies, while households wanted products that could reproduce familiar recipes.

Harman Singh recognised that a locally manufactured product could address both needs.

Instead of relying entirely on imported dairy products, the business could use Australian milk to manufacture Indian-style products in Australia.

This approach offered several potential advantages:

• Fresher local production.

• Greater control over manufacturing.

• Better ability to serve restaurant and retail customers.

• Products developed around Indian cooking requirements.

• A supply chain closer to the Australian consumer.

The business was entering a specialised segment of the Australian dairy industry: traditional Indian dairy products made for a multicultural market.

Learning the science behind traditional dairy

One of the most interesting aspects of Shuddh Dairy's early journey was the founders' focus on technical knowledge.

Traditional Indian dairy products are not always straightforward to manufacture using standard Western dairy processes.

Paneer, for example, requires controlled coagulation, separation of whey, pressing and cooling to achieve the desired texture.

The final result depends on several factors, including milk composition, acidity, temperature, processing time and moisture retention.

Dahi requires controlled fermentation. Indian sweets made from milk need additional knowledge of texture, consistency, cooking and storage.

These processes become even more challenging when a manufacturer is working with a different milk supply and production environment.

The National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI), in its 2017–18 annual report, documented Shudh Dairy Products in Sydney as a startup led by Harman Singh and a group of Non-Resident Indians.

The report stated that Singh attended an intensive training programme at ICAR-NDRI to learn the manufacturing of traditional dairy products such as paneer, masala paneer, dahi and sweets using cow's milk.

The technical challenge was particularly interesting because the report noted that cow's milk was not traditionally considered ideal for manufacturing some of these products.

The training helped the team understand how to adapt traditional dairy processes to the milk available in Australia.

This was a critical step. The business was not simply importing Indian recipes. It was working to translate traditional dairy-making knowledge into a commercially viable Australian manufacturing process.

Building a manufacturing business in Sydney

Starting a dairy manufacturing facility is considerably more complex than opening a retail food business.

Dairy products are perishable. They require careful handling, temperature control, hygiene, processing consistency, packaging and distribution.

A manufacturer must also manage food safety requirements, production scheduling, raw milk procurement and the logistics of delivering fresh products to retailers and restaurants.

For Shuddh Dairy, the challenge was to combine traditional Indian product knowledge with Australian manufacturing conditions.

The company developed a manufacturing operation in Sydney to produce products for the local market.

Its early range included paneer, masala paneer, dahi and traditional sweets.

The business model was built around serving the South Asian food market, particularly retailers and restaurants that required a dependable local source of Indian dairy products.

The move from a corporate career into dairy manufacturing was a significant risk for Singh. In his 2018 interview with The Indian Sun, he described starting the manufacturing plant as one of the most important decisions of his life.

He also emphasised the importance of honesty, loyalty to business partners and strong relationships with employees.

These values were particularly relevant in a business where product quality and supply reliability directly influence customer trust.

Early market traction and the reported Sydney market share

Shuddh Dairy's early progress attracted attention from India's dairy research community.

The ICAR-NDRI annual report for 2017–18 included the company in its section on startup success stories.

It reported that the NRI-led team had launched traditional cow-milk dairy products in the Sydney market approximately a year earlier.

The report also stated that the company had generated around 60% share of the traditional dairy products market in Sydney within its first year.

This is a notable historical claim, but it should be interpreted carefully. The report does not provide the underlying market definition, research methodology or independent market-share calculation.

Nevertheless, its inclusion in an official dairy research institute's startup success stories indicates that Shuddh Dairy's early work had attracted institutional recognition in India.

The business was demonstrating that traditional Indian dairy products could be manufactured and sold successfully in an overseas market.

From a specialist dairy supplier to a broader retail brand

Shuddh Dairy's initial focus was on traditional products that Indian households and restaurants already understood.

Over time, the brand developed a wider range.

Its current official product portfolio includes:

• Fresh paneer.

• Frozen paneer cubes.

• Dahi and yoghurt.

• Cow ghee.

• Lassi.

• Badam milk.

• Rasmalai.

• Kulfi.

• Ice cream.

• Makkhan and other traditional dairy products.

This expansion reflects a natural development in the business.

A customer who buys paneer may also be interested in dahi, ghee, lassi and traditional desserts. Restaurants may require several dairy products from one supplier, while retailers benefit from having a broader range to offer their customers.

The company has also moved beyond simply reproducing familiar Indian products. Its product development includes flavoured dairy offerings and different formats designed for modern households.

The result is a brand that connects traditional Indian dairy knowledge with the convenience and availability expected from an Australian food manufacturer.

The importance of Australian milk

One of Shuddh Dairy's important positioning choices is local manufacturing using Australian milk.

The company's official website says its dairy products are made from locally sourced ingredients, and its paneer product page specifically describes paneer made from Australian milk.

This matters for more than marketing.

Local manufacturing can reduce dependence on finished imported dairy products and give the producer greater control over freshness, production scheduling and distribution.

It also allows the company to adapt its manufacturing processes to the milk supply available in Australia.

For a traditional product such as paneer, the challenge is to achieve the texture and cooking performance consumers associate with Indian-made products while working with locally available milk.

Shuddh Dairy's focus on this production challenge became an important part of its brand identity.

The company's current product information describes its paneer as Australian-made, preservative-free and made without unnecessary additives. These are company product claims and should be assessed against the relevant product labels.

The restaurant connection: understanding what professional kitchens need

Harman Singh's earlier experience in hospitality was useful when Shuddh Dairy began developing its market.

Restaurants are demanding customers.

They need consistent product quality, dependable supply, predictable pricing and ingredients that perform well in cooking.

A paneer supplier cannot simply deliver a product that looks attractive in its packaging. The paneer must also hold its shape, absorb flavours and perform consistently in dishes.

For Indian restaurants, this can influence the quality of a menu and the customer experience.

By understanding restaurant operations, Singh had an appreciation of what professional kitchens needed from a dairy supplier.

The business could serve both restaurants and retail customers, creating opportunities across different sales channels.

The 2018 profile in The Indian Sun described Shuddh Dairy as supplying dairy products to a large number of subcontinent stores and restaurants.

This distribution approach helped the brand move beyond a small direct-to-consumer operation.

Recognition from Australia's dairy industry

A significant milestone in Shuddh Dairy's journey has been its recognition in Australian dairy competitions.

The Dairy Industry Association of Australia (DIAA) publishes results from its annual state dairy product competitions.

In the 2023 New South Wales Dairy Product Competition, Shuddh Dairy received gold and silver recognition across its products, according to the company's published awards information.

The 2024 DIAA New South Wales results listed:

• Shuddh Paneer – Gold.

• Shuddh Yoghurt – Silver.

• Shuddh Mango Lassi – Silver.

• Shuddh Badam Milk – Silver.

• Shuddh Mango Ice Cream – Silver.

• Shuddh Pistachio Ice Cream – Silver.

• Shuddh Butterscotch Ice Cream – Silver.

The 2025 DIAA results again listed Shuddh Paneer as a gold award winner and Shuddh Yoghurt as a silver award winner.

These results are particularly meaningful because they place an Indian-style dairy product within the formal Australian dairy competition system.

Paneer is a familiar product in South Asian kitchens, but it is a specialised category within the wider Australian dairy market.

Recognition in a competitive dairy environment provides independent evidence of product quality and manufacturing capability.

A major milestone: recognition at the Sydney Royal Easter Show

In 2025, Shuddh Dairy received further national attention when its rasmalai was recognised at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

ABC News reported that Shuddh Dairy, based in western Sydney, was among the major dairy award winners.

Founder Harman Singh told ABC that developing the award-winning rasmalai recipe had taken almost three years.

That detail reveals the level of experimentation required to commercialise traditional Indian desserts.

Rasmalai is not simply a sweet made by combining milk and sugar. Its texture, softness, moisture, sweetness and the balance of flavours all matter.

Producing it consistently at scale requires considerable attention to the preparation of the milk-based dumplings and the sweetened milk syrup.

The recognition was an important milestone for the business because it brought a traditional Indian dessert into a prominent Australian food competition.

It also showed that Shuddh Dairy's ambition had moved beyond supplying staple dairy products to developing a wider portfolio of specialist foods.

The team behind the business

Although Harman Singh is the entrepreneur most prominently associated with Shuddh Dairy, the company's origins were broader.

ICAR-NDRI's 2017–18 annual report specifically described the business as a startup established by a group of Non-Resident Indians under Singh's leadership.

This is an important part of the story.

Building a dairy manufacturing business requires multiple areas of expertise, including:

• Dairy technology and product development.

• Milk procurement and supplier relationships.

• Manufacturing and quality control.

• Food safety and regulatory compliance.

• Packaging and cold-chain logistics.

• Sales and retail distribution.

• Financial and operational management.

The team's combination of Indian dairy knowledge and Australian market experience helped bridge two different environments.

The business needed to understand traditional recipes while meeting the requirements of manufacturing and selling food products in Australia.

The exact names and individual responsibilities of every founding team member are not clearly documented in the public sources reviewed. Therefore, the wider founding group should be acknowledged without inventing additional founder names.

Growing beyond Sydney

Shuddh Dairy's original opportunity was closely connected to Sydney's South Asian consumer market.

But the company's longer-term ambition has been to make its products accessible to a wider Australian audience.

Its current website describes distribution across hundreds of stores, with the homepage reporting 384 stores.

The company's contact page also states that its products are available through Woolworths and Costco, alongside Indian grocery stores across Australia.

This marks an important shift in the business.

A product initially developed for a specific cultural market can gain broader retail appeal when it delivers quality, convenience and a distinctive food experience.

Paneer, for example, is no longer relevant only to Indian households. It can be used in salads, wraps, grilling, vegetarian meals and contemporary fusion cooking.

Lassi and yoghurt can appeal to consumers looking for different dairy beverages and fermented products.

Traditional desserts such as rasmalai can introduce Australian consumers to new flavours.

The opportunity for Shuddh Dairy is to continue making these products accessible without losing the authenticity that helped establish the brand.

The business philosophy: purity, tradition and trust

The name Shuddh means pure in Hindi.

The company's official brand story presents purity as its central promise and describes its approach as combining Indian heritage with locally sourced Australian dairy ingredients.

This positioning reflects the company's original purpose.

The brand is not simply selling milk-based products. It is selling a familiar food experience to consumers who may be thousands of kilometres away from the country where those recipes originated.

For Indian families, the products can be connected to everyday cooking and memories of home.

For other consumers, they offer an introduction to different dairy traditions.

The company has also emphasised freshness, careful manufacturing and the absence of unnecessary additives in selected product categories.

As with any food manufacturer, maintaining this promise requires consistent quality control, transparent ingredient information and compliance with food safety requirements.

What Shuddh Dairy's journey teaches entrepreneurs

Shuddh Dairy offers several important lessons for entrepreneurs looking to build businesses around cultural products and international markets.

1. Look for gaps within your own community.

The founders understood that Indian households and restaurants in Australia needed traditional dairy products. Their familiarity with the customer helped them identify an opportunity that a less specialised business might have overlooked.

2. Cultural knowledge can become a commercial advantage.

Understanding paneer, dahi, ghee and traditional sweets gave the team a starting point. They knew what customers expected from these products.

3. Technical expertise matters as much as the idea.

The ICAR-NDRI training demonstrates the importance of understanding the science behind dairy manufacturing. Traditional recipes must be adapted to available milk, processing equipment and commercial production conditions.

4. Local manufacturing can create a competitive advantage.

Producing dairy products in Australia helped the business serve local consumers with products made from Australian milk.

5. Start with a focused market and expand carefully.

Shuddh Dairy initially served a specialist South Asian market through restaurants and ethnic grocery stores. Its broader retail ambitions developed from this foundation.

6. Product development takes time.

The founder's account of spending nearly three years developing the rasmalai recipe shows that creating a consistent commercial food product can require patience and repeated experimentation.

7. Build relationships, not just distribution.

Singh has spoken about honesty, loyalty and employee relationships as important foundations of business. In a manufacturing company, reliable partnerships and people are essential to consistent operations.

The road ahead

Shuddh Dairy began with a clear understanding of a consumer need: traditional Indian dairy products were important to families living in Australia, but locally manufactured options could be limited.

Harman Singh's move from banking to hospitality and then dairy manufacturing demonstrates how entrepreneurial opportunities can emerge through different stages of a career.

The company's development also highlights the importance of combining cultural understanding with technical training, manufacturing investment and retail distribution.

Its recognition in Australian dairy competitions, including the Sydney Royal Easter Show, has helped demonstrate that traditional Indian dairy products can compete within the wider Australian food industry.

The next challenge is to scale responsibly, maintain consistency, expand retail availability and introduce more consumers to the products.

For Shuddh Dairy, the opportunity is not limited to serving nostalgia. It is about making traditional Indian dairy products part of everyday Australian food culture.

From Punjab's food traditions to Sydney's supermarket shelves, Shuddh Dairy's journey is an example of how immigrant entrepreneurship can turn a familiar taste of home into a locally manufactured business.

Founder profile

Harman Singh – Entrepreneur and leader of Shuddh Dairy

Harman Singh is an Indian-origin entrepreneur based in Australia and the driving force behind Shuddh Dairy. After arriving in Australia in 2001, he built a professional career in banking with NAB, American Express and HSBC before moving into hospitality and dairy manufacturing. Recognising the demand for authentic Indian dairy products, he led an NRI team in establishing a Sydney-based manufacturing business producing paneer, dahi, ghee, lassi and traditional Indian dairy foods.

Business: Shuddh Dairy
Founder/Entrepreneur: Harman Singh
Industry: Dairy Manufacturing and Food & Beverage
Country: Australia
Primary location: Sydney, New South Wales
Manufacturing and office address: 21/33 Holbeche Road, Arndell Park, NSW 2148
Website: https://shuddhdairy.com.au/