According to Mr RG Chandramogan, managing director of Hatsun Agro Products, though the company does not expect big volumes from skimmed milk, it is getting into it because it has a niche market among the old and health- conscious people who want to avoid fat completely. "We may do around 20,000 litres of skimmed milk per day", he said.

The company successfully test-marketed buttermilk last summer and expects to do at least 1.5 lakh packets in the coming summer. It recently entered the toned milk (three per cent fat) market with the launch of its `New Komatha' brand. The company had earlier acquired the brand when it bought over Ajith Dairy Industries Ltd based in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu.

With the Rs 14.5-crore acquisition, funded by ICICI, Hatsun has become the top liquid milk processor in the private diary sector in the country.The company is starting off with 60,000 litres of toned milk per day andwill gradually increase its production. It has applied for an additional capacity of 1.75 lakh litres per day to cater to its various expansion plans.At present, toned milk manufacturers from Chittoor and Nellore dominate the Rs 210 crore urban market of Tamil Nadu for toned milk. In standardised milk (4.5 per cent fat), the company's brand `Arokya' has nearly 50 per cent of the 4.5 lakh lpd market in Tamil Nadu.