Jelapang: Driven by passion and belief in the potential of local dairy products, a former veterinary assistant left a stable government job to carve out his own path in the milk-based food industry.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, R. Ratha Krishnan, 43, decided to take early retirement from the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) five years ago and founded Betalac Dairy House Sdn Bhd, a dairy processing company based in Jelapang, Ipoh. From its humble beginnings of selling only fresh milk, the company now produces a range of products, including yoghurt, flavoured milk, butter, ghee, lassi drinks, and paneer (cottage cheese).
Ratha Krishnan expressed his vision, stating, “I saw great potential in the production of local milk-based products. My family has long been involved in the industry on a small scale, so I took the step to expand and breathe new life into it.” He explained that the company participates in the DVS mentorship programme for entrepreneurs and sources milk from DVS-registered farmers, using around 1,500 litres of fresh milk per week, reaching up to 4,000 litres a month. However, he chose not to disclose Betalac Dairy House’s sales figures or annual revenue, considering the company is still relatively new.
In addition to dairy product manufacturing, Betalac Dairy House has developed an innovative manual compression machine specifically for making paneer more hygienically and efficiently. Known as the Paneer Compactio, the machine is designed to compress and mould blocks of cottage cheese that are firm, neat, and of uniform size.
Ratha Krishnan explained, “Usually, hydraulic machines are used for compression, but they are costly because they’re automated. So we designed this manual machine, which costs only around RM1,800.” The Paneer Compactio, weighing 32 kilogrammes (kg) and made of stainless steel, can be operated by just one person and is capable of producing over 30 kg of paneer a day. The company’s paneer products are certified under the ‘MeSTI’ (Food Safety is the Responsibility of the Industry) scheme and are halal-certified.
According to Ratha Krishnan, who is also Betalac Dairy House chief executive officer, the machine is manufactured in Perak based on the company’s design and specifications, considering the real needs of small and medium players in the dairy and food industries. He added, “The company will also take steps to register this product with the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO).”
The company’s innovation has already paid off, with the Paneer Compactio taking third place in the Industrial Innovation (Product) Award at the DVS Innovation Day held in Putrajaya on July 24. Looking ahead, Ratha Krishnan shared the company’s plans to expand its range of cottage cheese products, which will be officially launched at Agrofest Perak this September.
“For now, our paneer is available in Perak and at Little India in Penang . we’re planning to open our own outlet too. Moving forward, we aim to turn our paneer into a nugget-like food item resembling chicken meat, but vegetarian. We’ve already started research and are working closely with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute and DVS to ensure that vegetarian consumers can use it with confidence,” he added.