The Nandini brand ghee produced by the state-run Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) will now be available in the United States, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah flagged off a consignment of the ghee heading to these countries on Tuesday.
According to a note issued from the chief minister’s office, there was demand for around eight metric tonnes of ghee from Saudi Arabia, five tonnes from the US, and one tonne from Australia. This is for the first time that Nandini ghee will be exported to these countries.
The note said KMF had already been targeting markets in neighbouring countries with large Indian diaspora, especially Kannadiga populations—such as the UAE, Qatar, Brunei, the Maldives, and Singapore, by exporting Nandini Tetra Pak milk, ghee, cheese, dairy whitener, butter, ice cream, flavoured milk, sweets, and savouries. “Steps are being taken to further develop the global market for Nandini milk and milk products,” it said.
In September 2023, the KMF launched its first international Nandini Café Moo in Dubai, UAE, through franchisees and expanded the exports and sales of its products. Subsequently, at the NAVIKA World Kannada Conference 2025 held in Lakeland, Florida, US, in August this year, the KMF managing director unveiled newly designed packs of Nandini ghee and sweets. During the event, it was announced that Nandini products would henceforth be available in America as well. “Starting from September 2025, merchant exporters will export Karnataka’s pride products—Nandini peda, Mysore pak, burfi, and savouries—to the USA,” a note issued then said.