Efficient service delivery The secret sauce for India’s food processing industry

By Ajith Dharan, Head of Business – Grains & Food, South Asia, Bühler India

A sector on the rise

India’s food grain production has reached record levels, with estimates for 2024-25 hitting a remarkable 353 million metric tonnes. This agricultural milestone is fuelling a surge in the country’s food processing sector, which is experiencing robust growth like never before.According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India’s food processing industry is growing at a pace that’s hard to ignore. It reached a market size of over $336 billion in 2023 and is projected to more than double by 2032. That’s not just impressive growth, it’s a signal of the sector’s importance to India’s economic future.

This growth isn’t happening in isolation. It reflects broader changes such as rising urbanisation, changing eating habits, greater demand for convenience, and a policy environment that is more supportive than ever. Government programs like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana are two key government initiatives designed to boost the food processing sector in India. 

What’s often missing from the discussion, though, is the quiet engine behind this transformation: the service ecosystem. Without digital diagnostics, skilled technicians, well-timed maintenance and reliable supply of spare parts, even the best processing lines can fall short. And in today’s competitive market, where uptime, efficiency, and product consistency are critical for a business to be profitable in the long run, service isn’t just support - it’s strategy for profitable growth.

Challenges still holding back potential

Despite its potential, the food processing sector in India faces several challenges.

Starting with infrastructure,post-harvest losses in India are estimated to be around Rs 90,000 crore every year, according to NITI Aayog. That’s an enormous number, and much of it is due to inadequate cold storage, transportation lines, and fragmented supply chains.

Technology access is another big hurdle. Smaller processors, especially in rural areas, struggle to invest in automation or modern equipment. They are often caught in a cycle of doing more with less, which limits growth and keeps margins tight.

There’s also the issue of skills. The National Skill Development Corporation estimates that nearly 18 million people needed to be trained in food processing by 2032. While some progress has been made, the gap remains wide. Without trained operators and technicians, it’s hard to scale quality output or ensure safety compliance.

And then there’s exports. India’s processed food products account for just 16% of our total agri-exports. Compare that to China’s 49% or the US at 25%, and it’s clear we have ground to cover.

These challenges may seem separate, but they all connect to one thing: the need for a stronger, more responsive service system across the industry.

Why service matters more than ever

Food processors are no longer looking for a supplier who shows up when there is machinebreakdown. They want a partner who helps prevent such incidents, who trains their people, who suggests ways to improve efficiency, and who can help them adapt to new market demands.

For larger players, this means scaling digital servicing tools and real-time analytics. For smaller and mid-sized firms, it means having someone to rely on for quick fixes, training, and system upgrades. Either way, the service relationship has moved closer to the heart of the business.

This is where companies like Bühler come in.

Bühler’s approach to service in india

At Bühler, service is central to everything we do. We have established a countrywide infrastructure purpose-built to keep our customers’ plants running at peak efficiency. Our manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, supported by nationwide service and sales teams, enables us to offer shorter lead times and greater convenience for our customers.

We support our customers through over 200 highly mobile service engineers and more than 20 Bühler-authorized partners with sales and service capabilities, ensuring help is always nearby. With local spare parts inventories and a 24x7 Customer Operations Centre (“COPC” hub), we deliver rapid, comprehensive service - from routine health checks and remote diagnostics to predictive maintenance and performance-boosting retrofits - wherever and whenever needed.

People development is at the core of our business model. The challenge of a skilled workforce shortage is met by the Bühler Academy, which offers world-class skill training combining practical on-the-job and theoretical education, producing industry-ready professionals. This initiative also focuses on opportunities for rural and economically weaker individuals, using Swiss methodologies for certification and learning.

The Application and Training Center at Bühler India’s facility in Bengaluru runs operator training courses in grain milling, rice milling, SORTEX optical sorting, plant automation, energy efficiency and food safety. Customers can walk in, run their own raw material on the state-of-the-art processing lines and leave with an optimised recipe as well as training for their team. For specialized applications where local facilities are unavailable, we leverage Bühler’s network of 26 global Application and Training Centers. This ensures that Indian processors can benefit from hands-on trials before making any investment. For example, we facilitate chocolate application trials in Switzerland and waferstrials in Denmark, providing our customers with world-class expertise and practical experience. 

Finally, we have woven digitalisation into everyday support. The MyBühler portal gives each customer a live parts catalogue, ordering, quote request and order tracking dashboard. Bühler?Insights and ProPlant, our cloud IIoT platforms, stream machine data to predictive algorithms that flag wear, benchmark multi-site performance and quantify energy savings in real time. In short, whether it is boots on the ground, skills on the shop floor, or bytes in the cloud, our service ecosystem is designed to keep Indian processors reliable, profitable and ready for what’s next.

Real business impact

Service may not always grab headlines, but its impact is clear.

In rice mills, predictive servicing has helped reduce broken grain %, directly improving profit margins. In feed plants, energy audits and machine retrofits have reduced power consumption. In flour mills, process improvements based on our regular service audits have helped meet increasingly stringent quality standards, both domestic and international.

These are not one-off results. They are outcomes of long-term partnerships built on trust, transparency, and a shared goal of operational excellence.

What lies ahead

The outlook for food processing in India is highly promising. Urban demand for ready-to-eat foods is increasing steadily, while the organic food sector is expanding rapidly. Exports of India’s ethnic foods are also on the rise, with the government targeting a $10 billion increase in food processing exports within this year.

But to capture these opportunities, millers and processors need to run smarter, faster, and cleaner. That means having service partners who can help them move from reactive to predictive, from product focus to process optimisation, from day-to-day fixes to long-term improvement.

At Bühler, we see our role not just as a supplier of equipment but as a partner in progress. Whether it’s through skilling, digitisation, retrofitting, or quick-response support, we are committed to helping our customers build sustainable, resilient businesses.

Because in the end, the success of India’s food processing industry won’t be measured only by how much it produces. It will be defined by how well it performs — consistently, efficiently, and responsibly. And that is where a strong service ecosystem can make all the difference.