How Muthu Murugappan is building EID Parry's next growth engine with jaggery

For generations, sugar has been at the heart of Indian food culture. But as consumers increasingly look for natural, minimally processed alternatives, jaggery is emerging as a category with significant growth potential. 

The global jaggery market was valued at an estimated $5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting rising demand for natural sweeteners.  EID Parry (India), which brings more than two centuries of experience in the sugar business, sees this as an opportunity to build a new growth engine through packaged jaggery. 

However, the company's ambition goes beyond launching another product. 

In a conversation with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO, YourStory and The Bharat Project, at EID Parry’s Pugalur sugar mill and jaggery factory, CEO Muthu Murugappan spoke about how technology, farmer partnerships, sustainable manufacturing, and community initiatives are helping transform a traditional product into a scalable business.

Jaggery as a modern sweetener

Muthu believes jaggery is at an inflection point. While branded products account for only 6-8% of India’s Rs 50,000-60,000 crore jaggery market, he sees significant room to build trust through quality, consistency, and food safety. 

To understand the category better, EID Parry spent years studying traditional jaggery production methods, visiting numerous cottage manufacturing units across the country. While consumer acceptance of jaggery was already strong, the company found that manufacturing processes often lacked standardisation, hygiene, and food safety practices. Those learnings became the foundation for its production model. 

Further, jaggery is well positioned to benefit from growing consumer interest in healthier lifestyles. Rich in minerals such as iron, magnesium and calcium, requiring lower energy during production, and carrying a smaller carbon footprint than many conventional sweeteners, he describes jaggery as “The millet of sweeteners”, a product rooted in tradition but increasingly relevant to modern consumers.

He also believes greater participation from organised players will help expand the category rather than intensify competition. 

“Maybe this will inspire more folks to come in, and I think we'll welcome that. It'll only grow the category. I think our vision for the future is that as an industry, not just Parrys, we can really serve a much larger global market.”

Building on a 237-year legacy 

Muthu, a fifth-generation family member, sees EID Parry's 237-year history not as an inheritance but as a responsibility to keep reinventing the business.

The Murugappa Group, now in its 126th year, acquired EID Parry in 1981 as part of its diversification into agriculture. Today, the company operates across sugar and biofuels while steadily expanding its packaged consumer goods portfolio. 

Over the years, that has involved difficult strategic choices, including exiting its confectionery business 25 years ago to focus on larger opportunities across agriculture, food, and wellness.

Rather than entering unrelated sectors, the company continues to expand into businesses that build on its existing farmer relationships, agricultural expertise, and manufacturing capabilities. Ethanol, biofuels, and packaged jaggery have all emerged from the same ecosystem, creating new avenues for growth while strengthening rural livelihoods.

A circular approach to manufacturing

EID Parry’s jaggery business is built around a circular manufacturing economy. Drawing on decades of experience in sugar production, the company developed its automated jaggery facility in-house with engineering partners. 

By-products are reused across the value chain instead of being discarded. Waste from sugar production becomes fuel for manufacturing, molasses is converted into ethanol, residue from ethanol production is reused as boiler fuel. 

This integrated approach reduces waste, improves resource efficiency, and lowers the overall carbon footprint across multiple business lines. 

Although jaggery has been produced in India for centuries, manufacturing has traditionally been fragmented, with small-scale units and inconsistent quality and hygiene standards. 

Muthu said years of studying traditional production methods helped the company build what it describes as India's first large-scale automated jaggery manufacturing facility.

“We didn't want any human touch. Hygiene is lacking in the traditional rudimentary process, and that's what we wanted to solve. So we've designed the process accordingly,” he explained. 

He said automation improves precision, reduces contamination risks, and delivers greater consistency while preserving the taste and nutritional qualities associated with jaggery. 

Supporting farmers beyond the factory

For EID Parry, strengthening agriculture starts well before sugarcane reaches its factories. 

The company has invested in digital tools and technology to help farmers improve productivity, profitability, and climate resilience. Its AI-powered precision farming initiative enables farmers to monitor crop health, optimise irrigation, and make more informed decisions throughout the crop cycle. 

Satellite imagery, predictive analytics, and digital advisory services are helping improve yields while reducing resource consumption.

The company has also expanded its focus on water stewardship through Project Nanneer, a watershed development initiative that has helped improve groundwater recharge, strengthen irrigation infrastructure, and conserve up to seven billion litres of water. 

According to Muthu, these efforts support not only sugarcane cultivation but also the wider communities that depend on these water resources. 

“I think these ponds and water bodies and kanmai (irrigation tank or water reserve) anchor communities around a shared belief, a shared resource, which is very strong,” he said. 

As healthier food choices gain traction worldwide, Indian jaggery can evolve from a traditional domestic staple into a recognised global category. 

For now, EID Parry is focused on expanding its packaged jaggery business across general trade in southern India, while gradually strengthening its presence in organised retail across the country. 

Its larger ambition, however, is to shape how jaggery is produced, consumed, and perceived in the years ahead. “We're really excited about the responsibility that we have to shape the future of the sweetener,” he said.