No Price Hike: Mother Dairy Clarifies After Lassi Buyer Mistakes Plant Code As Revised MRP

Mother Dairy on Thursday denied the allegation that the price of its 180ml Lassi pack has been raised without prior intimation. The dairy brand clarified that the price remains unchanged at Rs 20.

This came after an X user, identified as Kamlesh Singh, mistook the plant code of '35' printed on the lassi pack as its new price. In his now-deleted post on the social media platform, Singh said that the price was hiked "overnight".

"In a masterstroke, Mother Dairy has raised the tariff on its lassi by a whopping 75%. Taking the price of this tiny pack from Rs 20 to Rs 35 overnight,” he had posted.

Hours later, Mother Dairy replied to the post, noting that a 180 ml pack of its Sweet Lassi continues to be priced at Rs 20. The company said that the number "35" on the pack indicates the plant code, not the price, referring to the code which appeared next to 'MRP', making it seem like the price of the product. Apologising for the confusion, the company requested the user's contact to resolve the matter.

"Dear Mr Singh, the price of Mother Dairy Tetra Lassi is Rs 20/- for a 180 ml pack. The code starting with 35 refers to the plant code followed by the batch code. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused. Request to share your contact details by DM for our team to reach out to you. Regards. Consumer Services Team, Mother Dairy," it said.

The X user then said that the local shopkeeper may have overcharged by taking advantage of the packaging confusion.

"Well, then, the neighbourhood shopkeeper has been fooling people. He will get some tariff in return today. Meanwhile, I withdraw this because your word is official," Singh replied.

The last price hike was announced by Mother Dairy on April 30 for its milk packets. It had raised the milk prices by up to Rs 2 per litre, citing increased input costs. 

An official had then stated that procurement expenses have climbed by Rs 4-5 per litre in recent months, driven by an early summer and ongoing heatwave conditions. This prompted the company to adjust retail prices.