From breakfast biscuits in city metros to fruit-pulp drinks travelling thousands of kilometres by rail, India’s food-and-beverage ecosystem feeds more than a billion people each day and anchors a wide swath of rural livelihoods. Rising disposable incomes, a young demographic, and the rapid expansion of cold-chain logistics are fuelling steady double-digit growth in packaged foods and non-alcoholic beverages, while export-oriented processors are carving out new shelf space across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Against this backdrop of opportunity, energy remains a stubborn cost driver. Pasteurizers, CIP cycles and large refrigeration loads drive up steam, hot-water and electricity consumption, turning energy into a significant cost.