Amul which is dairy product manufacturing company has been in the news primarily because they launched dozens of products in the last few months. The brand’s immunity and hygiene range are the most notable among them, which includes Haldi ice cream, tulsi doodh, camel milk powder, packaged Panchamrit, and even immunity-boosting chocolate. Amul has been actively riding the immunity wave, from consumption of loosely sold dairy products to packaged dairy brands is the longer-term shift that Amul was looking at. It is the scale of opportunity that sets Amul apart from other rival companies.
Senior general manager of planning and marketing from GCMMF, Jayen Mehta terms this as ‘low-hanging fruit’. He commented that the trend of eating immunity, safe, and healthy guaranteed food is not just about eating products with ‘immunity branding’. According to him, it is a tectonic shift in the attitude of the buyers towards natural, pure, and healthy food which are available at an affordable price according to the customers. They think it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for a brand like them. The trend of consumers shifting from unorganized/loosely sold dairy products towards organized brands since it promises hygiene and good quality but this affects diary-based products like milk, paneer, ghee, mithai, curd, and buttermilk. About 50-55 liters of milk is daily produced by India. About a third of the total production is retained by farmers-producers themselves, 10 crore liters go to organized players from the rest which flow into the market.
India’s branded dairy market is valued at Rs 2 lakh crore from this Amul alone commands around 25% of the branded market. According to Mehta Rs 4 Lakh crore to Rs 5 Lakh crore. The opportunity for organized players could be worth well over Rs 40,000 crore even with a 10% conversion. Half of the newfound market worth Rs 20000 crore presents an opportunity for Amul since it has its high reputation, strong national presence, and consumer trust according to Mehta. Mehta pointed out that the demand for packaged dairy is appearing from all markets – urban and rural. To make the most of the surge in demand over the last several months of the COVID pandemic Amul is trying to get its act together quickly. Amul is available across the country and is affordable. The company meets all the criteria of the customers.
