Amul’s Inflection Point

Dear Reader,

Verghese Kurien and the Operation Flood mission that he led, are milestones in India’s economic history. Operation Flood replicated the Anand Pattern of cooperative dairy farming across the country, turning a nation deficit in milk in the 1950s and 1960s, to the world’s largest milk producer. The Anand Pattern spearheaded a White Revolution and the ‘Amul’ brand soon became a household name. But where does Amul go from here? Our team travelled to the Milk Capital of India, Anand – home to the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) or Amul – for a special report.

With a group turnover of Rs 72,000 crore in FY2023, Amul now eyes a revenue of Rs 1,00,000 lakh crore by 2025. Jayen Mehta, Amul’s new managing director, sits down with Arjun Yadav and explains why the target is not daunting at all. With the dairy sector swiftly turning more organised and consumers becoming more health-conscious by the day, the dairy industry could only grow, says Mehta. “Even if five per cent of Indians shift to packaged and branded milk, India can add one more Amul every year into the Indian market,” he tells us. Meanwhile, Ashish Sinha delves into the dynamics of India’s large milk economy and the government’s thrust on milk production for a second White Revolution. Mehta is confident that the era of cooperatives is back, inspired by Amul’s success. He anticipates that nearly a lakh new dairy cooperatives will emerge soon.

But Mehta is not perturbed, but smiling, for the humungous cooperative he heads is at an inflection point. Amul is turning into an all-foods company, as has been evident in its vast array of new product launches in the non-dairy segment over the last three years. Mehta seems sanguine that the Amul brand will soon reflect in every item in the kitchens of Indian consumers. Incidentally, the company’s big FMCG makeover pits it against multinational giants like ITC, Nestle and Britannia. We look at Amul’s past attempts to diversify beyond dairy and value-added dairy products and how they failed to create a dent in the market. Will it be different this time? We will have to watch this space.

We also talk to Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy R.K. Singh, to take stock of how India prepares to address the rising demand for power – which Singh emphasises – was the surest indicator of a growing economy. With the Indian meteorological department predicting a hot and oppressive summer, we also talk to the country’s biggest air conditioner manufacturers. Kanwal Jeet Jawa of Daikin, Manish Sharma of Panasonic Life Solutions India and others share with us their plans to address consumer demand and their marketing playbook. Do read all our other exciting features and columns that you look forward to.

Happy Reading!