AMUL'S FMCG MAKEOVER

Eyes firmly fixed on a Rs 1 lakh crore turnover by 2025, Amul is seeking to capture a larger share in India’s growing organised dairy sector while making the non-dairy food segment its significant growth driver

- ARJUN YADAV

EVERY morning hundreds of dairy farmers line up outside the collection centre of the Shekhadi Milk Cooperative Society in Shekhadi Village, Gujarat bringing nearly 7,000 litres of milk. A few hours later, the milk is loaded in a tanker and ferried to a dairy plant in nearby Anand, the eponymous district headquarters popularly known as the milk capital of India. Anand is home to the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), India’s largest food product marketing organisation that is synonymous with the Amul brand.

As one enters Anand, the Amul branding over shops, the numerous parlours and retail outlets give you a sense of the economy the dairy giant has created in that small district, albeit with a touch of simplicity. The minimal aesthetics on the outside and inside of the GCMMF headquarters makes you wonder whether it is really one of the most valuable dairy processors in the world. The simplicity stems from the philosophy and thoughts of Varghese Kurien, which makes the federation always conscious about how the farmers’ money is spent.

Within walking distance from the GCMMF headquarters is Amul Dairy, where the milk from hundreds of villages like Shekhadi is processed. This dairy processes 30 lakh litres of milk daily, forming a significant chunk of the three crore litres of milk that Amul handles every day.

Organised Dairy Sector To Grow

Milk production in India has been growing at around 5-6 per cent. As per the latest provisional data from the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), milk production in the country stood at 221.06 million metric tonnes in FY22 which translates to roughly 58-60 crore litres per day.