Amul to milk more

12 co-ops sign up, milk turnover to double.

Amul will soon be the sole brand of liquid milk produced by Gujarat's co-operative sector. Dairy unions today unanimously approved the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation's (GCMMF) proposal to bring all 12 district co-operative milk unions under the Amul brand.

The GCMMF has also chalked out a plan to bring all dairy products under one brand in phases. The announcement of the consolidation comes at a time when private players are planning to enter the milk space.

"All members present today have decided to come under the brand of Amul for milk. By mid-October, all the unions will rebrand their milk as Amul," said Parthi Bhatol, chairman of the GCMMF.

With this, Amul's turnover from milk will double to Rs 2,000 crore from Rs 1,000 crore. Also, local brands, which account for 50 per cent of milk sales in Gujarat, will sport the Amul label on their packs. "Under one umbrella, the market size of milk will be Rs 2,000 crore," said BM Vyas, managing director of the GCMMF.

Executives of GCMMF said the brand would help the group increase its market share. "We expect to garner a 10-15 per cent rise in the market with brand Amul in place," said Bhatol.

At present, co-operatives sell milk using local brand names. For instance, the milk brand is called Sugam in Vadodara, Sumul in Surat, Uttam in Ahmedabad, Vasudhara in Valsad, Gopala in Rajkot, and Panchamrut in Panchmahals. The Rs 3,700-crore GCMMF markets different dairy products under the Amul and Sagar brands.

The co-operatives agreed to pass a resolution in their respective unions for adopting the Amul brand. In fact, Vasudhara Dairy has already passed a resolution and switched its brand.

"Apart from liquid milk, most major products of the GCMMF are already being sold under the Amul brand. However, there are a few other products with strong brand names and a considerable market size. We plan to bring all under one umbrella in phases," GCMMF officials said.

Bhatol ruled out the possibility of any union entering into a pact with private players. There has been speculation over Mehsana Dairy tying up with Reliance's retail venture.