Milky way: Beyond Amul vs Nandini, dairy brands that dominate their states

The Amul-Nandini controversy has been making headlines for the past few days but there are several regional dairy players in the country that have firm control on the market in their respective states

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) has been facing backlash in Karnataka from locals as well as politicians from the Opposition. This came after the cooperative that sells dairy products under the brand name "Amul" announced that it would start selling its products in the state.

The main opposition came from the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF). It sells dairy products in Karnataka under the brand name "Nandini". The protests are being held to protect KMF's place in the state's market. The entry of Amul is being seen as an attempt to trample upon KMF.

GCMMF is the largest milk producer in the country. In 2022-23, it recorded a turnover of Rs 72,000 crore.

Nandini, despite being small, is expected to pose a tough challenge to Amul in the state. It had a total revenue of Rs 5,343 in 2020-21. It has fixed its price points lower at Rs 39 per litre as compared to Amul's expected Rs 54 per litre for its "Taaza" milk.

However, Nandini is not the only such regional dairy player in India. There are various co-operatives in different states that continue to dominate the regional markets.

Milma

Founded in 1980, Milma is headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram and is run by Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. As of December 2022, Milma's daily procurement stands at around 1.4 million litres. The total sales volume is 1.53 million litres per day.

In December, it was reported that there has been a 12 per cent rise in the sales of Milma. It also hiked the price of milk by Rs 6 per litre from December 1, 2022. Of the hiked price, 83.75 per cent or more than Rs 5 goes to farmers who are confronting serious issues such as the spiralling price of cattle feed.

Aavin

Founded in 1958, Aavin is sold by Tamil Nadu Co-operative Milk Producers Federation. It is the biggest company in the state. In the last two years, the sale volume of Aavin milk has increased by 10.3 per cent from 2.64 million litres per day (LLPD) to 2.9 million LPD.

Last week, it announced that Aavin milk and its products will soon be sold online in Chennai. Its total revenue was Rs 2,439 in 2021-22.

Vijaya

Founded in 1960, Vijaya is run by Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Cooperative Federation (APDDCF). Its corporate office is based in Hyderabad. APDDCF provides the pickup and minimal support price to the company. It currently has a turnover of Rs 700 crore.

Recently, the state's minister of Animal Husbandry Talasani Srinivas Yadav announced that a mega-dairy plant by Vijaya Dairy will open in the state by August and would be inaugurated in the same month.

Verka

Established in 1973, Verka is a flagship brand of Milkfed, also known as Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation. It is currently headquartered in Chandigarh but its original office was in Amritsar. In 2021-22, Milkfed recorded a turnover of Rs Rs 4,869 crore.

In 1983, the milk plants of the erstwhile Punjab Dairy Development Corporation Limited were handed over to the Cooperative sector under Operation Flood. The company set up a three-tier system: Milk Producers Cooperative Societies at the village level, Milk Unions at the District level and a Federation as an Apex Body at the State level.

Medha

Founded in March 2014 by Jharkhand Milk Federation (JMF), Medha is a precursor to the White Revolution in the state. It currently has three plants in the state in Deoghar, Koderma and Ormanjhi. Its tagline reads, "Taazgi Jharkhand Ki".

Medha was founded after, in March 2014, JMF joined hands with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to extend the development of the dairy development programme in the state.

JMF currently has a turnover of Rs 250 crore.

Sudha

Founded in 1983, Sudha is run by the Bihar State Milk Co-Operative Federation under the ownership of the Ministry of Cooperation, Bihar. Apart from procurement, processing, and marketing of dairy products, it provides education to the unions on efficient dairy processing and assists them with animal care including artificial insemination, vaccination, and feeding.

In 2013, Sudha opened the Nalanda dairy which was eastern India's first fully automated dairy plant. Its total revenue was Rs 1,150 in 2020-21.

Vita

Founded in 1970, Vita is operated by Haryana Dairy Development Cooperative Federation. It is under the ownership of the Ministry of Cooperation, Government of Haryana. In 2016, HDDCF started operating Vita milk booths at Indian Oil Corporation operated petrol pumps.

In 2020, Vita products were also made available for sales online including on Swiggy. In 2021-22, it recorded a turnover of Rs 1,505 crore.

Saras

Founded in 1977, Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation (RCDF) sells milk products under the name "Saras". It sells products like flavoured milk, ghee and dahi in Rajasthan as well as neighbouring states like Haryana.

Its current turnover is around Rs 915 crore.

Sanchi

Founded in 1980, Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Dairy Federation sells milk products under the brand name "Sanchi". Its headquarters are located in Bhopal. The company main activities are support to milk unions in implementation of cooperative dairy programme so that the interests of milk producers and consumers may be safeguarded.

As of 2020, its revenue stood at Rs 1,884 crore.