AMUL'S AMERICAN DREAM

India's largest dairy brand, Amul, now produces in the U.S. Can it make a dent in a market where milk consumption is shrinking 2-3% every year?

- AJITA SHASHIDHAR

THE ‘UTTERLY BUTTERLY DELICIOUS’ girl is all set to delight American consumers. At a time when dairy majors across the world are shying away from selling liquid milk and doubling down on value-added products (probiotic, whey and dairy based nutritional products), 78-year-old Amul continues to garner over 50% of its revenue selling generic milk in India.

“If I were to compare states where we sell milk and states where we only sell value-added products, the difference in sales is 2x. Brand traction goes up multiple times when people consume milk,” explains Jayen Mehta, MD, Amul. The `80,000 crore dairy brand plans to do in the U.S. exactly what it does best in India sell liquid milk. “Cheese, butter, paneer and lassi generate higher margins but volume growth comes only from milk. In the next six months, brand Amul would be available in stores across the east coast, midwest and southern parts of the country,” adds Mehta.

Amul has partnered with the 108-year-old dairy cooperative, Michigan Milk Producers Association, from where it will source milk, and sell to the close to 5 million strong Indian diaspora through Indian stores such as Patel Brothers, Cherians and Shalimar.

“The opportunity for Indian brands starts with the Indian diaspora which provides a reasonable addressable market,” says Rishav Jain, MD, Alvarez and Marsal.