The Legend of Indian milk industry: AMUL

 

HISTORY 

Anand Milk Union Limited or AMUL India is an Indian cooperative dairy company, formed in 1948. Based at Anand, Gujarat, it is managed by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF). Amul impelled India’s White Revolution, which made the country the world’s largest producer of milk and dairy products. 

AMUL was spearheaded by Tribhuvandas Patel under the guidance of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Rankled by the unreasonable exchange prices, the farmers of Kaira approached Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel under the leadership of local farmer leader Tribhuvandas K. Patel. He advised them to form a Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union and supply milk directly to the Bombay instead of Polson.  He sent Morarji Desai to organize the farmers. In 1946, the milk farmers of the area went on a strike which led to the setting up of the cooperative to collect and process milk. 


By June 1948, the Kaira District Co-Operative Milk Producers Union Ltd had started pasteurizing milk for the ‘Bombay Milk Scheme’. In 1973, Amul celebrated its 25th Anniversary under the leadership of Tribhuvandas Patel, Morarji Desai, Maniben Patel, and Verghese Kurien(Father of indian White revolution, The Milkman of India). Isn’t it great?

Kurien, founder-chairman of the GCMMF for more than 30 years (1973–2006), is credited with the success of Amul's marketing. 

Later, Dr. Verghese Kurien managed the cooperative with H.M. Dalaya. Dalaya's innovation of making skim milk powder from buffalo milk (for the first time in the world) and a little later, with Kurien's help, making it on a commercial scale, led to the first modern dairy of the cooperative at Anand.

The trio's (T. K. Patel, Kurien and Dalaya's) success at the cooperative's dairy soon spread to Anand's neighbourhood in Gujarat. Within a short span, five unions in other districts – Mehsana, Banaskantha, Baroda, Sabarkantha and Surat – were set up. 

GSMMF is India’s largest food product marketing organization with annual turnover (2019-20) US$51 Billion. Its daily milk procurement is approx 23 million lit per day from 18600 village milk cooperative societies, 18 member unions covering 33 districts, and 3.6 million milk producer members.  

AMUL was awarded as the “Best of all” Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award. Technological improvements at AMUL have spread to different parts of India.. Over the last five and a half decades, dairy cooperatives in Gujarat have created an economic network that links more than 31 lakh (3.1 million) village milk products with crores of consumers in India. 

ADVERTISING 

In 1966, Amul hired Sylvester da Cunha, the managing director of the advertising agency as to design an ad campaign for Amul Butter. DaCunha designed a campaign as series of hoardings with topical ads, relating to day-to-day issues. It was popular and earned a Guinness World Record for the longest running ad campaign in the world. In the 1980s, cartoon artist Kumar Morey and script writer Bharat Dabholkar had been involved with sketching the Amul ads; the latter rejected the trend of using celebrities in advertisement campaigns. Dabholkar credited Chairman Verghese Kurien with creating a free atmosphere that fostered the development of the ads. 

It encounters several political pressure, including commenting on the Naxalite uprising in West Bengal, the Indian Airlines employees strike, and depicting the Amul girl wearing a Gandhi cap. 

When the Supreme Court overruled the judgment of Delhi High Court and criminalized the homosexuality again, Amul tweeted a picture featuring the Amul butter girl, implying that ‘freedom of choice’ died in ‘2013. 

Their Ad on ‘Aagey Badhta Hai India’ had an excellent response from the audience. It basically spoke about how their Milk is seen as a household product with catchy tune associated to it. It has over 39 lakh (~4 million) views on YouTube. 

THE AMUL MODEL 

The Amul Model of dairy development is a three-tiered structure with the dairy cooperative societies at the village level federated under a milk union at the district level and a federation of member unions at state level

-        Establishment of direct linkage between milk producers and consumers by eliminating middleman.

-        Milk Producers (farmers) control procurement, processing and marketing

-        Professional management 

The Amul model has helped India to emerge as the largest milk producer in the world. More than 16 million milk producers pour their milk in 185903 dairy cooperative societies across the country.

Their milk is processed in 222 District Co-operative Milk Unions and marketed by 28 State Marketing Federations, ensuring a better life for millions.  

PRODUCTS 

GSMMF is the apex organisation of the dairy cooperatives of Gujarat. It is the exclusive marketing organisation for products under the brand name of AMUL and SAGAR.

Its product range comprises milk, milk powder, health beverages, ghee, butter, cheese, pizza cheese, paneer, ice-cream, chocolates & traditional Indian Sweets, etc.  

The Amul brand is not only a product but also a movement. It is in one way, the representation of the economic freedom of farmers. It has given farmers the courage to dream. To hope. To Live.