Amul

Amul

Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited), formed in 1946, is a dairy cooperative movement in India. It is a brand name managed by an apex cooperative organisation, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), which today is jointly owned by some 2.6 million milk producers in Gujarat, India

AMUL is based in Anand, Gujarat and has been a sterling example of a co-operative organization's success in the long term. It is one of the best examples of co-operative achievement in the developing world. "Anyone who has seen ... the dairy cooperatives in the state of Gujarat, especially the highly successful one known as AMUL, will naturally wonder what combination of influences and incentives is needed to multiply such a model a thousand times over in developing regions everywhere." The Amul Pattern has established itself as a uniquely appropriate model for rural development. Amul has spurred the White Revolution of India, which has made India the largest producer of milk and milk products in the world^]. It is also the world's biggest vegetarian cheese brand ^[3].

Amul is the largest food brand in India and world's Largest Pouched Milk Brand with an annual turnover of US $1050 million (2006-07) ^[4]. Currently Amul has 2.6 million producer members with milk collection average of 10.16 million litres per day. Besides India, Amul has entered overseas markets such as Mauritius, UAE, USA, Bangladesh, Australia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and a few South African countries. Its bid to enter Japanese market in 1994 had not succeeded, but now it has fresh plans of flooding the Japanese markets. Other potential markets being considered include Sri Lanka.

Dr Verghese Kurien, former chairman of the GCMMF, is recognised as the man behind the success of Amul. On 10 Aug 2006 Parthi Bhatol, chairman of the Banaskantha Union, was elected chairman of GCMMF.

History

Amul was formally registered on December 14, 1946. The brand name Amul, sourced from the Sanskrit word Amoolya, means priceless. It was suggested by a quality control expert in Anand and it was chosen because it was a perfect acronym for Anand Milk Union Limited.

The Amul revolution was started as awareness among the farmers. It grew and matured into a protest movement that was channeled towards economic prosperity

Situation of farmers

Over five decades ago, the life of an average farmer in Kheda District was very much like that of his/her counterpart anywhere else in India. His/her income was derived almost entirely from seasonal crops. The income from milk buffaloes was undependable. Milk producers had to travel long distances to deliver milk to the only dairy, the Polson Dairy in Anand – often milk went sour, especially in the summer season, as producers had to physically carry milk in individual containers. Private traders and middlemen controlled the marketing and distribution system for the milk. These middlemen decided the prices and the off-take from the farmers by the season. As milk is perishable, farmers were compelled to sell it for whatever they were offered. Often, they had to sell cream and ghee at throw-away prices. In this situation, the private trader made a killing. Moreover, the government at that time had given monopoly rights to Polson Dairy (around that time Polson was the most well known butter brand in the country) to collect milk from Anand and supply to Mumbai city in turn (about 400 kilometers away). Another problem farmers faced was that in winter the milk output of buffaloes doubled which caused prices to fall down even further. India ranked nowhere amongst milk producing countries in the world in 1946. Gradually, the realization dawned on the farmers with inspiration from then nationalist leaders Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (who later became the first Home Minister of free India) and Morarji Desai (who later become the Prime Minister of India) and local farmer, freedom fighter and social worker Tribhovandas Patel, that the exploitation by the trader could be checked only if they marketed their milk themselves. Amul was the result of the realization that they could pool up their milk and work as a cooperative.

Setting up of Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union

The Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Limited (KDCMPUL) began pasteurizing milk for the Bombay Milk Scheme in June 1948. By the end of 1948, more than 400 farmers joined in more Village Society, and the quantity of milk handled by one Union increased from 250 to 5,000 liters a day. Meanwhile, Dr. Verghese Kurien, fed up being at the government creamery in Anand, Gujarat, which held no challenge, volunteered to help Shri Tribhovandas Patel, the Chairman of KDCMPUL, in setting up a processing plant. This marked the birth of AMUL in 1946. The success of Amul was instrumental in launching the White Revolution that resulted in increased milk production in India^{[citation needed]}. It is officially termed as Operation Flood by Amul. The breakthrough technology of spray-drying and processing buffalo milk, developed by Mr. H.M. Dalaya, was one of the key factors that contributed to the Revolution.

Setting Up of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation

In 1954, Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union built a plant to convert surplus milk produced in the cold seasons into milk powder and butter. In 1958, a plant to manufacture cheese and one to produce baby food were added. Subsequent years saw the addition of more plants to produce different products. In 1973, the milk societies/district level unions decided to set up a marketing agency to market their products. This agency was the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF). It was registered as a co-operative society on 9 July 1973.

GCMMF Today

GCMMF is India's largest food products marketing organisation.. It is a state level apex body of milk cooperatives in Gujarat, which aims to provide remunerative returns to the farmers and also serve the interest of consumers by providing quality products, which are good value for money. GCMMF markets and manages the Amul brand. From mid-1990's Amul has entered areas not related directly to its core business. Its entry into ice cream was regarded as successful due to the large market share it was able to capture within a short period of time - primarily due to the price differential and the brand name. It also entered the Pizza business, where the base and the recipes were made available to restaurant owners who could price it as low as 30 rupees per pizza when the other players were charging upwards of 100 rupees.

In September 2007, Amul emerged as the leading Indian brand according to a survey by Synovate to find out Asia's top 1000 Brands.