The Story of Amul
In the early 1940s, private traders were exploiting farmers
in India. This became more evident when dairy farmers in the Anand area of
Gujarat had to sell milk on a contract basis which included middlemen and fixed
(unfair) charges were levied. Polson dairy was the only dairy at that time in
Gujarat, farmers of the Kaira district had to supply their milk to them. Polson Limited made an agreement with the Government of Bombay for supplying milk and kept a good margin for this. This again led to an increase in the
agitation of dairy farmers. Now opening a cooperative society was the only
solution left.
A cooperative society is a voluntary association of
people who join their hands for the achievement of common economic interest,
every member of society has an equal voting right regardless of their share in
it. This will make sure that even very poor farmers will have equal say in
society. Sardar Patel (then PM of India) gave his advice that farmers should
market their product through a cooperative society of their own. With the
guidance of Sardar Patel, Tribhuvandas Patel successfully established a
cooperative society that helped farmers against unfair trade practices. In the year 1946, Kaira District Cooperative
Milk producers limited (later renamed as AMUL-Anand Milk Union Limited) was
registered. They started expanding their reach to different parts of the
country and became the “Taste of India”.
Role of Verghese Kurien
Verghese Kurien, a young manager at cooperative
society gave the idea of "operation flood" which led to the white
revolution in India and made dairy farming India’s self-sustaining
industry. With this India was
transformed into the world’s largest milk producer. Kurien was given the title
"Milkman Of India" and "Father of White Revolution" as he
created milk powder using buffalo milk when the world was still using cow milk.
Since the white revolution began in India, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) a marketing body was set up for marketing the products.
Kaira union which had the brand name AMUL transferred the name to GCMMF in
1973.
Amul’s Product Portfolio:
AMUL expanded its area of operation to various
products. Some of its product portfolios include:
· Chocolate
· Baby food
· Variety of Milk
Amul’s
Promotion Strategy
Innovative advertisement campaign undertaken by AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) includes how they made a baby girl as their mascot and did
not undertake any celebrity campaigns. In its longest-running campaign cartoon
figures have been used by the brand. Amul dedicates a new doodle every time
there is something special happening around. With this they never get out of the
reach of their consumers.
“Amul Doodh Peeta Hai India” is a catchy line used by the brand through which they grab the attention of people (even you all must have come across this song on television). The brand makes sure to give more focus to its parent brand while promoting. This helps them gain brand visibility (branded house architecture).
During lockdown when every other
company was going virtual and viewers had requested in large number to
re-telecast many blockbuster serials like Ramayana and Mahabharat, using retro
advertisement of Amul for sponsoring Ramayana and Mahabharat helped the brand
reach masses.
Amul has had a long journey of 75 years. Step by Step
starting from a small district in Gujarat now it covers the major dairy market pan India and exports its products to other countries as well.
Written by Divya Rudhra (Guest Contributor)
References
- https://www.nddb.coop/about/genesis/flood
- http://awordtotheworld.com/the-amul-story-of-a-leading-dairy-co-operative
- https://www.business-standard.com/content/general_pdf/091012_01.pdf
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