Witnessing a growth of 18.5 percent, Amul currently stands as India’s largest FMCG brand. This success has been achieved under the guidance of managing director Jayen Mehta, who, in an interview with CNBC TV-18 speaks about a few targets and areas of priorities that the brand aims to meet.
“We close the year at a growth of 18.5 percent with a turnover of Rs 55,055 crore for the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), and a brand turnover of Rs 72,000 crores,” says Jayen Mehta.
The managing director states that their plan for the current financial year is to achieve a turnover of Rs 66,000 crore for GCMMF, a growth of 20 percent on-year. This number is expected to cross Rs 85,000 crore next year.
Jayen Mehta mentions that the brand is also foraying into a new space of high-protein products such as high-protein lassi and buttermilk, where the brand has a large advantage. India currently imports over Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 crore worth of whey protein (raw material for protein), and being the largest manufacturer of cheese and paneer in the country, GCMMF has about 25 to 30 lakh litres of cheese whey at its disposal, he adds.
The brand aims to expand the production of protein-high products beyond lassi and buttermilk and add high protein yogurt, shakes, milk, chocolates, cookies, ice-cream and many others to the list.
Another category that Amul is aiming to enter is Organics, says Mehta. As of now, the company has 8 to 10 products in this category like organic atta, pulses, rice, sugar, spices, tea and many others across six to eight states. “Every item that you consume in your kitchen will be available in organic format,” he adds.
Along with the growth, Amul has also managed to find a balance between production and capitalisation on the same. Amul has increased the prices of their flagship brand ‘Amul Taza Toned Milk’ about six times, which is Rs 12, amounting to an average of 6.5 percent, says Mehta. “This amount is lower than the average inflation rate in the country,” he says. He feels that there are certain input costs that fail to get factored into the overall inflationary trends of the country.