While Punjab’s homegrown Verka is now trying to expand its footprint in Delhi, Gujarat-based Amul is making inroads into Punjab like never before.
The ‘utterly butterly delicious’ Amul girl, always seen in her red polka dot frock and a matching ribbon in her hair, now also wears Punjabi attire salwar-kameez. The Amul mascot, with her folded hands, greets Punjabis with a “Sat Sri Akal”, and asks, “Duddh pee lavo nahi taan vadde kivey hovoge. Kis kis ne bachpan vich maa to eh suneya hai?” (Who all have listened from their mothers in their childhood that you won’t grow up till you won’t have milk).
On the other hand is Punjab’s homegrown brand, Verka, the leader in the region in sale of fresh packet milk and other dairy products, which is now trying to explore markets beyond Punjab, especially Delhi. With creative advertisements now also in Hindi and English, a big change is being seen in Verka’s marketing approach. “Punjab ka asli doodh ab Dilli mein bhi” (Punjab’s pure milk now also available in Delhi),” reads one of Verka’s creatives.
Punjab, the state with the highest per-capita milk availability, is witnessing a unique transition in the marketing strategies of the two leading milk brands. While Verka, owned by state cooperative MILKFED is now trying to expand its footprints in Delhi, Amul, owned by the world’s largest milk cooperative Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (GCMMF), is making in-roads in Punjab like never before.
While Amul was the force behind ushering White Revolution in the country in the 1970s under the leadership of Dr Verghese Kurien, its operations in Punjab gained momentum only in 2014-15 when it opened its first milk processing plant in Gurdaspur’s Batala and started procuring fresh milk from farmers and in around eight years, Amul has made its presence felt in Punjab.
Both Verka and Amul’s 500 gram milk packet is priced at Rs 31 in Punjab, but Amul’s 400 gram curd is priced at Rs 35 compared to Verka’s Rs 32.
Verka: The Punjab to Delhi journey
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann had announced that Verka will increase its milk supply to Delhi from 30,000 litres to 2 lakh litres. The common factor here is the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), thus making the path easier for Verka in the capital.
MILKFED managing director Kamal Kumar Garg says that apart from Punjab, efforts are on to expand Verka in other states. “We have got an order to supply 15 lakh litres of rose lassi to the Army and other paramilitary forces. We are also supplying 1 crore litre (approx.) of Multi-Layer Aseptic Milk to various Army supply depots across the country. We are also making our presence felt in other states such as J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Western UP, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Assam etc.”
He added that the work on MILKFED office in Delhi has been started by Public Works Department (PWD) of Punjab government and is likely to be operational by July this year. “We have also initiated the process to set up 30 Verka milk outlets at various stations of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, on lease basis. We are also in process of custom manufacturing of wheat-based cookies and rusk under the brand name Verka. We have requested Punjab government to further request Delhi government to initiate setting up of 100 milk booth in Delhi at different locations,” he says, adding that Verka recently carried out a bus advertisement campaign in Delhi and also tied up with Punjab Kings XI for IPL 2024.
Verka also had to face its share of criticism for its English and Hindi advertisements with Punjabi language activists saying that it has stopped promoting its mother-tongue.
The brand’s latest tagline is “Har Din da, Har Dil da.”
However, Garg adds that Verka’s focus on Punjab was intact, and several new initiatives are being taken within the state. “We have developed high protein panjiri and high protein milk for sportpersons for state’s sports department. The trial of these products has been completed and high protein milk in glass bottles will be launched soon. About 500 new milk booths in Punjab are on the cards to generate employment. New products, including no added sugar kulfi, custard apple and tender coconut ice cream flavours are in the pipeline,” he says, adding that MILKFED Punjab has hired the services of M/S Vermmillion Communication Private Limited, New Delhi, a multi-media agency to rejuvenate the brand Verka.
The brand also continues to rule Punjab markets. Data shows that Verka handled highest procurement of 31 lakh litres of milk a day in 2023-24, and on an average it procures 20 lakh litres daily from 3.75 lakh farmer families in Punjab. It has the capacity to process 35 lakh litres of milk daily in Punjab into various products.
Amul: Gujarat to Punjab, a new challenge
While Amul’s processed products such as butter, chocolates, ice-creams and cheese had sizeable share in Punjab markets since decades, it entered Verka’s monopoly den in 2014-15 when it started procuring fresh milk from farmers and and sold packet milk, curd and lassi.
From TV advertisements featuring farmers selling their milk to the company, to creatives customised for Punjab, Amul has been taking several initiatives since then to tell Punjabis that the brand was “very much their own.” The tagline says: “Amul.. Punjab da apna duddh.”
In December 2022, the company’s then managing director RS Sodhi had announced that Amul aimed at doubling its processing facility in Punjab from five lakh litres a day to 10 lakh litres.
The company is currently running four milk plants in Punjab- Batala (Gurdaspur), Thamangarh (Bathinda), Chunni and Khamano (Fatehgarh Sahib).
Dinesh, Amul’s Chandigarh branch manager, says that all four plants process and pack fresh milk products, including lassi, curd and paneer. “We have also added tadka chaas and sweets for Punjab. We have also launched Punjab specific products such as Punjabi kulfi, and frozen snacks such as French fries, organic atta, pulses, rice etc. Our fresh products market share is 30 per cent in Punjab,” he says, adding that with “Amul Punjab” handles on Facebook and Instagram and communication in Punjabi, we have also increased our Punjab digital media outreach.
Amul’s officials from Gujarat head office refused to share its daily milk procurement average in Punjab.
Healthy competition a win-win for farmers
Daljit Singh Sadarpura, president of Progressive Dairy Farmer Association (PDFA) Punjab, says that a healthy competition between Verka and Amul was good for farmers to ensure competitive prices for their produce.
“However, Amul needs to bring in more transparency and strengthen its procurement chain further. For instance, when a farmer sells milk to Amul, they don’t calculate fat content in front of him. Verka checks it on the spot. But we can see that in the coming days, Amul will capture Verka’s market share in Punjab. The Punjab government needs to fill vacant posts in MILKFED immediately and bring fresh minds for marketing its products. It is very important that the state’s own cooperative stands strong to back its farmers. For MILKFED, Punjab farmers will always be its priority, like Gujarat farmers will be for AMUL,” he says.
Source: Indian Express
