Jashn manata

Life ke maidaan me

Baji maar laata hai

Aage Aage badhta hai India

Amul doodh pita hai India

Amul is not just a brand name but the harbinger of the White revolution in India and brought brand new dawn to the lives of Indian farmers. Dr Vergese Kurien led this White revolution by establishing cooperatives like Amul nationwide and made India the largest producer of milk.

From the very start of this cooperative, it seemed it was doomed towards failure as the milk companies favoured by the British were enjoying a monopoly in the market. How could a milk cooperative by Indians survive let alone flourish? This is the story of how the united strength of people can take down mountains.

75 years ago, the farmers in Kaira lived in dismal conditions. The middlemen used to sell their milk products in the market at an extremely low price. The corruption in the middlemen strata was evident and became more clear when the government of Bombay started the Bombay Milk Scheme in 1945. In this, the Bombay government needed to transport milk from Anand (in the district Kaira) to Bombay but for this, the milk had to be pasteurized in Anand itself. They signed a contract with Polson Limited for regular transportation of milk. This deal was profitable for everyone except the farmers for whom no minimum price was set.

Fed up of living with starvation and less than meagre income, they contacted Sardar Vallavbhai Patel. After listening to them he told them to form a cooperative with permission of the government. In case the government doesn't agree they would have to stop giving milk to middlemen and go on strike. He warned them of the losses that could happen. The farmers were determined. They were ready to fight.

At Patel’s request, Morarji Desai took over the movement and called for a meeting. He explained the tactic; All villages of the Kaira district must collect their milk in one place where the milk would be processed by the union and the government would now have to purchase directly from the union. If they don't do so, no milk would be sold by the farmers of Kaira.

As expected British rejected the proposition of cooperation. The plan set out to action just as planned. The farmers went on a strike. During that time not a single drop of milk went out of Kaira. The government had to bow down and the demands of the farmers were accepted. Thus emerged the ‘Kaira District co-operative Milk Producers Union’, the brand we today know as Amul.

After the formation of the cooperative, the Bombay scheme became an advantage for farmers as it was an assured market. Slowly and slowly the daily 250 litres of milk procurement from the union became 5000 litres! However, the Bombay scheme couldn't possibly absorb such a huge quantity of milk. In the winters this problem became more apparent because buffalo gave 2.5 times more milk compared to summers. What to do this all this extra milk? Enter Verghese Kurien.

Now, Verghese Kurien was no milkman. He was a mechanical engineer with a minor in nuclear physics. Regardless of his field of study after coming back from America, he decided to take this project.

He set out to work. What to do with the extra milk? How would he sell this milk in the market at a good price? Remember the packaged milk market in India was extremely competitive. It was practically impossible to sell a huge amount at a good price. Also, India was producing more buffalo milk as compared to cow milk. How to utilise that? The cooperative was in need of a makeover!

He renamed the Kaira District co-operative Milk producers union to Amul, derived the Sanskrit word ‘Amulya’ meaning priceless. He called one of his batchmates in America, H.M. Dalaya to start the process of making skimmed and condensed milk from buffalo’s milk. It was a completely new invention to create it from buffalo’s milk. Later even cheese production from buffalo’s milk started diversifying Amul’s market. Points to Amul for innovations!

He started marketing the product. I’ll point out here that the marketing model of Amul is read by marketing students all over the country as the Amul girl created by them is an all-time favourite of all. The Amul girl who sings ‘Utterly Butterly Delicious’ captured the hearts and minds of the audience giving an outlasting memory. Amul branded how it was a completely Indian product and they were the taste of India. Point to Amul for marketing strategy!

Amul was no longer a milk cooperative, it was a full-blown brand that was creating upheaval in the markets. Amul was now giving tough competition to international brands like Nestle which were ages older than it.

Today all these cooperatives work together under the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited to avoid competition with each other. It is India’s largest food marketing organisation. Remember the days when 5000 litre was a huge deal for this cooperative? Well, now this cooperative procures 25 million litres in a single day!

Amul that started as a milk cooperative in a poor district is a company whose valuation stands at 5.3 billion dollars, a company that has an international market. Imagine a milk-producing company being counted as the most elite member of the marketing society.

With great marketing, branding, efficient supply chain, constantly evolving themselves Amul became something right out of the dreams.