What success lessons can we learn from Amul, the most favorite brand of Indians ?

 

Amul Products

From last 7 decades Amul has been in the homes of almost all the Indians. Amul, a small union of milkmen from a village called Kaira in Gujarat started to sell milk in Gujarat and Bombay Government now known as Mumbai, is one of the leading milk providers in India. Amul has grown into a very big industry with time that, now they not only supply milk but also provides a variety of products in the market such as butter, cheese, paneer, curd, bread spread, Ghee, ice cream, milk beverages, chocolates, fresh cream and many types of dairy products. It is not only their products but also the trust that they have built with the people is a huge factor of their success. Today I will be unfolding the success path of Amul that helped it become the most trusted brand in India.

 

Amul was founded in 1946 by Tribhuvandas Patel under the guidance of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel which was later taken over by Dr. Verghese Kurien in 1949 who changed the whole perspective of Amul in the market. He is also regarded as the ‘Milk Man of India’. Acronym of AMUL is ( Anand Milk Union Limited) Anand is the place in Kaira District where all this started. Amul’s slogan “ Amul – The Taste of India” is a not only a slogan but is a promise to provide the best quality of milk and hygiene to all the people in this country which is still true and tested. All this revolution started when farmers and milkmen were brutally exploited by the middleman and it was only being a profitable business for these middlemen and the milkmen were hardly getting paid. At this time people decided to start a revolution against these middlemen. With the help of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel a new union of milkmen was established at Anand village in Kaira district of Gujarat which is now proudly know as Amul. It is not only the product that is selling in the market it is also the trust that Amul has created in the hearts of people in India. Along with the product Amul has always worked on promoting its products  by advertising and running various marketing campaigns. The success of these advertises and jargons made Amul a precious and demanded brand in the market.

DR. Verghese Kurien

How did  Amul Become A Brand ?

Initially the milkmen in Gujarat were dominated by the Polson Dairy which had the agreement with Bombay government to supply milk. But the people at Polson dairy used middlemen to deal with these people to buy milk from them. The company made huge profits but the middlemen started to exploit the milkmen by giving them very less money for their milk. This lead all the farmers and middle men to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who was an activist working for the betterment of farmers back then. Under the guidance of Vallabhbhai Patel, Tribhuvandas Patel started a union of milkmen from Anand district to supply milk. Amul was formed by him and was later taken over by Dr. Verghese Kurien which designed the whole brand of Amul. Amul is taken from a Sanskrit word ‘Amulya’  which means precious.

Today Amul is managed by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing federation Ltd.(GCMMF). Amul is jointly owned and run by almost 36 lac farmers and milkmen who come from around 18000 different villages and 17 unions to come together and supply the best quality of Milk. Amul has promised to buy all the milk brought into the collection centers by the milkmen at the highest possible rates. 18 million liters of  milk is processed every single day in their plant. Amul also launched new range of products in the market with time to encounter other MNC’s in India. Almost 80% of the amount earned by the company is returned back to the farmers and milkmen to encourage them for producing the best quality of milk every time.

Amul is also the winner of International Dairy federation Marketing Award in 2007. Amul not only is selling the best quality of the products but is also has an excellent marketing strategy with ad campaigns and jargons. In 2017  Amul made an annual turnover of Rs.23000 crore with a production rate of 28 million liters a day. It is estimated that by 2020 Amul will be supplying 38  million liters of milk each day which will be having a turnover of Rs.50000 crore. There is also a success story based on Amul’s success known as Manthan.

Amul logo

 

Amul’s Growth Strategy

Amul is one of the leading Dairy product manufacturer in the World and is operating and selling in almost 40  countries across the globe. An innovative marketing approach and quality control measure has helped Amul to be on the top from last 3 decades. Amul is using some great strategies to dominate and grow in market such as :

1.   Mass production

From the beginning of Amul, Dr. Verghese Kurien has focused on mass production of the milk. He has a doctorate in dairy farming from USA and wanted to help Indian milk producing farmers to learn how they can produce more high quality milk by feeding organic things to their cattle and how hygiene can be maintained while doing all these procedures. He Encouraged farmers to sell their daily collected milk to Amul so that the farmers can be paid the highest rate for milk per liter. With this small initiative in the Anand District within no time the collection of milk started to increase and now more than 3.6 million farmers are associated with Amul to provide with best quality of milk. Amul utilized this milk to produce variety of milk products and grow their market dominance  not only in India, but also around the world.

Amul production Line

 

2.    Powerful Supply Chain

The core reason why Amul was formed is due to the lack of supply chain management. In 1946 Polson Dairy was dominating the market and was purchasing milk from local farmers. But the farmers were not paid the right price for their milk as most of the money was taken away by the middlemen and farmers were hardly earning any money. That is when this union of Amul was formed which eliminated the work of middlemen. Amul decided to purchase the milk direct from the farmers by providing them the high rates for milk which motivated the farmers to produce good quality milk at good rates. Amul was established for the welfare of these milkmen who were exploited by the middle person in the supply chain.

 

3.    Low-Cost Marketing

One of the most powerful strategies of Amul till date is its marketing.  Amul uses low cost marketing tactics in which it applies umbrella Marketing strategy. Umbrella marketing is uses the idea of selling all the products under one brands name like, Amul Milk, Amul butter, Amul chocolates etc. This helps in reducing the marketing cost of their products. According to Amul’s current managing director (MD)  Mr. R. S Sodhi the total marketing expenditure of Amul is just 0.8% which is very less compared to their top competitors in the market. This strategy is beneficial to the farmers and customers as farmers are paid high rates for their milk and customers are provided with the best quality of products at affordable prices.

 

Amul Marketing  Moto

4.    Advertizes and Jargons

Amul’s  one of the most successful running campaigns till date is the Amul butter which is also registered in the Gunnies Book of World Record  which is been running from last 36 years. The slogan “Utterly butterly delicious Amul”  made a huge breakthrough in the industry which is still loved by all the people in the country. Amul has been creatively making banners and jargons every year for its variety of products for each and every occasion. Amul also keeps in mind the part of human emotion which is the key for building trust with their customers. Amul creates various slogans for different people according to their sentimental requirements. For instance Amul Milk advertizes for general people is “ the taste of India” but for mothers it is “ the proper nourishment for your child” this creates a message of trust for all the mothers across the globe that we have the top quality milk for your children.

 

Amul Advertising

Why Amul is an effective brand ?

 

Amul is known for starting the white revolution in India. It is not only the largest producer of milk products in India but also in the entire Asia. It is a movement that freed the farmers from the exploitations of middlemen. The way Amul started its journey and the level of response it has achieved in last 74 years is outstanding. Amul is the biggest supplier of milk and dairy products in India and when it reached this mark, Amul decided to grow and establish itself as a brand by spreading out in different countries across the globe. Today Amul is producing 38 Million liters of milk every day. It is not only focused on selling the milk but is also enriching the lives of its supplier and farmers who are willing to provide a good quality of milk and is helping many people to start a way of earning. Till date Amul has been the favorite of millions of people in India and brand that is made in the home country since the independence has developed a trust among the people that makes it the most effective brand.

What we can learn from Amul

We all can surely be successful with team work, brand building and continuity. This is  the major message that Amul gives us