“Amul”, how can I call this a brand when it’s way more than that. I have been associated with this “feeling” for so long that I don’t even remember on which exact date my love affair began with it. Maybe it was that sunny afternoon when an Amul ice-cream vendor crossed my building and dad handed over to me a chocolate ice-cream or was it that day when there was a power cut in the house and dad brought “Amul lassi” for all of us while returning home?
Whatever it is but one thing I can say for sure that it’s a part of the family, much like any other member. As I grew up and started realising the importance of brands, the marketing campaigns of my favourite brand Amul always amazed me. I got to know about the beautiful foundation Amul is based on. Founded in 1946, it started as a co-operative for milk producers to stop the exploitation by middlemen back then. After which it became a saviour for the villagers in that area. It has always been a saviour. I can vouch for this fact because I hated milk as a child but whenever it was Amul milk I would stop only after the glass was empty.
The entire world praises “the Amul Model” mainly because of its 3-tiered structure for the processing of its products. It is divided into dairy co-operative society at a village level. Then comes the milk union at district-level followed by the state level and then finally it reaches our doors. Kudos to this company for naming all its products under the same parent brand name Amul. It makes it easier to remember the names of the products and also saves a lot of extra bucks and time which otherwise would have been spent in marketing all products differently.
Talking of Amul, how can we forget our favourite Amul Girl? She connects me with my mother as both of us have witnessed her amazing sense of humour since our early childhood. I am a huge fan of the way Amul always manages to come up with a fresh campaign each time something sensational happens in the world. Now, isn’t that the most appropriate example of “Staying relevant”?
India is the largest producer of milk all over the world and I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t. Definitely, one of the major reasons behind this success is the hard work of Dr Verghese Kurien, the “father of white revolution” who put in his heart and soul to bring India at the world level.
Today, Amul has reached 222 District Co-operative Milk Unions and is marketed by 28 State Marketing Federations. It has a very wide network presence of more than 10,000 distributors and 10 lakh retailers. The current financial year has been a dream period for the brand. It has made history by launching 33 new products in a single quarter. With a robust distribution channel, it plans to strengthen its core-dairy as well as FMCG offerings. As I have my favourite “Amul Paneer” for today’s meal, I can’t be any prouder to call it my favourite brand!