November 21 Delhi’s beloved Mother Dairy, which fights for shelf space with Amul and a few private brands, is set to face more competition. Nandini, the milk brand owned by Karnataka’s dairy cooperative, is invading the Capital with four variants of cow milk, curd and buttermilk which will be on sale from Friday onwards.
And Nandini is arriving in full combative spirit. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who flew all the way to Delhi to launch Nandini in the Capital, sounded the war bugle at the launch on Thursday. “Even if you cannot beat Gujarat (in terms of milk production which is synonymous with Amul), at least you can strain to reach somewhere close,” he said.
The idea is to break the dominance of Mother Dairy and Amul in Delhi. According to industry estimates, about 80 lakh litres to 90 lakh litres of fresh milk is sold in Delhi NCR daily in which Amul has about 40-45 per cent share while Mother Dairy accounts for 35-38 per cent.
Mother Dairy, on its part, is not overly alarmed. “With a strong presence for the last five decades, Mother Dairy has created and defined the dairy market of NCR. It is one of the most trusted brands and a household name in the region. We believe that the role of organised players will only help drive growth of the dairy industry, and the spirit of competition should pave the way to benefit consumers,” said Manish Bandlish, Managing Director of Mother Dairy.
Ambitious project
It is an ambitious project that would entail about 1 lakh litre of milk being carted in five containers across 2,500 kilometre daily to reach a processing plant in Rajasthan from Karnataka. The retail packs would then be transported to the Delhi market.
“Milk will be cooled to 1 Degree centigrade and will be transported in bulk. By the time it reaches its destination, it will be within 4 Degree centigrade. In the repackaging centre, again it will be tested before packed and will be immediately brought to the market,” said Karnataka’s Animal Husbandry Secretary Ajay Nagabhushan MN.
In the Delhi market, the Nandini cow milk and curd will be sold at one rupee less than Amul and Mother Dairy prices.