VERGHESE KURIEN: FATHER OF WHITE REVOLUTION

Verghese Kurien (26 November 1921 9 September 2012) was a

renowned Indian social entrepreneur and is best known as the "Father
of the White Revolution", for his 'billion-liter idea' (Operation
Flood) the world's biggest agricultural development
programme. The operation took India from being a milkdeficient nation, to the largest milk producer in the world,
surpassing the United States of America in 1998, with about 17 percent of global output in 2010
11, which in 30 years doubled the milk available to every person. Dairy farming became India's
largest self-sustaining industry. He made the country self-sufficient in edible oils too later
on, taking head-on the powerful and entrenched oil supplying lobby.
He founded around 30 institutions of excellence (like AMUL, GCMMF, IRMA, NDDB) which
are owned, managed by farmers and run by professionals. As the founding chairman of the
Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), Kurien was responsible for the
creation and success of the Amul brand of dairy products. A key achievement at Amul was the
invention of milk powder processed from buffalo milk (abundant in India), as opposed to that
made from cow-milk, in the then major milk producing nations. His achievements with the Amul
dairy led Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to appoint him as the founder-chairman of National
Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1965, to replicate Amul's "Anand model" nationwide. He
is regarded as the greatest proponents of the cooperative movement in the world; his work has
alleviated millions out of poverty not only in India but also outside. He served as the first
Chancellor of the University of Allahabad from 2006 to 2011.
1

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Kurien was born on 26 November 1921 at Calicut (now Kozhikode, Kerala) into a Syrian
Christian family. His father was a civil surgeon in Cochin, Kerala.
He graduated in Physics from Loyola College, Madras in 1940 and then obtained his Bachelors
in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, Guindy affiliated to University of
Madras. After completing his degree, he joined the Tata Steel Technical Institute, Jamshedpur
from where he graduated in 1946. Subsequently, he went to the United States on a Government
of India scholarship to earn a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Distinction)
from Michigan State University in 1948.

CAREER
Kurien arrived back from the United States to India after his master's degree, and was quickly
deputed to the Government of India's experimental creamery, at Anand in Gujarat's Kheda
district by the government and rather half-heartedly served out his bond period against the
scholarship given by them. He arrived at Anand on Friday 13 May 1949 and started the work
assigned to him the very same day. He had already made up his mind to quit mid-way, but was
persuaded

to

stay

back

at

Anand by Tribhuvandas

Patel (who

would

later

share

the Magsaysay with him) who had brought together Kheda's farmers as a cooperative union to
process and sells their milk, a pioneering concept at the time.

He would brook no meddling from the political class or bureaucrats sitting in the capital cities,
letting it be known upfront, though he, and his mentor and colleague, Tribhuvandas Patel were
backed by the few enlightened political leaders and bureaucrats of the early Independence days
who saw merit in their pioneering cooperative model.
Tribhuvandas Patel's sincere and earnest efforts inspired Kurien to dedicate himself to the
challenging task before them, so much so, that when Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was to
visit Anand later, to inaugurate Amul's plant, he embraced Kurien for his groundbreaking work.
Meanwhile, Kurien's buddy and dairy expert H. M. Dalaya, invented the process of making skim
milk powder and condensed milk from buffalo milk instead of from cow milk. This was the
reason Amul would compete successfully and well against Nestle which only used cow milk to
make them. In India, buffalo milk is the main raw material unlike Europe where cow milk is
abundant. The Amul pattern of cooperatives became so successful, that in 1965 Prime
Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, created the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to
replicate the program nationwide citing Kurien's "extraordinary and dynamic leadership" upon
naming him chairman.
As the 'Amul dairy experiment' was replicated in Gujarat's districts in the neighbourhood of
Anand, Kurien set all of them up under GCMMF in 1973 to sell the combined produce of the
dairies under a single Amul brand. Today GCMMF sells Amul products not only in India but also
overseas. He quit the post of GCMMF chairman in 2006 following disagreement with the
GCMMF management.
When the National Dairy Development Board expanded the scope of Operation Flood to cover
the entire country in its Phase 2 program in 1979: Kurien founded the Institute of Rural
3

Management Anand (IRMA).Kurien, played a key role in many other organisations, like chairing
the Viksit Bharat Foundation, a body set up by the President of India. Kurien was mentioned by
the Ashoka Foundation as one of the eminent present Day Social Entrepreneurs. Kurien's life
story is chronicled in his memoir I Too Had a Dream. Interestingly Kurien, the person who
revolutionised the availability of milk in India did not drink milk himself. Nevertheless, the work
of Kurien & his team in India took India from a milk importer to a milk & milk-products
exporting nation within the span of 2 decades.

PERSONAL LIFE, FAMILY AND BELIEFS

Verghese married Molly and they had one daughter Nirmala Kurien and a grandson,
Siddharth. He was an atheist. Verghese Kurien died on 9 September 2012 after a brief spell of
illness in Nadiad, near Anand in Gujarat, India. He was 90. His wife Molly died on 14 December
2012 in Mumbai after a brief illness.

FILM AND ITS USE IN ENLARGING THE MOVEMENT

Veteran film-maker Shyam Benegal, then an advertising executive with Lintas Advertising,
produced Manthan (the churning of the 'milk ocean'), a story set in the cooperative milk
movement in India. Not able to finance it, Benegal was helped by Kurien who hit upon an idea of
getting each of his half a million member farmers to contribute a token two rupees for the
making of the movie. Upon its release, truckloads of farmers came to see "their" film, making it
a success at the box office. Manthan hit a chord with the audience immediately when it was
4

shown in Gujarat in 1976, which impressed distributors to release it before audiences,

nationwide. It was critically acclaimed and went on to win national awards the following year
and was later shown on television to the public.
The movie's success gave Kurien another idea. Like shown in the film, a vet, a milk technician
and a fodder specialist who could explain the value of cross-breeding of milch cattle would tour
other parts of the country along with the film's prints, to woo farmers there to create cooperatives
of their own.
UNDP would use the movie to start similar cooperatives in Latin America.

BOOKS

Kurien, Verghese (2005) I Too Had a Dream. APH Publishing Corp. ISBN
9788174364074.

Kurien,

Verghese

(1997) An

Unfinished

Dream.

Tata-McGraw-Hill. ISBN

9780074622148.

The Man Who Made The Elephant Dance Audio Autobiography of Dr. Kurien in the
voice of Tom Alter with Audio Foreword by Ratan Tata, in his own voice ISBN
9789382299240

Verghese Kurien: The Man with the Billion Litre idea (2013) Amar Chitra Katha. ISBN
9789350853863.
5

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS

Kurien has received 15 honorary degrees from universities around the World, including from the
following:
Michigan State University, Banaras Hindu University, Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences, Anand Agricultural University, University of Glasgow, Sardar Patel University, etc.

YEAR

NAME
OF
HONOUR

AWARD

1999
1993
1991
1989
1986
1986
1966
1965
1963

Padma Vibhushan
International Person of the Year Award
Distinguished Alumni Award
World Food Prize
Wateler Peace Prize Award
Krushi Ratna Award
Padma Bhushan
Padma Shri
Ramon Magsaysay Award

OR AWARDING
ORGANIZATION
Government of India
World Dairy Expo
Michigan State University
World Food Prize, USA
Carnegie Foundation, Netherlands
Government of India
Government of India
Government of India
Ramon
Magsaysay
Award
Foundation

AMUL: INTRODUCTION

In the year 1946, the first milk union was formed which was known as KAIRA DISTRICT COOPERATIVE MILK PRODUCERS UNION. This union was started with 250 litres milk per
day. In the year 1955, AMUL was established.
The Brand name AMUL means AMULYA. This word is derived from the Sanskrit word
AMULYA which means PRICELESS. A quality control expert in Anand had suggested the
name AMUL. Amul products have been in use in millions of homes since 1955. Amul
Buttermilk, Amul Milk Powder, Amul Ghee, Amul Cheese, Amul Choclates, Amul Icecreams,
Amul Milk, Amul Shrikhand, Nutramul and Amulya have made Amul a leading brand in India.
Today Amul is a symbol of many things like of high quality products sold at reasonable prices, of
the genesis of the vast co-operative network, of the triumph of indigenous technology, of the
marketing savvy of a farmers organization and have a proven model for dairy development
generally known as the Anand Pattern.

THE BIRTH OF AMUL

It all began when milk became a symbol of protest

Founded in 1946 to stop the exploitation by middlemen
Inspired by the freedom movement

The seeds of this unusual saga were sown more than 65 years back in Anand, a small town in the
state of Gujarat in western India. The exploitative trade practices followed by the local trade
cartel triggered off the cooperative movement. Angered by unfair and manipulative practices
followed by the trade, the farmers of the district approached the great Indian patriot Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel for a solution. He advised them to get rid of middlemen and form their own cooperative, which would have procurement, processing and marketing under their control.

In 1946, the farmers of this area went on a milk strike refusing to be cowed down by the cartel.
Under the inspiration of Sardar Patel, and the guidance of leaders like Morarji Desai and
Tribhuvandas Patel, they formed their own cooperative in 1946.
This co-operative, the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd. began with just
two village dairy co-operative societies and 247 litres of milk and is today better known as Amul
Dairy. Amul grew from strength to strength thanks to the inspired leadership of Tribhuvandas
Patel, the founder Chairman and the committed professionalism of Dr Verghese Kurien,who was
entrusted the task of running the dairy from 1950.

The then Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri decided that the same approach should
become the basis of a National Dairy Development policy. He understood that the success of
Amul could be attributed to four important factors. The farmers owned the dairy, their elected
representatives managed the village societies and the district union, they employed professionals
to operate the dairy and manage its business. Most importantly, the co-operatives were sensitive
to the needs of farmers and responsive to their demands.
At his instance in 1965 the National Dairy Development Board was set up with the basic
objective of replicating the Amul model. Dr. Kurien was chosen to head the institution as its
Chairman and asked to replicate this model throughout the country.

THE AMUL MODEL

The Amul Model of dairy development is a three-tiered structure with the dairy cooperative
societies at the village level federated under a milk union at the district level and a federation of
member unions at the state level.

Establishment of a direct linkage

between
consumers

milk

producers
by

and

eliminating

middlemen
Milk Producers (farmers) control
milk procurement, processing and

marketing
Professional management

10

The Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union (Amul) is headquartered at Anand.
Planners, economists, administrators, dairymen, journalists have been visiting Anand to study
the ingredients of its success.
The Anand Pattern is essentially an economic organizational pattern to benefit small producers
who join hands forming an integrated approach in order to economy of a large scale business.
The whole operation is professionally managed so that the individual producers have the
freedom to decide their own policies. The adoption of modern production and marketing
techniques helps in providing those services that small producers individually can neither
afford nor manage.
It has succeeded largely because Anand Model involves people in their own development and
because their interests are safe in their own hands. Under Operation Flood the entire
institutional infrastructure set up at the village level, the district level and the state level is
owned and operated by the farmers themselves. The Anand Model co-operatives have
progressively eliminated middlemen, bringing the producers in direct contact with consumers.
The Anand Pattern succeeded because it gave a fair price to the farmer and high - quality milk
and milk products to the consumer. What would have been middlemens profits in the earlier
system got absorbed into development projects for primary producer or lower cost for the
consumer. In short, the Anand Pattern meant the utilization of resources in the most profitable
manner at grass-root level.

The Three Tier Structure: Primary Village Co-operative Society

11

The First Tier - Primary village Co-operative Society: An Anand Pattern village dairy
cooperative society (DCS) is formed by milk producers. Any producer can become a DCS
member by buying a share and committing to sell milk only to the society. Each DCS has a milk
collection centre where members take milk every day. Each member's milk is tested for quality
with payments based on the percentage of fat and SNF. At the end of each year, a portion of the
DCS profits is used to pay each member a patronage bonus based on the quantity of milk poured.
This also acts as a vital link for various productivity enhancement and development programmes
of farmers programmes.

District Union: The 2nd Tier

A District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union is owned by dairy cooperative societies. It is a
Union of primary village co-operative societies within a district. The Union buys all the societies'
milk, then processes and markets fluid milk and products. Union also provides a range of inputs
and services to village co-operative societies and their members: feed, veterinary care, artificial
insemination to sustain the growth of milk production and the cooperatives' business. Union staff
train and provide consulting services to support village co-operative society leaders and staff.

The State Federation 3rd Tier The State Federation:

12

The cooperative milk producers' unions in a state form a State Federation which is an apex
marketing body responsible for marketing of milk and milk products of member unions. The
Federation also plays a role in the overall development of the district unions federated to it.
Maximizing farmer profit and productivity through cooperative effort is the hallmark of the
Anand Pattern.

Social impact
The spread of the co-operative movement in the villages is contributing to social changes. Some
of the changes are:
The democratic process election of the village societys office-bearers is breaking down
social and economic divisions. The society is being perceived as a means of livelihood unlike,
say, a panchayat. The feeling, therefore, is that it ought to be managed by those who are likely
to run it most efficiently not necessarily by the entrenched elite.

District Union: 2nd Tier

Caste barriers are slowly breaking down in equalizing queues before the milk collection centre.
In the traditional societies untouchables could not have even dreamt of selling milk for common
consumption.

This

social

barrier

has

been

removed

by

the

milk

co-operatives.

Modern concepts like organization, technology, and social concern are entering the rural areas. In
their search for solutions in other compartments of life, farmers often used the expression,
something like the dairy or similar to what the dairy does.
13

Education in a non-school sense is also spreading. Veterinary care, the supply of balanced cattle
feed, and artificial insemination centers are contributing to health education, nutrition education
and sex education.
There is a change in the status of women. Generally income from milk is considered to be earned
by them. Men concede that those women should have a say in how this money is to be spent.
Hope has kindled in landless labourers without employment that they do not have to migrate to
cities in search of an income. Milk co-operative societies have created white-collar jobs too.

Amul continues to inspire one and all interested not only in dairying but also in other areas,
people involved in the rural development and sustaining livelihood through massive employment
generation.

14

The Amul model has helped India to emerge as the largest milk producer in the world. More than
15 million milk producers pour their milk in 1,44,500 dairy cooperative societies across the
country. Their milk is processed in 184 District Co-operative Unions and marketed by 22 State
Marketing Federations, ensuring a better life for millions.

15

GCMMF: AN OVERVIEW

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), is India's largest food
product marketing organisation with annual turnover (2013-14) US$ 3.0 billion. Its daily milk
procurement is approx 13.18 million lit per day from 17,025 village milk cooperative
societies, 17 member unions covering 31 districts, and 3.23 million milk producer members.
It is the Apex organisation of the Dairy Cooperatives of Gujarat, popularly known
as 'AMUL',which aims to provide remunerative returns to the farmers and also serve the interest
of consumers by providing quality products which are good value for money. Its success has not
only been emulated in India but serves as a model for rest of the World. It is exclusive marketing
organisation of 'Amul' and 'Sagar' branded products.

It operates through 53 Sales Offices and has a dealer network of 10000 dealers and 10 lakh
retailers, one of the largest such networks in India. Its product range comprises milk, milk
powder, health beverages, ghee, butter, cheese, Pizza cheese, Ice-cream, Paneer, chocolates, and
traditional Indian sweets, etc.

GCMMF is India's largest exporter of Dairy Products. It has been accorded a "Trading House"
status. Many of their products are available in USA, Gulf Countries,Singapore, The Philippines,
Japan, China and Australia.
16

GCMMF has received the APEDA Award from Government of India for Excellence in Dairy
Product Exports for the last 13 years. For the year 2009-10, GCMMF has been awarded "Golden
Trophy" for its outstanding export performance and contribution in dairy products sector by
APEDA. In 2013-14, GCMMF took giant strides in expanding its presence in International
markets. Amuls presence on Global Dairy Trade (GDT) platform in which only the top six dairy
players of the world sell their products, has earned respect and recognition across the world. By
selling milk powders on GDT, GCMMF could not only realize better prices as per market
demand but it also firmly established Amul in the league of top dairy players in world trade.
For its consistent adherence to quality, customer focus and dependability, GCMMF has received
numerous awards and accolades over the years. It received the Rajiv Gandhi National Quality
Award in 1999 in Best of All Category. In 2002 GCMMF bagged India's Most Respected
Company Award instituted by Business World. In 2003, it was awarded the The IMC
Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award - 2003 for adopting noteworthy quality management
practices for logistics and procurement. GCMMF is the first and only Indian organisation to win
topmost International Dairy Federation Marketing Award for probiotic ice cream launch in 2007.
For the innovations, GCMMF has received AIMA-RK Swamy High Performance brand award
2013 and CNN-IBN Innovating for better tomorrow award in 2014. For the tree plantation
activity GCMMF has received seven consecutive Good Green Governance award from Srishti
during 2007 to 2013.
The Amul brand is not only a product, but also a movement. It is in one way, the representation
of the economic freedom of farmers. It has given farmers the courage to dream. To hope. To live.
17

VISION:
GCMMF will be an outstanding marketing organization, with specialization in marketing of food
and dairy products both fresh and long life with customer focus and IT integrated techniques.
The network would consist of over 100 offices, 7500 stockiest covering atleast every taluka.
Headquarter servicing nearly 10 lakh outlets with a turnover of 10,000 Cr. And serving several
co-operatives. GCMMF shall also create markets for its products in neighbouring countries.

MISSION:
People at GCMMF endeavour to satisfy the taste and nutritional requirements of the customer of
the world through excellence in marketing through their committed team. Through co-operative
networking, they are committed to offering quality products that provide best value for money.

18

AMULS SECRET OF SUCCESS

The system succeeded mainly because it provides an assured market at remunerative pricesfor
producers' milk besides acting as a channel to market the production enhancement
package.What's more, it does not disturb the agro-system of the farmers. It also enables the
consumer anaccess to high quality milk and milk products. Contrary to the traditional system,
when the profit of the business was cornered by the middlemen, the system ensured that the
profit goes to the participants for their socio-economic upliftment and common good.
Looking back on the path traversed by Amul, the following features make it a pattern and model
for emulation elsewhere.
Amul has been able to:

Produce an appropriate blend of the policy makers, farmers, board of management and
the professionals: each group appreciating its roles and responsibilities alongwith

limitations
Bring at the command of the rural milk producers the best of the technology and harness

its fruits for betterment.

Provide a support system to the milk producers without disturbing their agro-economic

systems.
Plough back the profits, by prudent use of men, material and machines, in the rural sector
for the common good and the betterment of the member producers.
19

Even though, growing with time and on scale, it has remained with the smallest producer
members. In that sense, Amul is an example par excellence, of an intervention for rural
change.

The Union looks after policy formulation, processing and marketing of milk, provision
of technical inputs to enhance milk yield of animals, the artificial insemination service,
veterinary care, better feeds and the like - all through the village societies. Basically the union
and cooperation of people brought Amul into fame i.e. AMUL (ANAND MILK UNION
LIMITED), a name whichsuggest THE TASTE OF INDIA.
Amul (Anand milk union ltd.) is based on four hands, which are coordinated with each other.The
actual meaning of this symbol is co-ordination of four hands of different people by whom
thisunion is at the top position in Asia.

First hand is of farmers, without whom the organization would not have existed.
Second hand is of processors, who process the row material (milk) into finished goods.
Third hand is of marketer, without whom the product would have not reached the

customers.
Fourth hand is of customers, without whom the products would have not carried on.

20

BRANDS UNDER AMUL:

Amul Milk
Bread spreads
Cheese
UHT Milk
Beverage range
Amul Pro
Icecream
Paneer
Dahi
Ghee
Milk Powder
Nutramul
Mithai Range
Mithai Mate
Chocolates
Fresh Cream
Pouch Butter Milk
Recipes

AMUL:

MANAGING

COMPETITORS
The Indian market is dominated

by

large number of small local and regional players. There are an estimated 150 manufacturers in
the organized segment, which accounts for 30-35% of sales and about 1000 units in the
unorganized segments of the market.
21

In the organized segment the significant brands are Kwality Walls, Vadilal, Amul, Havmor,
Mother dairy and Baskins & Robbins. GCMMF is facing very tough competition from both in
and outside India.
Few of the other competitors for Amul Milk and milk products like Shrikhand, Curd, Paneer, etc.
also include Milma, Mahananda, Jaipur Dairy, Gokul, Govardhan, Paras, etc. with Mother Dairy
posing a very strong competition for Amul. Local and regional dairies also pose a threat as they
have a focused area to concentrate on unlike Amul. Nestle and Cadburys pose a great
competition for Amul Chocolates.
Amul combats competition from its competitors by providing quality products at a pricewhich its
customers value. Along with good quality products and reasonable price the packaging is also
very good. Most of its products are available in many flavors. Excellent advertising backs
its products and helps GCMMF (AMUL) to leave its competitors a tough time. Also Amul has
come out with Amul Parlours to cater to various segments of customers. Amul has a very strong
Brand Image in the Domestic market. Many products are exported by GCMMF.

ADVERTISING BY AMUL:
Amul has two agencies that look after its entire range of products namely FCB Ulka and
DaCunha.

22

FCB Ulka looks after a broad range of products namely, Amul Lite Breadspread, Amul
Shrikhand, Amul Chocolates, Amul Paneer, Amul SnowCap Softy Mix Ice cream,
Amul/Sagar Ghee, Amul Infant Milk Formula 1 & 2, Sagar Tea and Coffee whitener, Amul
Spray Infant Milk Food, Amul Mithaee, Amul Gulab Jamun, Amulya Dairy Whitener,
Mithaimate Sweetened Condensed Milk, Amul Ice cream, Sagar Skimmed Milk Powder and
Amul Whole milk Powder.
Da Cunha looks after the Amul butter. Da Cunha also prepares the very popular Amul
butter billboard campaigns, which we see at various locations. Over and above the Amul butter,
Da Cunha also looks after the Amul Cheese, Cheese spread, Gouda Cheese, Emmental Cheese,
Masti Dahi and Buttermilk, Amul Slim-n-Trim, Amul Taaza and Amul Gold (all different brands
of milk), Amul Fresh Cream, Amul Chocolate Milk, Amul Fresh Milk and Nutramul. FCB Ulka
also looks after the corporate campaign of Amul.
The Amul campaign has for decades told the contemporary story of India, a hoarding at a
time. The hoardings have been a commentary to the popular history of India over this
period. Seemingly ageless, this long-running campaign has captivated fans across all ages and
time. But they also have a secret weapon. The Amul mascot, a cute and chubby girl usually
dressed in a polka dot dress, is universally recognizable in India. And the tagline, Utterly
Butterly Delicious Amul is just as catchy. Together, these two elements are a fantastic
combination of brand elements for Amul. And get this; the brand mascot has been the same since
its inception in 1967. Thats almost 47 years ago. But the Amul girl is still as relevant as ever.

23

Amul's advertisement journey began in 1966, when they hired Sylvester daCunha to design
a new ad campaign for Amul Butter, and since then the ads have entertained us with their
quirky take on current affairs.

24

AMUL: SUPPLY CHAIN

25

SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS:

Largest food brand in India, trusted for its quality

High brand equity and top of the mind brand
Strong network of over 3 million milk producers
Worlds largest manufacturer of pouched milk
Market leader in butter, milk, cheese, condensed milk, ice creams, etc.
Work on Value for Money concept
Products available at affordable prices
Responsible for White revolution in India
Successful advertising and marketing campaigns
Strong network of Amul retail outlets, stalls and parlors
High quality maintained (UV Pasteurization)
Generates huge employment opportunities in rural areas
Amul Girl is very popular as Amuls Mascot

WEAKNESSES:

Low market share in chocolates segment

Difficulty in capturing huge market share in Ice cream segment due to strong competition

from International as well as Domestic players.

Unavailability of Amul products that lead the customers to shift to other brands.
Perishable nature of products
Amul being a cooperative society it becomes difficult to develop and implement new

strategies
Lack of control over yield

OPPORTUNITIES:

26

Introduce new and improved products in Chocolate segment.

To tap the untapped markets and reach the rural markets. Huge opportunities in dry areas

of India like Rajasthan, Hyderabad, etc.

Improve on its Distribution network and increase availability of products to avoid brand

switching.
Rise in purchasing power of Indian people.
Capture more market share and attract the young population by increasing the number of
Amul parlors and outlets.

THREATS:

Strong competition from International and domestic players.

Economic slowdown and inflation.
Imitation and misuse of brand name (e.g. Amol which sells ice creams)
Misinterpretation of advertisements.

DR. VERGHESE KURIEN AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS AMUL

Verghese Kurien (26 November 1921 9 September 2012) was an Indian engineer and
businessman, best known as the founder of Amul (which stands for Anand Milk Union Ltd), a
dairy-food company.
But for entrepreneurs and startups, this mans life has more to offer. Its a life lived for making a
difference, creating something much larger than one would have thought possible and not
settling for mere meeting expectations.
Here are a few things that struck everyone.
He didnt enjoy drinking milk, but sold it to all!
27

Against all the regular gyaan of using your product/build on personal itch, the key learning is
that he was an entrepreneur willing to solve the bigger challenge of the society.
If you ask what was his core contribution was, well he engineered the system. He architected a
platform that enabled people to build/sell on top of it.
Actually, Kurien was the first to produce milk powder from buffalo milk at a time the rest of the
world manufactured powder solely from cows milk.
A practicing engineer!
He invested in technology, and found solutions that were applicable locally
Kurien built insular systems around co-operatives that were difficult to penetrate and break. He
ensured that co-operatives always had the technical edge. Setting up Kaira Can Company in the
early days to manage the critical supply chain; using locally developed technologies for
producing milk powder and cheese and condensed milk from buffalo milk; tying up with Tetra
Pak for setting up a packaging company for selling long-shelf life milk.
Kurien and his team were pioneers in inventing the process of making milk powder and
condensed milk from buffalos milk instead of cows milk. This was the reason Amul became so
successful and competed well against Nestle who only used cow milk to make powder and
condensed milk. In India, buffalo milk is the main raw material unlike Europe where cow milk
is.
They did not get stuck in definitions of fundamental vs. incremental innovation those are mere
semantics when you spot a problem worth solving.
He had bigger motive i.e. beyond money, beyond valuation.
28

Amul was a co-operative and not about personal wealth or 10x valuations. Yet, scale was
inherent to its success. Entrepreneurs have motives beyond money, and that is what passion is
born of.
He knew what he was selling was a commodity product. He created a brand out of it.
Milk is not a white good or a brown good. It is not something people save their entire lives in
order to buy like a car, or a house. Milk is not a status symbol; rather it is the symbol of
nutrition. Milk is a nearly complete food, providing protein, vitamins, minerals and other
nutrients so essential to maintaining good health.
Even though Amul was a cooperative, their ads spend and creativity could beat any corporate.
A lot of technology startups tend to not market and are misguided by WoM, without seeding the
conversation. Amul took a lateral approach to branding, BUT the brand equity was tightly
coupled with the back-end:
If Amul has become a successful brand if, in the trade lingo, it enjoys brand equity then it is
because we have honored our contract with consumers for close to fifty years. If we had failed to
do so, then Amul would have been consigned to the dustbin of history, along with thousands of
other brands.
What goes into the contract that is a brand name? First is quality. No brand survives long if its
quality does not equal or exceed what the buyer expects. There simply can be no compromise.
Thats the essence of the contract. In the case of a food product, this means that the brand must
always represent the highest hygienic, bacteriological and organoleptic standards. It must taste
good, and it must be good. [Dr. Kurien]

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