Row Over Bengaluru Entry: It's Always Been Amul & Nandini, Says Jayen Mehta

Amid raging controversy in poll-bound Karnataka over Amul’s entry into Bengaluru market and its competition with local dairy brand Nandini, its interim Managing Director Jayen Mehta on Tuesday stressed there has always been cooperation between the two dairy co-operatives.

“It has always been Amul and Nandini. Both are co-operatives that work in the interest of farmers,” Mehta told Business Standard. While Amul belongs to Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), Nandini is a brand of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).

“It has never been Amul versus Nandini,” he further stressed. 

“Even as we talk, Amul’s ice-creams are made using Nandini’s milk and their plants and facilities,” Mehta said. The Gujarat based dairy co-operative has been using Nandini’s facilities for its ice-creams since 1998.

He also clarified that Amul products would only be sold in Bengaluru via e-commerce platforms and not through general trade.

Mehta noted that Amul’s products are already sold in northern Karnataka in Hubli and Belgaum since 2015-2016 and its volume in the state is at 8,000- 10,000 litres per day. 

On April 5, Amul had announced on its social media that it is taking its milk and curd into Bengaluru.

After Amul’s post, political parties began protest against its entry into Bengaluru’s dairy market. The Assembly election in the southern state would be held in a single phase on May 10.

GCMMF recently reported an 18.5 per cent rise in its turnover (provisional) to Rs 55,055 crore in FY23 largely due to demand for branded consumer products. 

Its fresh products grew by 21 per cent and contributed 50 per cent to the GCMMF turnover; the ice cream range grew by 41 per cent, while its consumer products registered growth of 23 per cent YoY, the dairy major recently said in a release.