Poor demand forces Nandini to look for greener pastures

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cooperative Milk Federation (KMF), owner of India’s second-largest dairy brand Nandini, is exploring new ways to market dairy products amid the fall in demand because of Covid-19 and the economic slowdown, even as there has been a rise in milk production due to the good monsoon rains.

The milk producers’ co-operative is targeting the health-conscious population and is going for large-scale marketing of its immunity booster drinks like turmeric and pepper milk and is also introducing variants of natural ice-creams. “A survey has revealed that there is a huge potential for immunity booster products and we are entering this segment. We will launch a wide range of health products across Karnataka in November,” KMF managing director BS Satish told ET.

Besides this, the co-operative milk federation is also aggressively pushing to set up Nandini kiosks in apartments with more than 300 residential units. “A week ago, KMF also opened its Nandini super parlour at Bengaluru International Airport and it has got a good response because of the affordable products sold unlike most other expensive eateries in the airport premises,” Satish said.

The KMF is procuring about 80 lakh litres of milk from farmers everyday. The drop in demand for milk and milk-based products in the wake of the pandemic has made it difficult for the federation to sell its produce. According to the management, about 58 lakh litres of milk is sold everyday in ther form of milk, curd and other milk-based products, while an excess 20 lakh litres of milk is converted into skimmed and whole milk powder.

The federation had a record procurement of milk on a single day in June when it collected 88 lakh litres. With the good rainfall, the flush season (when the milk yield is high) has continued even in October. “The situation is better than what it was in the first three months of lockdown. Yet we have a stock of 27,000 metric tons of skimmed milk powder that we are trying to sell,” the managing director said.

One of the constraints before the KMF is the government stopping the distribution of milk to school children as the educational institutions are shut since March. KMF used to supply 35 metric tons of milk powder (made using three lakh litres of milk) to 39.5 lakh anganwadi children and 47 lakh tons milk powder to the government and aided school students. While the state government has continued with the supply of milk powder to the doorsteps of anganwadi children, school children are not getting any.

This has led to an additional burden of four lakh litres of milk daily which is being converted into milk powder and stocked. KMF officials said that they have made multiple requests before the government to supply milk powder to the doorsteps of students just like how it is being done in anganwadis. “We are hopeful that the government will respond positively,” Satish said.