Milma to rebrand itself amid challenges

One of the largest cooperative dairy enterprises in the country, Milma distributes nearly 13.5 lakh litres of milk on a daily basis

Dairy Development Minister K Raju, Milma chairman P T Gopala Kurup and Hibi Eden MLA sharing a light moment during the National Milk Day celebration and Dr Varghese Kurian Commemoration Day on Monday (EPS | A Sanesh)

KOCHI: Milma, will soon rebrand itself to differentiate its commodities and include more value-added products, said P Pugazhendi, managing director, Milma.

Speaking to Express, he said the cooperative is facing a huge challenge with respect to competing brands imitating its packaging and sourcing milk from other states which offers them an incredible price advantage.

“A litre of milk is being sourced at an average price of Rs 21 in a state like Tamil Nadu, compared to near Rs 35  we pay to a dairy farmer in Kerala.” 

With competitors dolling out better commission for distributors and pricing their products at a lower price, the hospitality industry is lapping up such products, which has caused Milma’s market share to drop to 20 per cent in this segment. 

One of the largest cooperative dairy enterprises in the country, Milma distributes nearly 13.5 lakh litres of milk on a daily basis, of which 12.5 lakh litres being sourced from its own member societies across the state. 

“We have systematically stepped up the procurement from member societies and have reduced the demand-supply gap from 2.5 lakh litres to 1 lakh litres, per day. If not for the floods, we would have become self-sufficient by now,” said Pugazhendi. 

With a turnover of Rs 3,003 crore last fiscal, value-added products continue to be the main source of profit generation for Milma. “Right now, nearly 25 per cent of our revenues come from products and the rest from packaged raw milk. We are maintaining the delicate balance which allows us to match the supply-demand scenario in the state,” added the bureaucrat. 

Muraleedhara Das, MD, Ernakulam Regional Co-operative Milk Producers Union said the advent of farm-fresh milk or ‘nadan’ packaging of milk from various brands should also be looked at with an eye of suspicion. 

“Many investigations have indicated to a lot of them over-reporting their production capacity. We have reports of enterprises mixing packaged milk to fresh milk to increase their capacities, which they sell at a premium,” said Das.