KOCHI: Home-grown milk retailer Milma is embracing the sentiment of the Biblical prayer, ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’ by expanding its offerings. It now plans to produce and sell bread alongside its traditional milk offerings. This Christmas marks a significant milestone as the cooperative dairy retailer will, for the first time, manufacture confectioneries at its own factory at Muringoor. The expanded range includes bread, rusks, cookies, cakes, and puddings, in addition to their existing staple line comprising milk, curd, ghee, ice creams, and pedas.
This strategic move aims to enhance profit margins, which are currently under pressure from private players and dairies affiliated with neighbouring state cooperatives.
Wilson J Puravakkattu, the managing director of ERCMPU, highlighted the need for aggressive value addition, stating, “Margin from the basic plain milk is just 4.15%, which is low considering margins of FMCG retailers. We need to aggressively push for value addition, and the plan is to produce a whole range of products that can help push our bottom line.”
He further mentioned that the dairy has been selling confectioneries in limited volumes by outsourcing production to private players.”The profit margins in confectioneries are higher than in milk and could significantly contribute to improving our bottom line. There is a substantial demand for bread, and considering the complementarity of the product with our milk, retailing them together could prove to be advantageous,” he added.
Amidst intense competition from well-managed private players, the cooperative sector in the state is exploring diversification as a strategy to enhance profitability and social standing, as highlighted in a State Planning Board document.
Under the visionary ‘Repositioning Milma 2023’ program, Milma is striving for more efficient utilisation of the state’s dairy resources. The brand plans to expand its product inventory with new and innovative dairy products, aiming to increase its market share and customer base while maintaining its reputation for delivering quality and healthy products.
The recently inaugurated confectionery unit at Muringoor, situated on the premises of a Milma chilling plant, holds promising prospects.
The unit, which plans to produce Milma chocolates, including the dark variety, envisions a significant increase in cake production during the upcoming Christmas and New Year seasons, exceeding the usual 50,000 cakes.
Furthermore, the 1.76-acre plot at Muringoor will see new life, with plans to utilise unused space for the establishment of a children’s park and a food-crafts unit, adding a delightful touch to the community.
Every day, Milma distributes more than 17 lakh litres of milk clocking an annual turnover of Rs 4,000 crore.