VELLORE: Residents of North Arcot have raised concern regarding the poor quality and taste of the recently launched Aavin Delite milk which comes in purple colour packets. It was on October 16 that an official announcement was made regarding the discontinuation of green and orange milk packets, replacing them with Aavin Delite in North Arcot. However, within days of launch, people marked their dissatisfaction with the new product. With a reduced fat content of 3.5%, consumers find the milk lacking taste and quality, as compared to the green milk packets.
Vellore Cooperative Milk Union, on a daily basis, acquires one lakh litres of milk. Out of this, around 80,000 litres are packaged and distributed around Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, and Tiruvannamalai through a network of over 600 agents. While most tea shops and restaurants prefer privately sourced milk, the majority of households, tea shops, and eateries opt for Aavin's Green Magic Milk, which boasts a 4.5% fat content and 8.5% nutrient value.
Mani, a tea shop owner in Vellore, told TNIE, "We regularly used green and orange milk packets primarily due to their thickness, which helps us to serve good tea, coffee, and other milk-based beverages. We have been using the Delite milk for a week now and received feedback from the customers about its poor taste. Additionally, as the milk is less thick, we have to purchase more packets than usual."
The introduction of the Delite purple packet has significantly impacted sales too. A milk agent said, "Customers share that the new packet is not as good as the green and orange ones. I used to sell 650 to 700 litres of milk per day. Since the introduction of the purple packet, sales have dropped to 600 litres. I am struggling to sell the remaining milk."
When TNIE contacted Vellore Aavin's general manager Sambhu Murthy, he said, "The discontinuation of the green and orange milk packets in Vellore is a policy decision and the purple milk packet is already sold in Chennai and other districts and no complaints have be received of its quality."