Amul eyes bigger pie of ultra heat treated mkt

The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets its products under the brand Amul, is all set to strengthen its ultra heat treated (UHT) milk portfolio.

The federation is hoping to up its share of 57 per cent in the Rs 350-crore strong UHT milk and milk products market in the country.

The portfolio comprises milk, butter milk, flavoured milk and basundi, with new products being developed by GCMMF.

Recently, GCMMF introduced Amul CALCI+ high calcium milk, a UHT milk, targeted at helping pregnant woman, growing kids and young adults meet their daily calcium requirement.

Subjected to a special sterilisation process called ultra heat treatment, Amul CALCI+ stays fresh for 120 days at room temperature.

"The process raises the shelf life of milk and milk products. With Amul CALCI+ we are expecting new sales of around 10 per cent. These products will, basically, help us increase our presence and availability in the North East region since good quality of milk and milk products are not available there," said RS Sodhi, general manager (marketing), Amul.

Priced at Rs 35, the one-litre aseptically packed tetra pak Amul CALCI+ will be available at all Amul Preferred Outlets (Amul APOs), leading super markets and major A class outlets across India from January 2008.

Experts in nutrition around the world recommend a daily calcium intake of 400-600 mg in general and 1,000 mg during pregnancy and breast feeding.