The Hindu Business Line : Vijaya dairy brand set for image makeover

WITH the dairy majors moving from product reach to improving their pack designs for wooing consumers, the Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Co-operative Federation Ltd (APDDCF) is also planning to give a more vibrant and youthful image to its Vijaya brand.

``Keeping in mind the changing times, we are graduating from the image of a middle-aged housewife to a youthful and vibrant teenager," the APDDCF Managing Director, Mr Debabrata Kantha, told Business Line.

APDDCF, which posted a turnover of Rs 835 crore last year, is expected to touch Rs 1,000 crore this year. Of this, 50 per cent of the earnings will be through the sale of liquid milk and remaining 50 per cent through the marketing of Vijaya brand of milk products.

Apart from going for sleek packaging, APDDCF has also lined up a range of products to be launched in a month's span. The new products include `Lip Sip' buttermilk, zero per cent fat milk to be called `Dil' and `Body Line', curds packed in cups from `Radha Ke Ghar Se', buffalo whole milk and home made ghee.

According to Mr Kantha, APDDCF will be the first in the country to sell non-homogenised buffalo milk in Tetrafina Aseptic (TFA) packages. The product, targeted at high fat consumers, will have a shelf life of 90 days. Priced at Rs 15 for half-a-litre, the product is expected have a good market in Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai. Currently being test marketed here, the product will be launched in a big way next month.

The General Manager-Dairy Category of Tetra Pak India Pvt Ltd, Mr Sudhir Krishna, said according to an in-house research done by the company the market for non-homogenised buffalo milk was close to 800 million litres per annum. ``This consumer segment is present in Mumbai and Pune. However, we feel this TFA represents an opportunity for distribution of buffalo milk in the cow belt areas.'' Mr Kantha said a study on Indian dairy had revealed that buffalo milk contained higher levels of various bio-protective factors. Apart from having higher protein, cholesterol content was also low in buffalo milk when compared to cow milk. Buffalo milk was also superior to cow milk in terms of important minerals like calcium, iron and phosphorus.

He said APDDCF would also be launching home made ghee by the end of next month. Home made ghee, extracted from overcooked milk, would have an additional fragrance. ``This flavour sells particularly in South and East India.'' At present Vijaya ghee is a market leader in Maharashtra.

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