Even as ITC is gearing up to foray into the branded dairy business in India, Britannia Industries (BIL) has completed the national launch of Britannia Milk (ultra heat treated) in key metro towns across the country.

BIL has now tied up with Schreiber Dynamix Dairy of Baramati in Maharashtra to manufacture its packaged milk brands.

Meanwhile, ITC is experimenting with a pilot project in Munger, Bihar, before foraying into the branded dairy business. After seeing the success of its pilot project in Bihar, ITC is planning to extend the model across the country.

To take on rivals, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) or Amul is beefing up its distribution and marketing strategy to woo consumers. Currently, Amul leads the pack in the branded dairy business and other major players include Nestle India, Mother Dairy and BIL, among others. With the foray of ITC, the R8,500-crore branded dairy sector in India will witness a lot of action in the next few months. ?As health-conscious consumers today prefer packaged dairy products, there is an increasing demand for these products,? said a leading retailer in Mumbai.

According to a spokesperson from BIL, the company is currently outsourcing milk from Schreiber Dynamix Dairy. ?We entered the fresh milk sector (in pouches) in 2001. However, since this category was largely undifferentiated and hence price-driven, Britannia did not have the advantage of value adding or differentiating. We exited the liquid milk segment in 2004-05. We also exited from the JV with Fonterra in 2009,? he said. Incidentally, Nestle India is also outsourcing milk from Shreiber.

On Amul?s core strategy, RS Sodhi, managing director of GCMMF, said, ?My prime objective is to further enhance our leadership position in the Indian dairy market. Our specific focus will be on expanding and streamlining distribution network to ensure deeper penetration for all categories into towns less than one lakh population, as well as in semi-urban areas.?

After foraying into the packaged milk sector with the launch of Kissan Soya Milk, HUL has recently entered the branded dairy products category with the launch of Kissan Creamy Spread in 22 towns across the country. With this move,

HUL now directly takes on Amul, BIL, Nestle India and Mother Dairy in the Indian dairy segment. In Mumbai, FMCG players also face stiff competition from brands like Aarey Dairy, Gokul and Govardhan Dairy.