Packaged milk sales in the urban areas have witnessed an increase of 13% between July 2007 and June 2008, a study conducted by the market research firm IMRB International says.
During the period even the penetration of the packaged milk went up by 2%.
?Rising awareness about hygiene standards and adulteration of loose milk has led consumers in urban areas to switch over to packaged milk,? Manoj Menon, insight director, IMRB International said.
Quite in contrast, the loose milk segment has seen sales coming down by 5% during the same period.
In terms of packet sizes the 200 ml size is growing at a faster pace compared to other standard pack sizes like 500 ml pack and 1 litre pack. ?The volumes of 200 ml packet increased by 36% during the period. The volumes for 500 ml packet went up by 16 %, Menon said.
According to Sharad Gupta, editor, Dairy India Yearbook, the Delhi-NCR market for packaged milk is estimated at around 40 lakh litres per day. Apart from Mother Dairy and Amul, the other smaller players in the packaged segment include the government-owned Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS) and private
dairies including Paras and Gopaljee. In mid-August 2008, Amul crossed 10-lakh litres per day in packet sales in Delhi-NCR region. Amul was launched in Delhi market four years back. Mother Dairy, established over three decades back, is averaging sales of 14 lakh litres per day of packed milk.
