Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), one of India's greatest success stories with its Amul brand is India's largest food products marketing organization. It is a state level apex body of milk cooperatives in Gujarat which aims to provide remunerative returns to the farmers and also serve the interest of consumers by providing quality products which are good value for money. The biggest hit is not surprisingly the Amul ice-creams, which are expected to contribute greatly to the turnover. With new products in almost every line being launched the specific stress on Amul ice-creams.

According to the study, in mature ice-cream markets, the take-home segment accounts for more than 70 per cent of all ice-cream consumption. While in India, the take-home segment contributes to a mere 20 per cent of the market. This is due to the overbearing social context and price factor association with ice-cream consumption in India. Meanwhile just before the onset of the peak ice-cream sales season, the Mumbai market has recorded higher shares for Amul ice-creams versus that of the market leader Kwality Walls.

Amul ice-creams are made from milk and milk products, sugar, stabilizers and emulsifiers. They come in 50 ml cup, 100 ml cup, 500 ml pack,1 liter pack, 4 liter pack, Chocobar, Ice candies, Cones and Kulfies packaging. The flavors are vanilla, strawberry, pineapple, orange, rose, mango, chocolate, honey-dew-melon, tutti-frutti, litchi, Kesar Pista, Kaju Draksh, butterscotch, Chocochips, Rajbhog and cashew break. The varieties of Amul ice-creams can be made from the basic mix by addition of required amount of permissible colors and flavors. Dry fruits and nuts would be used for making premium varieties of ice-creams. The product meets BIS specification.

The studies show that even in the most affluent Indian cities, ice-cream eating at home is confined to a few occasions and is therefore restricted to the three regular flavors - vanilla, chocolate and butterscotch. In fact vanilla accounted for nearly 40 per cent of all flavors. This resulted in the market being limited to regular flavors, thus restricting ice-cream consumption to an occasional experience.

Delhi ice cream market accounts for around 18 per cent of the India's estimated Rs 525 crore organized ice-cream market of 80.8 million liters. It also boasts of a per capita annual ice-cream consumption of 1.45 liters, as against the national average of 0.25 liters. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (or Amul) has launched its ice-creams in Delhi, setting the stage for a three-cornered tussle with Kwality Walls and Mother Dairy for the country's largest market for ice-creams. Delhi is a market that is expanding by 20 per cent each year. Mother Dairy's plant here has capacity constraints to cater to this expanding market. Amul's presence would ensure that the incremental market will not accrue to Kwality Walls alone.

For its ice-cream and milk business, GCMMF has been investing in increasing its milk capacity. The cooperative is also planning to expand its production facilities beyond Gujarat to service other regions in India.