IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

Digital Marketing initiatives of Amul during COVID-19 Pandemic

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Vinothkumar KR, Dr.Maria Pon Reka D

Abstract

The case is about the success of the Indian dairy cooperative society Amul during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Amul, a dairy brand managed by a cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Limited was jointly owned by 3.6 million dairy farmers in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The declaration of a nationwide lockdown in March 2020 in India due to the outbreak of Covid-19 influenced several businesses to struggle for their survival. In a contrast, the Managing Director of Amul, R S Sodhi, found an opportunity in the crisis. He exploited the pandemic period to gear up Amul's marketing and supply chain activities ensuring to reach people who stayed indoors. People were also cautious about their food thereby demanding trustworthy packaged food rather than non-packaged products. The pandemic forced many food producers to shut their factories but Amul seeked an opportunity and ensured a steady and uninterrupted supply of milk and milk products across the country during the lockdown together ensuring the right marketing strategies to fall in place. In comparison to pre-COVID-19 times, the lockdown period viewed a 5-7% increase in demand for Amul’s liquid packaged milk as consumers trusted the Amul brand over other loose milk. During the lockdown while most businesses decided to cut their media expenses, Amul ensured to grab the market opportunity by doubling its marketing spend on advertising and branding. It reinvented its marketing strategy, focusing on both the traditional and digital advertising space. Amul ensured to stay at the top of the market introducing a variety of of immunity boosting products such as turmeric, tulsi and ginger milk and marketing those products effectively. The brand reputation, resilience, prompt action and adaptability of the dairy giant during the crisis has paved way for it to face the business challenges of any kind that may arise in future.

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