Anand: Amul has announced the launch of Amul Fresh Paneer, or cottage cheese, commencing 26 November. The launch marks Amul''''s foray into the Fresh Paneer segment, which will see the milk distribution juggernaut leverage its liquid milk distribution network that spans 100,000 retail outlets across India.
Amul Fresh Paneer is the addition in Amul''''s product portfolio, and plans to become the number one brand in the Indian paneer market.

Amul is already a market leader in frozen paneer category, with its Amul Malai Paneer brand commanding more than a 65 per cent share in the branded paneer market. The foray into the distribution of the fresh paneer segment will strengthen its position in the dairy products category.

Initially, Amul will Amul Fresh Paneer in Ahmedabad via its liquid milk distribution network, in the convenient sizes of a 200g block priced at Rs25, and a 1 kg block priced at Rs115.

 Amul Fresh Paneer, according to a company release, is made from pure, fresh milk, which gives it a rich, creamier taste. It has high fat and low moisture content compared to the open paneer available in the market. It is available in tamperproof, sealed poly-packs, ensuring quality and longer refrigerated shelf life of up to 15 days.

According to a company release, the Indian paneer market is estimated at around one lakh metric tonnes per annum, 80 per cent of which is sold as open or loose paneer by local milk vendors.

Paneer is the largest dairy product sold in terms of volume after liquid milk, with a universal acceptance across the Indian sub-continent, making it one of the highest consumed dairy products. The paneer market can be segmented into two major segments, viz. consumers & institutions, with the institutional segment contributing over 80 per cent of the total paneer market, though it is highly price sensitive.

Fresh Milk in the Pink City
In a related development, Amul has also announced the availability of its fresh milk in the pink city of Jaipur. Amul is currently the world''''s largest fresh milk brand in pouches.

According to R S Sodhi, chief general manager, GCMMF, the cooperative is committed to provide pure and fresh milk at reasonable price to the consumer.

According to a company release announcing the launch of Amul milk in Jaipur, the milk does not contain any milk powder, and is packed at the state of the art plant in Jaipur. The company has 30 registered distributors and over 5,000 retailers covering almost every corner of Jaipur, to a population of 30 lakh people. The market for milk is about 10 lakh litres per day, of which Saras, a cooperative, sells 5 lakh litres per day, and loose milk sales contribute the rest.

GCMMF plans to achieve a target of 50,000 litres per day by the end of the year.

Amul Fresh Milk will be available in three variants: Amul Gold (full cream milk having 6 per cent fat, retailed at Rs23.00 per litre), Amul Taaza (toned milk having 3 per cent fat, retailed at Rs18.00 per litre) and Amul Slim''''n''''Trim milk (double toned milk, with 1.5 per cent fat, retailed at Rs16.00 per litre).

All the three variants will be available in one litre and 500ml packs.