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Sahara India to enter dairy business

Sahara India reportedly plans to enter into dairy production business from next year and could be a serious threat for Anand based Amul.

Subrato Roy, Sahara chief  was quoted as saying ,” We are going to make a foray into dairy business by opening the world's biggest dairy on April 1, 2013. We plan to produce 50 lakh tonnes of milk.”

The company would supply pure quality milk at a reasonable price to the public from his dairy and for this 9,000 acres would be acquired near Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh besides land in Madhya Pradesh, reports added.

Henkel India to merge with Jyothy Laboratories

The board of directors of Jyothy Laboratories Ltd. (JLL) today approved the amalgamation of Henkel India Ltd. (HIL) with itself.

As per the scheme of arrangement, shareholders of HIL will get 1 share of JLL for every 8 shares of HIL, subject to adjustment for impending issue of Bonus Shares in the ratio of 1:1 by JLL. The shares held by JLL in HIL will be extinguished post merger.

After the merger, equity of JLL will increase by 2.87%.

Commenting on the event, M P Ramachandran - Chairman & Managing Director, Jyothy Laboratories Ltd said, "We have been integrating operation of hoth JLL and Hll to derive synergies in cost, marketing and distribution. Merger is one more step towards reaping the benefits of our efforts."

Henkel India shares surge as Jyothi Labs mulls merger

Infocus News

Amul’s lovable little girl turns 50!

The extremely charming and cute Amul girl has scored a half century. The little girl in polka-dot frock with red shoes recently surpassed this major milestone. That makes the popular Amul campaign among the most successful ones in the advertising history of India.
 
Hoarding by hoarding, the Amul girl has built India’s leading food brand. Over the past five decades, she has brilliantly chronicled India’s history through her short but sweet one-liners. The Amul cartoons have captured the imagination of the entire country and continue to be source of entertainment.
 
The Amul girl has been tongue-in-cheek, but rarely has she been malicious. Still, there have been occasions when Amul’s catchy slogans have courted controversy. The Amul hoardings have been followed by fans for decades. Seemingly ageless, this long-running campaign has captivated fans across all ages.
 
To celebrate this momentous occasion, the owners of Amul brand, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), have come out with a unique and interesting book with tributes from the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Alyque Padamsee, Cyrus Broacha, Harsha Bhogle, Miling Deora, Rahul Dravid, Rajdeep Sardesai, Shobha de, Sania Mirza, Shyam Benegal, Sunil Gavaskar, Santosh Desai and Rahul daCunha.  
 
The book celebrates the journey of the Amul girl through the eyes of prominent writers, public figures and the subjects of the hoardings themselves. It contains a series of vignettes, creating a patchwork quilt of essays, snippets and selections of classic hoardings. It offers an inside peek into the story of the creative ads.
 
The book portrays how a milk producers’ co-operative created a ‘White Revolution’. It traces how Amul has evolved as a brand by commenting on the popular political and social culture of India over the past four decades.
 
More than anything else, the Amul cartoon ads featuring the ever-so adorable girl have taught us to have a little laugh at what’s been happening across the country. Be it Bollywood, or cricket or politics, the Amul ads have always taken a humorous view of things without being too offensive. It is indeed a great feat in itself that the inimitable Amul ad campaign is still going strong at 50.

So, don’t forget to book your copy of the book aptly titled “Amul’s India” and marvel at the creative genius of the people behind the Amul ad campaign. The paperback is priced at Rs. 299 and has been published by Harper Collins. The Amul ads have been created by DaCunha Communications since 1966.

Domestic News

Govt lifts ban on export of skimmed milk powder

The government to boost finances of dairy unit has reportedly lifted ban on exports of skimmed milk powder (SMP).

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) was quoted as saying,“Classifications of export and import items have been bifurcated and an entry number 38.01 (new entry) ‘skimmed milk powder’ is introduced. Export of new entry namely skimmed milk powder has been made free.” 

Exports of milk and cream, concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, including whole milk powder, dairy whitener and infant milk foods are still prohibited,reports added.

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Global News

Unilever CEO Paul Polman: R&D critical to driving behaviour change

Unilever brings together behaviour change experts at new Vlaardingen symposium.
Science and innovation will be instrumental in helping people to change towards more sustainable lifestyles, Unilever CEO Paul Polman said in a speech today.

Introducing the Symposium on Behaviour Change for Better Health in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands, Polman said that Research & Development has a major role to play in deepening companies' understanding of consumer behaviour, and designing the solutions which encourage them to adopt more sustainable habits - in both developed and developing & emerging markets.

Overcoming the challenge of consumer behaviour change is a key focus for Unilever in its efforts to deliver the targets set in the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, which outlines the company's vision to double the size of its business while reducing its environmental impact and increasing its positive social impact.

Under the plan, Unilever has committed to help a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, halve the environmental footprint of its products across their entire value chain, and source 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably - all by 2020.

With consumers' use of Unilever products accounting for 68 per cent of the company's carbon footprint, breakthrough science will act as “a critical catalyst and enabler of behaviour change” to help Unilever meet its targets.

“If we are going to halve our environmental impact and help a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, we have to inspire consumers to choose more sustainable products and adopt more sustainable habits when they cook, clean and wash with our products,” said Polman.

“We know that if our scientific understanding of behaviour change is applied rigorously, behaviour change is possible. Superior products, new technologies and compelling ways of deploying behaviour change programmes are some of the ways we have learnt to use science and innovation to inspire change amongst shoppers, individuals and even households.

“We see this in play everyday – from the person at risk of cardiovascular disease who is using plant based margarines to reduce their saturated fat intake to school children who want to share what they have learnt about washing hands with soap with their family.”

“Changing behaviour is going to require further new approaches, and science and innovation will be critical in helping people to change towards a more sustainable, healthier lifestyle. We need to take on the challenge of applying the best of our scientific and technological advancements and using them to work towards a sustainable future. This is something that requires a long term-committed investment and widespread collaboration.”

In April 2012, Unilever reported on its first year of progress towards achieving its USLP targets. Whilst there has been good progress in some areas, such as in sustainable sourcing where 24% of Unilever’s total agricultural raw materials are now sustainably sourced, the targets which require consumer behaviour change are areas where progress has been difficult.

Last year Unilever published its own model for effective behaviour change, the Five Levers for Change. This offers a practical tool based on decades of research, observation and skill from inside and outside Unilever. The document emphasises that to action change in behaviour it is necessary to make it understood, easy, desirable, rewarding, and habitual.

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