According to the cooperative, which earns the bulk of its revenue from sale of pasteurised milk, the sale of Lassi in Tetra packs, polypacks and bottles has registered record growth to touch Rs74.2m.
“Lassi has undoubtedly emerged as one of our most saleable and profitable commodities,” said Milkfed Punjab’s managing director, VK Singh.
Apparently, youth – soft targets of soft drink and cola manufacturers – are also taking to drinking Lassi.
“We have observed fast-changing preferences of young consumers who have shown great inclination towards Lassi,” he added. “To meet the growing demand, we had to enhance the capacity of our Lassi plant,” he added.
Traders confirmed that the demand for Lassi was on the rise.
“Lassi is the only item that remains in demand throughout the day,” said Manmohan Singh, general secretary of the Chandigarh-based Verka Milk Booth Association (VMBA). “We are often out of stock, and sales have almost doubled in the last year.”
Milkfed’s Lassi is available in three flavours – plain, sweet and salty – with the plain version remaining the most popular.
“The fact that it’s free from any fats or cream has made plain Lassi popular among people suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure,” he said.
Kheer, a sweet dish made of milk, is another lucrative product for the cooperative society. According to Milkfed, the product recorded sales of Rs11.6m in 2008-09, a 97% growth over the previous year.
Sale of pasteurised milk similarly increased by 25% to touch Rs49.7m.
“We’re aiming to maintain the present growth rate, and apart from that, we have a couple of new offerings that we would divulge in the coming months,” said Singh. “Now we have a presence in every town in Punjab and will certainly enlarge our distribution network.”
Source: The Hindu
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