Dairies are some of India’s leading marketers with a constant presence on social media platforms. They have created some of the most memorable campaigns, given many catchy jingles, relevant one-liners, and some mascots that have now become commonplace. So how are these brands catching up with social media? 

This article only covers a few emerging dairies in Tamil Nadu along with the larger players. By one estimate there are 765 dairies in India so comparing all would need someone with deep pockets paying us to do it (truth be told).

Why TN? Because that is where our Analyst is from :) That apart, Tamil Nadu has only 369 grams of per capita milk availability (/day) compared to leaders such as Punjab where this figure is almost 4 times higher (1283 gms/day/capita). With a cumulative annual growth of 1.8% over the past 20 years, the consumption is not growing fast enough to match inflation or any growth metric for that matter. So, all the more need for newer platforms such as social media to acquire new customers and get a leg up over the competition. 

Method: We researched 21 dairies operating in India (top by milk production volume), then shortlisted the data to those that (1) operate in Tamil Nadu, (2) are Indian brands, and (3) were founded after 1980. We arrived at the following brands: Amrithaa, Dodla, Godrej Jersey, Milky Mist, Sakthi, Srikrishna, Tamil, Tirumala, Vethaa, and Vijay Milk.

Sorry, Amul: Amul is the big cow in the room (cos elephants aren’t in context). Amul does more than anyone else in terms of marketing, including social media, in terms of quality or quantity. So this overperformer was deemed an outlier and was excluded to effectively compare other brands. 

The following were four of our top observations: 

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1. Everyone Is Doing It

Large or small or emerging. All dairies recognise the importance of digital marketing to increase their reach and customer base. Most of them have also invested in their digital efforts with a decent correlation between their size (in terms of litres of milk collected and number of average posts over 2 months). 

2. Milking The Most Out Of Statics

When it comes to the choice of social media platforms, brands largely stick to static posts, without taking advantage of the newer forms of short videos / reels etc. which have considerably better engagement and reach. 

Notably, Godrej Jersey, Mother Dairy, Milky Mist, and Tamil Dairy have diversified their choice of marketing mediums. 

3. Saying Cheese to Consistency 

Out of those that were considered with a retail presence in Tamil Nadu, and founded after 1980, Milky Mist, Jersey, and Tirumala are the largest by litres of milk procured per day. This puts in perspective their size along with social media performance. It seems, Milky Mist and Jersey Dairy are considerably more active on Social Media Platforms. Tirumala is a distant third but gets points for performing consistently for a decent period of time. 

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4. Buttering Away With Promotions

When it comes to social media, quantity matters, but quality is critical. While the brands have a variety of types of content, we categorised them under three buckets: (1) conveying brand messaging, (2) promoting causes or educating consumers, (3) promotions (including offers and events). 

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Conclusion

All dairy brands have understood the value of digital and have started or are starting to move ahead with their digital efforts. 

As for how much or how well they do it, there seems to be a direct correlation between the levels of digital activities and the litres collected per day (and retailed which in turn means revenues). 

It is not a surprise that most of the brands are focusing on promotion related content, whereas brands that balance out their messaging with educational, current events, or engagement related content, are seeing better long-term results. 

What is still sorely needed is for all of them to recognize the importance of newer forms of content, especially short videos including stories, and reels, through the appropriate platforms. Because the amount of time people spend on this type of content is shooting up. And those brands that don’t see ahead of the curve, might not just miss the bulls-eye, but might end up crying over spilled milk.

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* Data for graphs are as of year 2022