Mother Dairy to launch Dhara edible oil in smaller packs to reclaim market

Mother Dairy to launch Dhara edible oil in smaller packs to reclaim market

NEW DELHI: Delhi-based dairy major Mother Dairy will soon launch its edible oil brand Dhara in small, affordable packs in a bid to regain its lost ground in the edible oil market.

In a first for a national edible oil maker, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable will roll out 100 ml and 200 ml packs of Dhara at Rs 15 and Rs 28 each, Sanjeev Giri, business head at Dhara, said.

Dhara, one of the oldest edible oil brands in the country launched 25 years ago, has lost out to brands such as Adani's Fortune, Marico's Saffola and Ruchi Soya as its parent focused mainly on its core dairy business while rivals brought out new variants such as heart-friendly oils in attractive packages.

"We lost out somewhere," Giri said. "But the focus on the brand has been accelerated in recent times," he said.

The company plans packaging upgrades and newer variants as it looks to double Dhara sales from current Rs 800 crore a year by 2020, officials said.

Till 2003, Dhara was being distributed by Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which owns the country's largest dairy brand Amul.

That year National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), owners of Mother Dairy, terminated its contract with GCMMF and brought the edible oil brand under Mother Dairy.

A Mother Dairy official said Dhara has been on the backburner since then. "Dhara was selling well when it was with GCMMF," the person said.

Giri said mini packs of Dhara will be first rolled out in rural markets, starting with the East, in a bid to convert rural consumers from loose to packaged oil.

These packs will be taken to other markets in the second or third quarter of the year.

Mother Dairy plans to leverage Safal booths to retail the new Dhara packs. Traditionally strong in the East and North, it is stepping up distribution in the West and South, Giri said.

The consumer pack business in edible is estimated at Rs 23,000 crore and is characterised by wafer-thin margins to distributors.