# Food and beverage processing: Follow one offering through the chain Processors turning crops, milk, meat and fish into packaged, branded food and drink Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/story/ #### Follow one offering through the chain **2** Example story · 6 steps · India ### A pouch of Amul milk Follow a litre of milk from a Gujarat village to a pouch on your doorstep by breakfast. 1 / 6 · Farm and raw-material sourcing #### Milked in 18,600 Gujarat villages **36 lakh**farmer members of Amul's federation Twice a day, members bring milk to their village cooperative society, where it is weighed, tested for fat and paid for. Amul's federation links 36 lakh farmers in 18,600 Gujarat villages through 18 member unions, and handled about 310 lakh litres a day in FY24. India produced over 247 million tonnes of milk in 2024-25, nearly a quarter of world output.^[1](https://www.newsonair.gov.in/india-consistently-retained-its-top-position-globally-in-milk-production-govt/)^,^[2](https://www.outlookbusiness.com/corporate/dairy-major-gcmmf-sees-double-digit-revenue-growth-in-fy25-on-high-demand-for-amul-products) **Constraint** Most members keep only a few animals, so heat stress, fodder shortages or cattle disease quickly cut the milk a society collects. [Mk Milk & dairy](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/)[H₂O Water](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/)[Mz Maize](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/maize/)[Water and sanitation](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/water_sanitation/) 2 / 6 · Primary processing #### Chilled, pasteurised and standardised **500 lakh**litres a day processing capacity, 2024 Milk is chilled in bulk coolers and trucked to a union dairy, where it is separated, standardised to the fat level printed on the pouch, homogenised and pasteurised; FSSAI rules require at least 71.5°C for 15 seconds, then cooling to 10°C or less. Amul's unions could process about 500 lakh litres a day in 2024, after most of a Rs 11,000 crore expansion.^[2](https://www.outlookbusiness.com/corporate/dairy-major-gcmmf-sees-double-digit-revenue-growth-in-fy25-on-high-demand-for-amul-products)^,^[7](https://www.foodsafetyhelpline.com/fssai-compliance/pasteurisation-guidelines-food-safety-regulations/) **Constraint** Raw milk spoils within hours if not chilled, so dairies need reliable power for coolers at thousands of village collection points. [Mk Milk & dairy](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/)[NH3 Ammonia](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ammonia/)[NaOH Caustic soda](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/caustic_soda/)[H₂O Water](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/)[Electrical equipment](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/electrical_equipment/)[Machinery and equipment](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/machinery/) 3 / 6 · Ingredients, packaging and equipment #### Sealed in a plastic film pouch **50%**plastic cut asked of dairies, 2019 Form-fill-seal machines turn rolls of printed polyethylene film into half-litre and one-litre pouches, filling and heat-sealing them in one motion. The pouch is cheap and light but hard to collect once used. In 2019 the dairy ministry asked federations and private dairies to at least halve their plastic use, and plastic rules now make brands responsible for recovering what they sell.^[3](https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1582520) **Constraint** Thin, milk-soiled pouch film has little scrap value, so meeting EPR recovery targets is a running cost for every dairy. [LLDPE Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyethylene/)[Pig Organic pigments](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pigments/)[Oil Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/crude_oil/)[Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/plastic_rubber/)[Machinery and equipment](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/machinery/) 4 / 6 · Ingredients, packaging and equipment #### Tested against FSSAI standards **5.7%**samples above aflatoxin M1 limit, 2018 Every batch is tested for fat, solids-not-fat, adulterants and residues, and the dairy works under an FSSAI licence. National surveys keep up the pressure: FSSAI's 2018 national survey of 6,432 milk samples found 368, or 5.7%, above the limit for aflatoxin M1, a toxin that comes from mouldy cattle feed, and it was more common in processed than raw milk.^[4](https://mail.fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Report_Milk_Survey_NMQS_Final_18_10_2019.pdf) **Constraint** Aflatoxin enters through badly stored feed such as maize and oilcake, so safety depends on farmers' storage as much as on dairy tests. [Rgt Reagents and high-purity lab chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/)[Mz Maize](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/maize/)[Professional services](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/professional_services/) 5 / 6 · Branded manufacturing #### Sold under one cooperative brand **11%**GCMMF turnover growth, 2024-25 The federation, GCMMF, owns the Amul brand, plans production across the unions, sets prices and runs the advertising, while the district unions own the dairies and pass earnings back to farmers as milk prices. The model has scaled: GCMMF's turnover rose 11% to Rs 65,911 crore in 2024-25, driven mainly by higher sales volumes.^[5](https://www.indiancooperative.com/co-op-news-snippets/amul-reports-11-revenue-growth-in-fy-2024-25/amp/) **Constraint** A cooperative must keep paying farmers competitive prices even when it cuts retail prices, which squeezes margins when feed costs rise. [Mk Milk & dairy](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/)[LLDPE Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyethylene/)[Paper and packaging](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/paper_packaging/)[Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/plastic_rubber/) 6 / 6 · Retail and food service #### On the doorstep before breakfast **Rs 67**Amul Gold one litre, Delhi, Jan 2025 Insulated trucks carry pouches overnight to distributors and milk booths, and by dawn they reach kirana shops, quick-commerce warehouses and doorsteps. Price matters most at this end: in January 2025 Amul cut its one-litre packs by Rs 1, taking Amul Gold to Rs 67 and Amul Taaza to Rs 55 in Delhi, to nudge buyers towards larger packs.^[6](https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/amul-reduces-milk-prices-by-1-for-one-litre-packs-across-india) **Constraint** Pasteurised pouch milk keeps only briefly, so any break in the overnight cold chain means spoiled stock and returns. [Mk Milk & dairy](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/)[Oil Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/crude_oil/)[Transport and logistics](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/transport_logistics/)[Wholesale and retail trade](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/wholesale_retail/) #### What the chain shows Amul shows that India's food strength is pooling millions of small farms; the weak links are cold chains, feed safety and plastic recovery. Sources 1. [India consistently retained its top position globally in milk production: Govt](https://www.newsonair.gov.in/india-consistently-retained-its-top-position-globally-in-milk-production-govt/) All India Radio News (Prasar Bharati), 2026 2. [Dairy major GCMMF sees double-digit revenue growth in FY25 on high demand for Amul products](https://www.outlookbusiness.com/corporate/dairy-major-gcmmf-sees-double-digit-revenue-growth-in-fy25-on-high-demand-for-amul-products) Outlook Business (PTI), 2024 3. [Review of milk situation: dairies asked to reduce and recycle plastic milk pouches](https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1582520) Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, 2019 4. [National Milk Safety and Quality Survey 2018: report](https://mail.fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Report_Milk_Survey_NMQS_Final_18_10_2019.pdf) Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, 2019 5. [Amul reports 11% revenue growth in FY 2024-25](https://www.indiancooperative.com/co-op-news-snippets/amul-reports-11-revenue-growth-in-fy-2024-25/amp/) Indian Cooperative, 2025 6. [Amul reduces milk prices by Rs 1 for one-litre packs across India](https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/amul-reduces-milk-prices-by-1-for-one-litre-packs-across-india) Free Press Journal, 2025 7. [Pasteurisation guidelines under FSS (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011](https://www.foodsafetyhelpline.com/fssai-compliance/pasteurisation-guidelines-food-safety-regulations/) Food Safety Helpline (Auriga Research), 2015 ## Other sections - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/index.md) - [Where ₹100 goes](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/cost-mix/index.md) - [Price links with suppliers](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/price-links/index.md) - [Linked industries](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/linked-industries/index.md) - [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/value-chain/index.md) - [Materials drawn on](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/materials/index.md) - [Chokepoints and risks](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/risks/index.md) - [Sources](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/sources/index.md)