Butter cookie taunt: Dairy major locks horns with India’s biscuit giants over ‘real butter’ cookies

By Gill Hyslop

- Last updated on GMT

Amul is challenging Brittania, Parle and ITC over its butter cookies. Pic: ©GettyImages/bigacis/Sunny11
Amul is challenging Brittania, Parle and ITC over its butter cookies. Pic: ©GettyImages/bigacis/Sunny11
Anand Milk Union Limited (Amul) – which recently launched butter cookies – has accused other biscuit manufacturers in the Indian market of allegedly producing butter cookies for the Indian market that contain more vegetable oil than real butter.

The dairy cooperative has negligible market share of the Rs 25,000 crore ($3.63bn) biscuit manufacturing sector, but it isn’t pulling any punches in going against some of the country’s biggest biscuit manufacturers, including Britannia (34% market share), Parle (29%) and ITC (18%).

Its latest print and digital advertising campaign alleges most butter cookies on the market contain only 0.3% to 3% butter and 20% to 22% vegetable oil. Conversely, it claims its own cookies are made of 25% butter and zero vegetable oil.

It also emphasizes that its other biscuits variants, such as Chocolate, Jeera, Oat and Honey cookies, are also made with the ‘goodness of Amul butter.’

To emphasize the messaging, Amul has launched a contest on Twitter and Instagram, encouraging consumers to put up pictures of any brand of butter cookie and share their butter content.

Amul-pic

RS Sodhi, MD of Amul, said the company plans to disrupt the biscuits and the overall bakery space.

“We have launched these cookies in Gujarat and parts of Mumbai as of now. The plan is to launch these cookies across trade channels in Maharashtra and Rajasthan as well,” ​he said.

Amul has set up plants in Anand and Surat to manufacture cookies and other bakery products.

In terms of pricing, Amul has placed itself in the premium category, with its cookies priced at Rs 10 ($1.40) for a 40g pack.

Britannia sells its Good Day Butter Cookies for Rs 5 ($0.75) for a 39g pack and Parle sells its 20-20 Butter Cookies for Rs 20 ($2.90) for a 150g pack.

Big hitter

Amul is not shy when it comes to comparative marketing.

Last year, it locked horns with players in the frozen dessert space with a campaign stating that Amul ice creams are made of real milk, while frozen desserts contain vegetable oil and are not 100% milk-based.

Frozen desserts maker Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) filed a lawsuit in Bombay high court, asking for Amul to stop airing the ads and seeking damages.

The court eventually ruled in Amul’s favor, but enforced that the campaign’s ‘disparaging’ content, including shots of vanaspati (vegetable oil) flowing from a cup labeled ‘frozen dessert,’ be deleted.

Consumer goods company HUL owns Kwality Wall’s, the largest frozen dessert brand in India.

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