Amul Probiotic Ice-Cream

Amul Probiotic Ice-cream Part I: Concept Evaluation As per Market survey, most of the people are today becoming health and calorie conscious. Amul wanted to capture this health conscious market segment of ice cream consumers with the launch of its specially created Probiotic wellness ice cream. Essentially, it would not only convert non-consumers of ice cream into eaters but also increase frequency of ice cream eating. It expects to get 10 per cent additional growth only through the Probiotic range.

Since the company will be the first to introduce the innovation, developed in-house, it expects to build the market and capture the entire market for Probiotic ice cream.

(Source: http://www. scribd. com/doc/13702816/Amul-Prolife-Probiotic-Sugarfree-icecream-Project) Supporting Facts: 1. PROBIOTICS are live beneficial culture which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a beneficial health effect on the host. They help in digestion, improve the immune system, fight against allergic reactions and are effective in controlling travelers’ diarrhea.

They also help in the prevention of formation and growth of colon cancer and enhances brain activity.

2. “The incorporation of Probiotic bacteria into ice-creams is highly advantageous since, in addition to being a rich food from the nutritional point of view, containing dairy raw material, vitamins and minerals in its composition, it is usually consumed by everybody, being well accepted by the public,” wrote the reviewers, led by Adriano Cruz from Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Sao Paulo. — Food Research International. (Source: http://www. utraingredients. com/Research/Great-potential-of-Probiotic-ice-cream/) Concept Development Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).

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Strengths: Its wellness ice cream which improve immunity & digestion. Amul Sugar-free Probiotic Diabetic Delight contains 50 per cent less fat and half of the calorie than normal ice cream. (Source: http://www. kashvet. org/bb/viewtopic. php? f=12&t=123) Weaknesses: The durability of Amul ice-cream is not good, it melts very soon.

Not a famous brand among youngsters who are the main customer. Opportunities: Since the company is the first to introduce the innovation, developed in-house, it expects to build the market and capture the entire market for Probiotic ice cream. The target market will be the Health conscious consumer. Threats: Competition from foreign existing brands like Baskin Robbins & Gelato etc. Product Design & Development Amul Probiotic wellness ice cream will be available in five flavours: vanilla with chocolate sauce, strawberry, chocolate, Anjir and fresh litchi.

Also available in so many flavours packed in international packing. (Source: http://www. just-food. com/news/amul-set-to-launch-Probiotic-ice-cream_id97947. aspx) Planning Product Development Identify the Needs of Products/Services: With strong emphasis on Education, bigger workforce and longer working hours, there has been a significant change in the eating habits of people (especially in the Metro cities and Tier 2 cities). People have become more health conscious and Diet and Lifestyle related diseases have also been on the rise.

In such an environment, a lot of essential food products and FMCG companies have come out with a range of products that focus on the specific needs of ever growing our urban population. Products such as Low Cholesterol Oil, Sugar Free Sweetener and Low Sodium Salt have been quite successful. The following factors have come into light during the process of Needs identification of ‘Amul Probiotic Ice cream’:
• Rising Educated Workforce in India
• Greater emphasis on Healthy Lifestyle
• Weight Consciousness as Ice-Creams are basically considered to be a Sweet/Delicacy that can make you fat if over-eaten High Sugar content in Ice-creams; making it unsuitable for Diabetic people
• Similar Strategized Products (for Health Conscious) already available and successful in the Market like Low Cholesterol Oil, Sugar Free Sweetener and Low Sodium Salt
• Infact, these are Healthy Ice-Creams which actually help improve our health in many aspects. Market Segmentation: The overall intent is to identify groups of similar customers and potential customers; to prioritize the groups to address; to understand their behaviour; and to respond with appropriate marketing strategies that satisfy the preferences of chosen segment.

The Needs/Requirements identified above will help in creating or identifying the Market Segment for our product. Let’s use the following four bases to segment our product’s market: Geographic segmentation: The product should be made available in Regions where Amul already has some presence, and especially with Hot Climate, which induces large consumption of Cold products like Ice creams. Demographic segmentation: Since the Product needs an aware, educated consumer market; the Product will have to be targeted towards Metro and Tier-II cities.

Psychographic segmentation: The Lifestyle of High End cities; where most of the population is part of the workforce, highly urban preferences with a lot of emphasis on Diet and Health. Such an environment is highly conducive for the launch of Amul’s new healthy Ice creams which should not find it very difficult to find demand for its product. Behavioural segmentation: Urban cities already have a demand of Ice creams, with people mainly relying on packaged sweets and delicacies compared to the rural markets and small towns, where people still prefer home-cooked sweets.

Also, High-Incomes in Urban cities would be able to absorb the slight increase in price (if any) for such products, due to the value being derived out of it. Based on the above factors, we could see the our Market Segment for ‘Amul Probiotic Ice cream’ can be defined as ‘Educated, aware, health conscious people living in Urban cities’. Deciding the Product features As per the Needs and Requirements identified and the Market segment decided, a complete range of product features will be formulated. Thereafter, a VOC (Voice of Customer) will be used to determine the Product features, composition, layout, packaging etc.

Ensuring design for manufacturability
• Lower development cost o Same raw materials used to manufacture Probiotic ice cream as used to manufacture basic ice cream with additional process added to the overall process. o Little extra cost for heat treatment, incubation and inoculation to inculcate Probiotic culture.
• Shorter development time o Same process can be used with addition few activities to add Probiotic culture into the mix. o Flexibility and overlapping of process makes manufacturing time shorter.
• Faster manufacturing start of build Readily available of raw material and ready resources with same process line makes faster manufacturing start of build.
• Lower assembly and test costs o Same testing procedures can be used to test both the line of products makes overall testing cost lower.
• Higher quality o To ensure high quality following will be tested as per FDA standards ? Testing of milk products ? Tests for fat content, total solids ? Pasteurization efficiency ? Presence of antibiotics used to control cow disease PART-II Progress Tracking Metrics

This section would focus on the Metrics to be used to track the progress of product development and success for the product – Amul Probiotic Icecream. Different stages and corresponding metrics: 1. Product and Process Design:
• No. of customer inputs (VOC / other source) converted to product design parameter. Metrics: No. of design parameters / No of significant customer inputs
• No. of design parameters found technically feasible for incorporation into the product / manufacturing process. Metrics: No. of feasible parameters / No of significant customer inputs

Explanation: While launching a new product, the probability of acceptability of the product is increased when maximum number of (significant) customer inputs (culled from a market survey) is incorporated in to the finished product. Customers may provide inputs on preferred flavor of ice cream / packaging / preferred price range and such others. Not all flavors/packaging/price range may be techno-economically feasible. Hence a decision has to be taken for selection of optimum numbers of customer inputs (customer wish list) as product design parameters.

This decision will be taken by a cross functional team which would include personnel from R&D, Operations, Marketing, Finance and representative of higher management. These metric shall measure the deviation of the product design from the ideal product as per VOC. Management may use this metric to measure the fit of the product design with the market expectations on the product. 2. Manufacturing Process: In order to develop metrics for manufacturing process, a benchmark is required in following terms: (since this would involve mass production the smallest unit shall be one batch of packs instead of per unit pack) Standard time to process one batch of Amul Probiotic Ice cream. (ST) – to be determined based on Work study.
• Standard cost involved to process one batch. (SC) – to be determined based on ideal cost of inputs.
• Standard productivity measure (Value of input / Value of Output) Process performance variables shall be measured based on above benchmarks. Metrics: Actual Time to process / ST Metrics: Actual Cost of Production / SC Metrics: Productivity (Factor productivity as well as total productivity) 3. Quality Control Process:

This would entail development of usual QC metrics at various stages of production:
• QC parameter for raw materials (Variation of characteristics of inputs in comparison to prescribed technical specification. Applicable to all inputs including milk, Probiotic culture, packings etc. )
• QC for finished product:- As above. 4. Marketing Process: The metrics involved shall be the usual marketing metrics including:
• Quantity sold compared with estimated sales at various time (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half yearly and annual sales after launch). Retail outlet wise / segment wise throughput – to assess market reception of the product after launch in various localities/region and across various market segments.
• Percentage conversion of normal ice cream user to Probiotic ice cream.
• Number of new converts – non ice cream users buying Probiotic ice cream. The Manufacturing Process Probiotic ice creams manufacturing process involves many common things with rest of the Amul’s product. Raw material is same as that is used in other milk products of the company. In this way this product being new will be more cost effective and time spent on the production will also be low.

Amul Probiotic Ice Cream Process Flow Chart [pic] Process Followed: 1. Milk is a perishable commodity. For this reason, it is usually processed locally within diary. [pic] Cows are milked twice a day using mechanical vacuum milking machines. The raw milk flows through stainless steel or glass pipes to a refrigerated bulk milk tank. Collecting
• Dairy cows are milked twice a day using mechanical vacuum milking machines. The raw milk flows through stainless steel or glass pipes to a refrigerated bulk milk tank where it is cooled to about 40° F (4. 4° C). A refrigerated bulk tank truck makes collections from dairy farms in the area within a few hours. Before pumping the milk from each farm’s tank, the driver collects a sample and checks the flavor and temperature and records the volume.
• At the milk processing plant, the milk in the truck is weighed and is pumped into refrigerated tanks in the plant through flexible stainless steel or plastic hoses. Separating
• The cold raw milk passes through either a clarifier or a separator, which spins the milk through a series of conical disks inside an enclosure.

A clarifier removes debris, some bacteria, and any sediment that may be present in the raw milk. A separator performs the same task, but also separates the heavier milk fat from the lighter milk to produce both cream and skim milk. The excess milk fat is drawn off and processed into cream or butter. Fortifying
• Vitamins A and D may be added to the milk at this time by a peristaltic pump, [pic] A clarifier removes debris, some bacteria, and any sediment that may be present in the raw milk.

The milk is then fortified and pasteurized,which automatically dispenses the correct amount of vitamin concentrate into the flow of milk Pasteurizing
• The milk—either whole milk, skim milk, or standardized milk—is piped into a pasteurizer to kill any bacteria. There are several methods used to pasteurize milk. The most common is called the high-temperature, short-time (HTST) process in which the milk is heated as it flows through the pasteurizer continuously. Whole milk, skim milk, and standardized milk must be heated to 161° F (72° C) for 15 seconds. Homogenizing Most milk is homogenized to reduce the size of the remaining milk fat particles. This prevents the milk fat from separating and floating to the surface as cream. It also ensures that the milk fat will be evenly distributed through the milk. The hot milk from the pasteurizer is pressurized to 2,500-3,000 psi (17,200-20,700 kPa) by a multiple-cylinder piston pump and is forced through very small passages in an adjustable valve. The shearing effect of being forced through the tiny openings breaks down the fat particles into the proper size.
• The milk is then quickly cooled to 40° F (4. ° C) to avoid harming its taste.
• This milk after undergoing all the above stated processes is finally used in the preparation of Probiotic ice creams. Packaging Packaging process includes the same process as used for Amul Ice-creams, the packets are of same size some as paper packs, plastic bowls etc, but the picture the packs contain is different stating Probiotic Ice-creams. Quality Control The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes the Grade A Milk Ordinance which sets sanitation standards for milk production in most states and for all interstate milk shippers.

The composition of milk and milk products is specified in Agricultural Handbook 52 published by the United States Department of Agriculture. It lists both federal and state standards. Testing of milk products includes tests for fat content, total solids, pasteurization efficiency, presence of antibiotics used to control cow disease, and many others. 1. Village Dairy Cooperative Society (VDCS) The milk producers of a village, having surplus milk after own consumption, come together and form a Village Dairy Cooperative Society (VDCS). The Village Dairy Cooperative is the primary society under the three-tier structure.

The main functions of the VDCS are as follows:
• Collection of surplus milk from the milk producers of the village & payment based on quality & quantity
• Providing support services to the members like Veterinary First Aid, Artificial Insemination services, cattle-feed sales, mineral mixture sales, fodder & fodder seed sales, conducting training on Animal Husbandry & Dairying, etc. 2. District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (Milk Union) The Village Societies of a District having surplus milk after local sales come together and form a District Milk Union.

The Milk Union is the second tier under the three-tier structure. The main functions of the Milk Union are as follows:
• Procurement of milk from the Village Dairy Societies of the District
• Arranging transportation of raw milk from the VDCS to the Milk Union.
• Providing input services to the producers like Veterinary Care, Artificial Insemination services, cattle-feed sales, mineral mixture sales, fodder & fodder seed sales, etc.
• Conducting training on Cooperative Development, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
• Providing management support to the VDCS along with regular supervision of its activities. Establish Chilling Centers & Dairy Plants for processing the milk received from the villages.
• Process milk into various milk & milk products as per the requirement of State Marketing Federation.
• Decide on the prices of milk products. 3. State Cooperative Milk Federations (Federation) The Milk Unions of a State are federated into a State Cooperative Milk Federation. The Federation is the apex tier under the three-tier structure. It has membership of all the cooperative Milk Unions of the State and is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of one elected representative of each Milk Union.

The main functions of the Federation are as follows:
• Marketing of milk & milk products processed / manufactured by Milk Unions.
• Establish distribution network for marketing of milk & milk products.
• Arranging transportation of milk & milk products from the Milk Unions to the market.
• Creating & maintaining a brand for marketing of milk & milk product (brand building).
• Decide on the prices of milk & milk products to be paid to Milk Unions.
• Decide on the products to be manufactured at various Milk Unions (product-mix) and capacity required for the same. Conduct long-term Milk Production, Procurement & Processing as well as Marketing Planning.
• Designing & providing training on Cooperative Development, Technical & Marketing functions. Technological hurdles for the incorporation of Probiotic bacteria into ice-cream 3. 1. Fruit pulp or juice as an ingredient of Probiotic ice-creams 3. 2. Addition of Probiotic cultures to ice-cream 3. 3. Stability of the Probiotic cultures during ice-cream storage 3. 4. Overrun and Probiotic microorganisms 3. 5. Influence of storage conditions on the characteristics of Probiotic ice-creams Plan for Vendor/Suppliers and Supply Chain Management

Existing supplier / vendors will be used who are currently supplying raw materials for normal ice cream to supply extra milk, yoghurt to manufacture Probiotic ice cream In addition to that, there will be some raw material used to add Probiotic Culture into the ice-cream. We will be requiring Vendors for the supplying. Capabilities of Vendor
• On time Delivery
• Well educated and technologically competent.
• Able to understand the process and technical aspect like specification provided.
• Number of years in the supply chain business.
• Good market reputation and business size.