Milky way: Cow is the new wow

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In India, the poly-pack avatar of milk started with three variants. ‘Full cream’ was touted as a blessing for those yearning to gain mass. ‘Toned’ milk was billed as a perfect option for those looking for a healthy balance between fat and nutrition. And the ‘double toned’ was peddled to those craving minimal fat. Yet something was missing in the arsenal of marketers looking to woo consumers with a new, differentiated proposition: Cow milk.
 
After cow ghee, cow urine and cow dung, marketers have zeroed in on cow milk as the next cash cow.
 
In early September, Patanjali plunged into the cow milk business. The Baba Ramdev-backed company is not alone in trying to spot gold. Parag Milk, the maker of Gowardhan brand of milk, and Mother Dairy had already launched their versions of cow milk. While Parag claimed its product to be 100 percent cow milk, Mother Dairy billed its cow milk to be good for children.
 
Marketing, according to brand experts, is the science of the possible and impossible equally. One can brand and market literally anything. Even mud. Take, for instance, branded multani mitti (fuller’s earth), which retails at ₹3,800 for 800 gram in London. “When water can have over 4,744 differentiated brands in the world, why can’t milk?” asks Harish Bijoor, founder of the eponymous brand consultancy firm. There are already niche startups across India selling A2 cow milk. “Expect more as the milk marketing hots up,” Bijoor tells Forbes India.