Nandini booths, parlours to get a facelift

Nandini, a household name for most dairy consumers in Karnataka, has a loyal customer base who swear by its quality. But there have been complaints about the outlets or booths being too small and unattractive. 

Following the recent Nandini vs Amul row, which erupted after the former was awarded the tender to open outlets in Namma Metro stations, some customers said that while they are loyal Nandini customers, they expect better quality of service at the booths and parlours.

Now, the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which operates Nandini, has decided to give a makeover to its booths and parlours.

“I have visited both Amul and Nandini parlours, and I have observed that the marketing, including display and ambiance of Nandini, needs a lot of improvement to compete with the parlours of other brands. The ones in my neighbourhood are usually small and dingy, and if there is ever a power cut, it will not even have proper lighting,” said Apeksha P.K., a resident of Malleshpalya.

Shanthala B., a resident of Vidyaranyapura, said, “We have a Nandini booth near the main bus stop. The area is so small that in the mornings, we have to sometimes wait for longer hours before we can get our milk and curd packets, even if we have tokens. Three to four people cannot stand near the booth at once.”

KMF acknowledged that the space in most booths is confined, adding that they serve their purpose well. “For us to have spacious booths, we need an area of 10 feet/20 feet or 30 feet/30 feet. But at most places, all we get is 10/10 feet area or a maximum of 10/15 feet. But it still works for us because we only have to sell our dairy products and it is not like a cafe or a hotel,” said Shivaswamy B., managing director/CEO of KMF.

“However, from a marketing point of view, we are rebranding these smaller booths, too. We are ensuring that the branding logos are prominent in the booths, they are using proper refrigerators, and maintaining cleanliness. We want our customers to be satisfied, and we want to bring our booths to the levels of their liking,” he further said.

Nandini currently has 16,644 milk agents, 1,117 parlours, 1,266 franchisees, and 198 ‘shoppees’ (slightly bigger than regular booths with more products). KMF looks to increase the number of ‘shoppees’. “Wherever we have some government land available, we are establishing shoppees or upgrading old booths to shoppees if there is a provision. But we are not finding space. We have even started setting up ‘shoppees’ and showcasing it newly in old spaces, which we had received from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) in Bengaluru,” Mr. Shivaswamy said. 

Availability of products 

Nandini recently introduced 18 new products across the categories of slice cake, bar cake and muffins. Customers said that in smaller booths, these products are not always available. However, KMF officials said that there is enough stock of the new products in all the booths. 

Meanwhile, the whey protein-infused dosa and idli batter, which have been flying off the shelves ever since they were introduced in the market, remain elusive to the customers. “The demand for the batter is too much and we are scaling up production accordingly,” a KMF official said.

In the last two months, KMF has also taken up a drive to ensure that no products other than those of Nandini are sold in its outlets. “We are stressing that only Nandini products should be sold in Nandini outlets and are removing all other products,” Mr. Shivaswamy said.