JOIN USAmul will usher in “any time milk (ATM)” to meet a surge in demand for the commodity at odd hours.
The dairy major will set up round-the-clock milk-vending units. “A milk vending machine was redesigned as a 24-hour machine,” said Rahul Kumar, Managing Director of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets Amul milk.
“We launched this project because we found that people need milk at odd hours,” he said.
Kumar said six such outlets would be opened in select areas soon. The feasibility of having more such units across the country will be discussed in due course. Amul plans to install such ATMs in all major cities, especially at key transit points like railway stations and bus stands, which witness a huge footfall everyday.
The ATMs will dispense 300-ml pouches of Amul’s Taaza milk brand at Rs 10. The milk will be refrigerated at 4 degrees Celsius. The ATMs will be fitted with temperature monitors.
Officials said an ATM was installed outside its factory on an experimental basis. They pointed out that 650-700 pouches could be dispensed in a day. However, the maximum utilisation of the ATMs would happen at night.
Now, the initiative will be launched in various cities in Gujarat and later extended to other places based on demand. “Depending on the response and success, the ATMs will be launched in other parts of the country,” officials added.