๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐บ๐๐นโ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต-๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ โ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ผ, ๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐, ๐๐ถ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐๐ธ๐ฒ๐?
๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ช๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ญ - ๐บ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ต!
Here is my hypothesis to explain whatโs going on:
๐ญ. ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ = ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป?
Amul may be under-supplying to generate FOMO and social buzz.
โช Creates perceived exclusivity with zero ad spend
โช Sparks chatter via Reddit, Twitter, reviews
โช Tests GTM models without flooding the market
๐ฎ. ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ผ๐ฟ๐
Protein is hot โ but still new for India.
โช Amul could be cautiously scaling volumes
โช Shelf life concerns = low risk appetite
โช Focus may still be on core cash cows (milk, paneer, butter)
โช Validating repeat purchase before going big
๐ฏ. ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป & ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป - (Should be unlikely for Amul, given their portfolio, which consists of perishable products that require cold chain)
High-protein SKUs = high complexity
โช Dark stores may lack cold storage space
โช Risk of spoilage = low retailer confidence
โช In-house D2C may not have robust cold logistics
๐ฐ. ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ
Even with consumer love, shelf space is tight
โช Q-commerce favors high GMV, fast-moving SKUs
โช Margins may be low in absolute โน terms - ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐บ๐๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ถ ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ (๐พ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ) ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐บ๐ฒ๐.
โช SKU may not meet velocity thresholds for mass listing
โช Niche products get deprioritized in pin-code rollouts
๐ฑ. ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ข๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ด ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น
Sometimes it's not strategy, itโs systems.
โช Inventory sync issues between Amul & partners
โช Algorithmic deprioritization of test SKUs
โช Bulk orders by niche consumers (e.g. gym-goers) skew demand
โช Restocking cycles canโt catch up with spiky offtake
Itโs likely both a smart play and operational restraint.
โ Amul is silently building demand.
โ Theyโre also navigating infra, incentives, and category uncertainty.
โ Either way โ the consumer's screaming: โWe want more!โ
Would love to hear from folks in FMCG, ops, or Q-commerce โ is this a masterclass in building slow hype or just supply chain growing pains?
FMCGInsights D2CStrategy QCommerce SupplyChainChallenges ConsumerDemand RetailStrategy AmulMarketing AmulProtein
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