Patanjali claims to take on KFC, but its anti-MNC stand is self-destructive
To challenge MNC restaurant chains like McDonald's, KFC, Patanjali will venture into the business PATANJALI It was the early 2000s, and as a reporter I was on the trail of the country's biggest food marketer venturing into categories as diverse as pizzas, ice-cream mixes and value-added milk confectionery. There was a bravado in the way the top team of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) -- popularly known for and as Amul after its larger-than-life brand -- was dismissive of multinational firms dominant in the new markets it was entering. "We know the modus operandi of the MNCs. We'll embarrass them everywhere," one senior manager told me. In fact, going by the tone and tenor of the conversation I had with the top team at GCMMF's Anand headquarters that sultry July afternoon 14 years ago, it was clear to me that anti-multinationalism, an article of faith with the cooperative besides cost-competitiveness, was getting the better of...