The festive season has brought sweet success to Dharwad’s Nandini (KMF) unit, which has achieved a record sale of 18.8 tonnes of sweets during Dasara and Deepavali this year. The Dharwad Milk Union (DhaMUL), representing dairy cooperatives of Dharwad, Gadag, and Uttara Kannada districts, has reported an impressive turnover of nearly ₹80 lakh from festive sweet sales.

Situated on the Hubballi–Dharwad road, the unit prepared a wide range of products including the famous Dharwad peda, white peda, Mysore pak, and laddu varieties. Despite facing tough competition from several well-established private sweet brands that dominate the market, Nandini products witnessed a massive surge in demand throughout the festive period. The dairy had initially set a target of 15 tonnes but quickly exceeded expectations as orders kept pouring in from across the region. Of the total 18.8 tonnes, 8,432 kg of sweets were supplied to depots in Hubballi and Bengaluru, while 9,795 kg were sold within the three associated districts. Speaking about the achievement, Dharwad Milk Union Managing Director D.T. Kalasa said, “We did not anticipate such an overwhelming response.

The demand kept increasing every day, compelling our teams to work round the clock to meet orders.” This record comes on the heels of another milestone a significant increase in milk collection. The union, which earlier collected around 1.6 lakh kg of milk daily, registered 2.23 lakh litres in September, reflecting the growing trust of dairy farmers in the cooperative system. Local residents and dairy experts see this achievement as a major boost to the cooperative’s credibility and morale.

They believe such performance will encourage more farmers to participate in the dairy sector and strengthen the region’s rural economy. Despite the perception that government-run enterprises struggle with quality and efficiency, Dharwad’s Nandini unit has proven that commitment and consistency can make public sector brands strong competitors in the open market. This Deepavali has indeed turned out to be a sweet victory for Nandini.