Milk is a great source of protein, calcium and other nutrients. Recognising the importance of milk in our diet and its impact on nutrition worldwide, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has designated June 1 as World Milk Day.
This year, the focus of World Milk Day, which is celebrated in many countries around the world, is sustainability and how the dairy industry is reducing its environmental footprint.
When we talk about the dairy industry in India, one name stands out–Amul. In India, National Milk Day is celebrated on November 26 every year–on the birthday of Dr Verghese Kurien, also known as the Father of the White Revolution.
Today, there are many emerging startups in the field of dairy and dairy products, which are creating a new White Revolution of sorts. On World Milk Day, let us look at some Indian startups that are leveraging technology to bolster their business.
Country Delight
Started in 2015 by Chakradhar Gade and Nitin Kaushal, this direct-to-home startup offers a user-friendly mobile app to order organic milk and other products such as ghee, paneer and curd. Gurgaon-based Country Delight is operational in 15 cities across India. According to its CEO and founder, the company has crossed Rs 1,000 crore in revenue.
Puresh Daily
Founded in 2019, Puresh Milk aims to provide organic cow milk and dairy products that are free from harmful chemicals. This subscription-based company uses artificial intelligence, IoT (Internet of Things) and CRM to monitor milk quality and optimise farm practices. The Ranchi-based startup has more than 1,500 customers.
Stellapps
This dairy startup employs IoT, database management, Big Data, and machine learning to digitise the dairy supply chain. Headquartered in Bengaluru, the startup improves milk production, cold chain management, and milk procurement with the help of its platform called SmartMoo. Stellaps was established in 2011 by Venkatesh Seshayee, Ranjith Mukundan Ramkrishna Adukuri, and Praveen Nale.
Whyte Farms
In their quest for unadulterated cow milk in Delhi, Kanika Yadav and Sanjeev Yadav started Whyte Farms in 2015. Whyte Farms is certified by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and International Organization for Standardization and has around 500 Dutch Holstein Friesian cows in Tijara, Rajasthan.
Whyte Farms aims to provide milk that’s free from preservatives, adulterants, steroids, and antibiotics. The startup ensures the milk is hygienic using complete automation. Whyte Farms distributes milk within 8-12 hours of milking. It caters to over 3,000 households without the help of any external delivery agency.
SRC Farms
Cows are often subject to abuse as they are injected with artificial hormones and kept in poor conditions. SRC Farms was started in 2012 by Indranil Sen, Harsh Bihani, Ashok Chandak, and Uma Shankar Rathi to change this.
Hooghly-based SRC Farms provides complete care to the cattle and takes care of their health needs. The startup’s processes are fully automated–right from the extraction of milk to storing it. Its sheds are climate controlled, with sprinklers, high-volume low-speed fans, and misting systems.
Apart from this, SRC uses DelPro, a software that stores data such as milk yield per animal, date of pregnancy, and time of vaccination of cows. The data collected ensures the efficiency of processes and helps optimise food safety.
