At 27, this young entrepreneur teamed up with mom to launch a semi-free-range chicken startup — today, it's valued at ₹45 Cr

While doing his graduation from Christ University, Bengaluru, young Digvijay was struggling with an obesity issue. He realised that if the diet is not fixed early on in life, it would inevitably lead to serious health problems later in life.

From a finance background, he leapt into the food industry with an ambition to make an impact by helping people become more conscious about their dietary choices. In an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia, Delhi-based 27-year-old entrepreneur Digvijay Singh shared his journey from an internship at EY to becoming a food startup founder.

From being a Finance grad to becoming a food entrepreneur

Right after his graduation in 2018, Digvijay launched a startup called Digi’s Fresh, which provided organic groceries to its customers. Digvijay tied up with farmers across the country, aggregating and selling products through the company website.

As he incorporated healthy food habits, the young entrepreneur lost weight, dropping from over 100 kg to 75 kg. He was excited to introduce healthy dietary habits to others as well. 

“What people don’t understand is that what you eat affects your body,” the Delhi-based startup founder shared. “If you’re not choosing good quality of foods today, it’s bound to cause a health problem some time sooner or later!”

Digvijay’s mom, 55-year-old Anuradha Singh, has a long experience in the food industry. She has a specialisation in farming exotic organic poultry. She even received a National Productivity Award for Duck farming in 1998 and 1999 from the Indian government.

Founding a chicken startup with Mom

In 2022, the mother-son duo teamed up to launch a one-of-a-kind semi-free-range chicken business, AK Food & Beverages. 

AK F&B is a B2B business that specialises in offering premium-grade poultry meat for the HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant & Cafe/Catering) industry.

“We are regularising the wholesale Poultry supply through premium-grade products, compliance & streamlined supply chain,” the food startup co-founder told Startup Pedia.

B2B business with a clientele in the HoReCa industry

AK Food & Beverages makes meat procurement for the HoReCa industry easy and hassle-free without compromising on quality or authenticity.

“We work closely with base-level farmers whom we train and provide expertise to along the way to get the ideal meat quality,” the Delhi-based young entrepreneur shared. “We are known for premium-grade poultry meat with a robust supply chain and efficient delivery across remote locations to metro cities in India.”

With 7-8 years of industry experience, the meat startup founder confidently said that they deal with clients who are concerned about the quality of the food. 

“We’re not fully automated, but we are also not like the open market,” Digvijay Singh opened up to Startup Pedia. “We follow a middle ground. “We maintain a transparent process by providing our clients with regular lab test reports. Also, clients are always welcome to visit our farm or processing facility.”

Meat customisation

The Delhi-based food entrepreneur shared with Startup Pedia that his company, AK Food & Beverages, specialises in customised meat options by supplying specific sizes of meat in particular weightages as requested by clients.

While they have leading 5-star hotels and restaurants as their clientele, AK F&B also works with small restaurants and cafes. 

“For bigger hotel chains, we apply through tenders, for smaller chains we connect the owners directly,” the meat startup founder shared with Startup Pedia.

Now, with a team of 50+ employees, AK F&B has also started supplying mutton, lamb and exotic meat such as Peaking duck, Japanese quail, Guinea fowl, American turkey, etc.

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How healthy is frozen chicken?

The difference in nutritional value between fresh and properly frozen chicken is minimal. Be it frozen or fresh, chicken is a healthier substitute for red meats such as pork or beef, which contain less saturated fat. Chicken is a rich source of nutrients such as protein and iron, Vitamins A, B and K and niacin, and minerals like selenium, which play important roles in the normal functioning of body cells and maintaining the immune system.

“Though many Indians think frozen chicken is any less nutritious, it’s not so!” the co-founder of AK Food & Beverages told Startup Pedia. “When fresh chicken is kept in a freezer, crystallisation just changes the texture of the meat but has no impact on the nutritional value of the product.”

Digvijay claims that blast-frozen chicken is a healthier substitute than storing chicken in a conventional refrigerator.

Investments for the chicken startup

Anuradha Singh and her son Digvijay initially invested around Rs. 8 Lakhs together for launching AK Food & Beverages.

“Mom and I aimed to build a sustainable, healthy meat business, meanwhile also making it an actually profitable business and not just like any other cash-burning business in the industry,” Digvijay opened up to Startup Pedia. 

Digvijay admitted that the food industry is not very accepting, and it takes at least 5-8 years to establish credibility. However, they were able to separate themselves from the crowd, being one of the very few well-structured and formalised businesses.

“Our operational model is completely different from any other frozen meat business,” he shared. Most of them are operating B2C, unlike us. So, we heavily relied on networking.”

The Mom and son initially started from a small room beside their home, which was used as a processing unit.

“We aggregated the chicken there and got it slaughtered from somewhere else, he shared.”

In 2024, Anuradha and Digvijay expanded the business and invested around Rs. 50-55 Lakhs. 

“We haven’t yet raised any funds till now, and all money invested was from personal funds,” disclosed the food entrepreneur Digvijay Singh. “However, we will be raising funds soon.”

Company valuation and goals with the meat business

Anuradha and Digvijay Singh’s AK F&B is currently valued at Rs. 45,00,00,000. Digvijay did not want to disclose the annual turnover as they are currently in the middle of fundraising.

The meat startup founders are planning to aggressively expand in all metro cities in the next five years. 

Digvijay said that the pricing strategy for their business changes each year depending on the business.

“Now, we’re aiming to export our meat products to the best locations of the world, let’s see,” he candidly shared with Startup Pedia.

Founder’s message

Food entrepreneur Digvijay Singh shared with Startup Pedia that most Indians are not conscious about their diet. Even after spending a good amount of money, they are not serious about the food they are consuming at restaurants.

“For maintaining good health, a conscious dietary choice should be made,”  the Delhi-based food startup founder said. “After all, our body is made of what we eat. So, we should be conscious about the food we consume.”

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