Failed UPSC Aspirant Sells Camel Milk Products, Earns ₹35Cr In FY24

Nirmal Choudhary, like many young people from tier-3 and tier-4 cities, had dreams of cracking the prestigious UPSC exams. Holding a B.Tech degree in electronics, he went to Delhi, where the air is thick with the aspirations of countless civil service candidates.

For 3 relentless years, he poured his heart and soul into his studies, inching closer each year. He reached the mains in his third attempt, but fate had different plans.

“After working hard for three consecutive years for civil services, I gave up on UPSC and then grabbed private jobs as I wanted to settle down in life. Even my parents also suggested that I look for paths other than civil services,” Nirmal recounted while speaking to Startup Pedia. He hails from an agricultural family but is financially stable.

Building Legacy:

With a heavy heart but a positive mindset, he moved to Bangalore and joined Allen Career Institute’s HR department, earning a respectable salary of Rs. 35 lakh per annum.

Life in Bangalore was comfortable. Yet, deep down, a call from his roots in Jodhpur grew stronger. “Life was good in Bangalore, but my parents wanted me to go back to my hometown and do something meaningful. I also felt the urge to create something of my own,” said Nirmal, the founder of Milk Station.

He further said that it was not easy for him to leave a job. “Especially when you are earning very comfortably and living a good life in a high-tech city like Bangalore,” added the Jodhpur-based dairy brand founder.

With a vision to build a legacy, he returned to Jodhpur after 18 months, ready to embark on a new journey.

Since he wanted to build a brand, he began researching to figure out better startup ideas.

All About Milk Station:

During his research, Nirmal discovered a surprising gap in Jodhpur's economy. Despite being known as the "ghee mandi of Asia," the region had no significant ghee processing units or local brands. Seeing this opportunity, he decided to venture into the dairy industry.

In 2021, Milk Station was born with an initial investment of Rs. 2.5 crore.

The initial investment was sourced from a secured bank loan to build a giant plant for milk and other value-added product processing in Pali.

Starting with milk, the dairy brand Milk Station soon expanded its product line to include ghee, chaach (buttermilk), lassi, paneer, dahi (yoghurt), and various types of camel milk products, like cookies.

The Social Cause:

The camel milk cookies, in particular, had a noble cause behind them. While the global camel population has tripled in the last 60 years, India’s has decreased by more than 80%, with Rajasthan being the home for camels.

“We wanted to promote camel breeding and make a social impact,” explained the 32-year-old Jodhpur entrepreneur during the conversation with Startup Pedia.

These cookies, handmade by self-help group (SHG) women, aimed to support local camel breeders and their livelihoods.

Milk Station prides itself on producing high-quality, preservative-free, and chemical-free products. Their ghee, one of the bestsellers, is priced at Rs. 575 per kilogram and is renowned for its purity.

“To ensure our products are natural, we source milk from village SHGs where animals graze naturally and consume fewer to no chemicals. This keeps our product standards high,” the founder of the Jodhpur-based dairy brand emphasized during the exclusive conversation with Startup Pedia.

The company maintains rigorous quality checks at three levels: village, district, and plant.

Milk Station Sales:

Initially, Milk Station’s reach was limited to Jodhpur and its vicinity, but the brand’s reputation quickly spread. Today, Milk Station’s products are available across India through four outlets and various e-commerce platforms. However, the brand’s milk is still sold in and around Jodhpur.

In its first six months, Milk Station saw modest revenues. However, by the end of its first year, FY-22, thanks to the popularity of its ghee, revenues surged to Rs. 11 crore. As the product line expanded, so did the revenue. By the end of FY-24, Milk Station's revenue had soared to Rs. 35 crore.

Most sales of the Jodhpur dairy brand are generated through retail and distribution channels, with the remainder coming from online sales. This is because consumers in tier-3 and tier-4 cities are generally less comfortable purchasing these items online.

The brand employs 14 individuals, including quality checkers, supervisors at various levels, packaging experts, packers, and members of the accounting and administration teams.

Additionally, the company collaborates with two Self-Help Groups (SHGs), comprising over a thousand people in total. These SHG members are not on the payroll of the brand, but milk is procured from them. Moreover, these women manufacture camel milk cookies too.

Looking ahead, Nirmal has ambitious plans for Milk Station. The company is set to launch ice cream, with two new ice cream parlours on the horizon. “In the next five years, we aim to achieve Rs. 100 crore in revenue and become one of the top ice cream brands in India,” Nirmal concluded, his eyes gleaming with determination.