This Pune-based trio makes nutritional feed for cattle to improve milk quality and quantity - startup valued at $4 million, serving 1 lakh farmers.

The Indian dairy industry has struggled with a long list of problems for the longest time. 

Animal health, quality of milk, adulteration, quality of feed, and heavy costs incurred by farmers are just some of the issues that plague the industry.

To address one of these gaps and bring a positive impact to all stakeholders involved, a Pune-based startup by the name of eFeed is working towards improving the quality of milk produced by cattle. 

The startup's founders are Kumar Ranjan, Ravi Chauhan, and Ankit Patel. 

The three of them are engineering graduates who have been inclined towards the realms of dairy and agriculture for quite some while. They started eFeed in 2021 to work on nutrition and animal health.

What does eFeed do?

eFeed makes feed supplements and additives rich in vitamins, minerals, and microbes that are given to cattle so that they have better all-around health and produce milk that is higher in quality as well as quantity.

What the startup is trying to address here is the high input cost that farmers incur but are not able to recover later. 

The two things that the founders feel can help this situation are either bringing down the costs of inputs or increasing the output of milk.

These supplements made by eFeed have a triple-action effect, apart from improving milk quality and quantity.

Firstly, they work directly in giving longevity to animals' lives. It betters their quality of life as well.

Then, it improves the cattle's gut health which has a positive result on the milk produced.

These supplements also work on reducing the excess methane emissions caused by the compromised health of cattle.

The idea behind these supplements is very simple - better input means better quality output.

Business model

eFeed has a D2C approach - it sells nutritional supplements to farmers. This is done with the assistance of on-ground and fulfilment partners.

The startup also provides a mobile application that is focused on nutrition. It educates farmers about the nutrition of the cattle and helps them in ration balancing and quality feed inputs. 

This is a digital ecosystem that advises farmers in a simplified way - all with the intention of higher quality milk production and yield.

Currently, eFeed is valued at $4 million and has one lakh farmers who use its services and products. 

The startup has received $1 million in funding from investors like Omnivore, Better Capital, Huddle, Let's Venture, and AngelList.

In the global space, eFeed's competitors would be companies like Virbac, Nutreco, and Elanco.

The startup is currently operating in Uttar Pradesh for now. For the future, eFeed has concrete plans to expand in the state and then reach farmers and farms across the country.

To know more about the startup, visit its website https://www.efeed.in/.