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Dairy supply chain start-up MilkLane raises funding worth Rs 27 crore
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Tuesday, 02 April, 2019, 12 : 00 PM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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MilkLane, a Bengaluru-based dairy supply chain start-up, has raised Rs 27 crore in pre-Series A funding from Pioneering Ventures, Schreiber Foods and ultra-high net worth families.
“The funding is utilised in scaling up the procurement platform and cattle feed business. It is also invested in launching and scaling up the MilkLane UHT (ultra-high temperature) product for consumers in Bengaluru,” said Gaurav Haran, chief operating officer, MilkLane.
For the procurement of milk, the company has quickly widened its farmers’ network in Kuppam area in Andhra Pradesh by partnering with over 100 bulk milk chiller (BMC) entrepreneurs. It looks to connect with over one lakh dairy farmers by setting up over 1,000 bulk chillers in next decade.
The dairy supply chain start-up has been able to expand its distribution network for UHT milk in Bengaluru, with the product available on most e-commerce platforms, including BigBasket, Grofers, Amazon Prime Now, Flipkart, Daily Ninja, Doodhwala and others. It has a presence in over 500 premium retail stores in the city as well.
“The company’s asset-light model can be replicated across multiple geographies in the country. Currently, active in the southern states (viz. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka), the dairy start-up can very easily scale up operations in the west and east as well,” he added.
“Additionally, the company plans to strengthen its cattle feed business to support the milk quality requirements and achieved a penetration level of over 50 per cent in its network. Further, the plan is to make the products available to farmer beyond the MilkLane’s network,” Haran told F&B News in an e-mail.
The company said that for access to related qualified manpower, its approach has been to create a team with strong experience in the dairy sector, combined with expertise in technology and modern dairy practices.
The increasing role of technology in dairy farming is clearly having an impact on developing student interest and driving recruitment as well in the sector. The skills needed to secure jobs have undergone a drastic shift in recent years.
The dairy supply chain major has also entered the space of veterinary, fodder and financing and small industrial production units (SIPUs). From the dairy farmer’s well-being to providing high-quality milk, MilkLane brings the best of both worlds.
The company has positively changed the lives of thousands of small producers and their families through various initiatives. It offers a complete fodder and nutrition management solution, assisting with own branded cattle feed with the scientifically developed recipe, high-protein fodder heterogeneity and other unique feed components like lactic acid bacteria. It also introduced cash crops with quality post-harvest residues that were used as fodder and also helped to develop silage banks.
Secondly, the company provides veterinary services and training programmes for producers and BC operators on milk quality with a focus on improving animal health. Periodic breeding, breeding and preventive care services as well as veterinary camps offered in collaboration with the leading animal husbandry institution in India (BAIF).
On the other side, the company provides holistic support programmes for progressive farmers to develop their farms into a SIPU, which also allow them to take advantage of modern milk production techniques and state-of-the-art animal care.
It helps uplift their capability to scale up their operations from managing a herd size of 2-3 to 20-25 in a profitable and sustainable manner. It also ensures a transparent price discovery mechanism for farmers, digitised payment process with committed timelines, assured steady incomes and access to social benefits.
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