The Indian dairy industry has faced multiple challenges for years and the most common ones that we are well aware of are animal health, milk quality, adulteration, feed quality, and the significant costs borne by farmers have long hindered its progress. eFeed, a Pune-based startup is trying to bridge this gap and is dedicatedly working to enhance the quality of milk produced by cattle.
The visionary founders from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Kumar Ranjan, Ravi Chauhan, and Ankit Patel are engineering graduates with a passion for dairy and agriculture. In 2021, they founded eFeed with a mission to enhance nutrition and animal health in these vital industries.
How was eFeed Founded?
During the pandemic, Kumar Ranjan, during his stay in his hometown, Lucknow, noticed how supply chain disruptions affected dairy and meat producers. This is when his entrepreneurial mind saw an opportunity: providing solutions to the sellers.
Then joined other co-founders of eFeed Ankit Patel and Ravi Chauhan. They all had worked together in the automotive field, and Kumar Ranjan met Ravi during his university visits.
Ankit joined with his startup experience since he had worked with Udaan. Moreover, he grew up around farms and witnessed the actual problems of the agricultural sector.
The first thing they developed was a precision nutrition advisory platform in eFeed, an app for dairy farmers that collected their data.
Where Does this Collected Data Goes?
The data collected is sent to their Pune lab, where a digital repository of different grains and fodders is created. Then these raw materials are benchmarked against the ideal protein, fiber, and fat content required by the farmer to increase revenue from milk and meat production. All feed plans are tailored to meet the locally available products.
What Problems Does eFeed Solve?
eFeed specializes in feed supplements and additives that are rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and beneficial microbes. All this is specifically designed for cattle. These supplements enhance the overall health of the animals and increase the quality and quantity of milk they produce.
Aim: To effectively tackle the financial burden faced by farmers struggling with high input costs that they cannot recoup.
Thus, the company wants to provide a more profitable and sustainable solution for the agricultural sector. To improve the economic viability of dairy farming by focusing on this critical issue and empowering farmers with better resources for success.
How eFeed Solve the Problem?
According to the founders, addressing this issue can be achieved by either lowering input costs or boosting milk production.
But here is the catch -> eFeed’s supplements provide a triple-action benefit that enhances both the quality and quantity of milk.
The principle behind these supplements is straightforward-> superior inputs lead to higher-quality outputs.
First, they focus on extending the lifespan of the animals by enhancing their overall life quality with their supplements which promote optimal gut health in cattle, which in turn improves milk production.
Furthermore, they help to mitigate excessive methane emissions that often result from compromised cattle health.
Additionally, the startup’s mobile application is dedicated to nutrition. Through this, they educate farmers about cattle nutrition and also assist them in balancing rations and sourcing quality feed inputs.
Through this digitalized guiding platform, the founders aim to enhance both the quality and quantity of milk production.
Business Model and Revenue
eFeed works on a direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy, offering nutritional supplements specifically designed for farmers. Strategic partnerships with on-ground and fulfillment services largely supports the initiative.
eFeed has served a community of 100,000+ farmers with its services and products. Moreover, the startup has successfully secured $1 million in funding from a distinguished group of investors, including Omnivore, Better Capital, Huddle, Let’s Venture, and AngelList.
Within the global market, eFeed faces competition from industry leaders such as Virbac, Nutreco, and Elanco. Furthermore, eFeed has solid plans for future expansion within the state and aims to connect with farmers and farms nationwide.
How do eFeed Reduces Methane Emission from Cattles?
Their platform has a low-orbit satellite feature that can be used to base-map a farm and calculate its methane emissions. By gas density analysis, the satellite determines the concentration of each gas in the area.
Then, the proprietary algorithms take into account the effect of climatic conditions and wind on methane emissions. Thus, ensuring that the farm is not unfairly charged for emissions it is not producing.
What Next?
Due to its effective methane tracking technology, some large companies in New Zealand and the US are planning to get onboard with eFeed.
About the Founder
Kumar Ranjan: A Lucknowi, a passionate car lover and engineer whose initial venture, an autonomous car idea, failed, but he learned valuable experience from it. He left his job to enter entrepreneurship but was back struck by the pandemic.
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