Can Desi Farms Outpace Amul & Mother Dairy In India’s Booming Dairy Market?

India is the largest producer and consumer of milk and dairy products, with over 85% of Indian families relying on dairy as a staple. However, milk adulteration remains a widespread issue, posing serious risks to food safety and public health. Additionally, chemicals are often used to extend shelf life, and branded dairy products typically travel 500-1,000 km, meaning consumers often end up purchasing milk that is 4-5 days old.

Consumers often struggle to access truly fresh, chemical-free dairy products as intermediaries and long supply chains compromise both purity and nutritional value.

To address this, Sunil Shahi, former CEO of the legacy engineering firm Greaves Cotton, acquired a B2B dairy business in 2022 and transformed it into Desi Farms, a farm-to-table D2C brand. Desi Farms ensures fresh, chemical-free milk and dairy products, eliminating preservatives and reducing the time between production and consumption.

Desi Farms Bets On Freshness

The D2C dairy brand stands out for its commitment to delivering chemical-free, antibiotic-free, and preservative-free milk and dairy products within 12-24 hours of milking, ensuring maximum freshness. 

Each product undergoes 20+ quality checks at its ISO 9001:2015 certified plant in Ahmednagar, which has a daily processing capacity of 1.5 Lakh litres. 

The brand has developed a tech-enabled in-house system to manage production, delivery, and franchise operations, ensuring complete product traceability from farms to customers.

Apart from milk, Desi Farms offers a range of dairy products, including A2 milk, ghee, paneer, and more. The brand operates primarily in Pune, Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Mumbai, ensuring the timely delivery of fresh dairy products to consumers. 

With 54 in-house manufactured SKUs, all free from preservatives, the brand has gained strong traction for products like A2 milk, whole cow milk, A2 paneer, low-fat paneer, dahi, A2 ghee, and rabdi.

The startup saw an improvement in its ranking, rising from 34th place last year to 29th this year on the FAST42 list.

Desi Farms’ Omnichannel Push & The Way Forward

In the financial year 2023-2024 (FY24), Desi Farms reported a revenue of INR 25.4 Cr, up from INR 18 Cr in FY23. The brand follows a strong omnichannel strategy. It has recently expanded to ecommerce platforms and begun to tap into the modern trade network. It directly engages customers through its app and portal while also expanding its offline presence with over 50 exclusive Desi Farms outlets.

The Pune-based startup has raised INR 40 Cr from a mix of institutional investors, venture funds, and high-profile individual investors. 

Its key investors include NAV Capital Emerging Funds, Nova Capital, Rajasthan Global (Lalit Dua), and Venture Catalysts. Additionally, Ashish Chugh (director Hidden Gems Advisory), Ashwath Ram (Ex-MD, Cummins India), Sandeep Sinha (CEO, TAFE), and Niranjan Kirloskar have also backed the startup. 

The D2C brand expects to cross INR 50 Cr in revenue for FY25 and has set an ambitious target of surpassing INR 100 Cr by FY26. With aggressive growth plans in place, the D2C brand aims to scale its operations and expand its market presence significantly over the next two years.

[Authored By Pooja Yadav]