Founded in 2016 in a home kitchen by mother-son duo Veena S and Abhay Rangan, Goodmylk makes plant-based milk from cashew and oats, with peanut dahi, vegan mayo, butter and paneer. The firm has also launched chocolate variant of their plant-based milk and nutrition drink.
Alternate dairy producer Goodmylk that makes cashew milk, oats milk and peanut curd has just raised USD 1 mn. The brand plans to use the fresh funds towards expanding its product portfolio and distribution and make plant-based dairy accessible all over India. The global plant-based protein sector is projected to reach nearly USD 200 bn by 2027. Until January 2018, Veena would make peanut curd in their kitchen at home and Abhay would personally deliver them all over Bengaluru. With growing demand, Goodmylk raised their first round of capital in 2018, and engaged with commercial manufacturing facilities for the production of the curd. Abhay’s delivery duties were taken over by two delivery partners, Prashanth I and Lokesh B, who would go onto grow the entire Logistics function of the company.
Goodmylk now needed to become a company, which meant acquiring the right talent. Radhika Datt came on as co-founder to solidify the brand’s structure while Dhivakar Sathyamurthy joined subsequently to lead Operations & Sales. Goodmylk works towards making plant-based dairy accessible, experimenting with almond, coconut, soy, quinoa and others. Goodmylk has set its sights on creating the next big dairy company in India- minus the animals. They’re just getting started and are excited to bring compassion back to our plates.
In conversation with Abhay Rangan, CEO & Founder and Radhika Datt, Co-Founder & CFO, Goodmylk to get to know the brand a little better.
Catering to the need gap
“The primary thought that drove us into this segment and to nurture Goodmylk was that mostly, people looking to buy vegan milk on an affordable price tag did not have the choices they needed to have. There were brands selling vegan at a very high tag, which was something we needed to counter. It is coming from the logic that you do not really get normal milk at such a high price tag. So, we wanted to give them a choice to convert. Unless we give them a reason to try our vegan range, they will not understand the quality we are selling on a decent price tag. Basically, we give them a premium product on an ordinary milk price. Our intention has always been to make it reasonable and easy on the pocket,” Radhika notes.
She highlights that the concept of starting on a vegan lifestyle normally happens from a young age, when we have very small pocket size. That is why, keeping the price of the products affordable is key to winning trust. In fact, with them offering premium quality plant-based milk on a decent price tag has actually made people question the ones getting sold on a hefty tag. Radhika mentions that the secret to Goodmylk’s popularity is their range and the way they handle it. The brand has a separate staples range that includes milk, curd, butter, paneer, and the likes, which we need on an everyday basis. On the other hand, is the flavoured milks and other innovative products. This range comes on a slight higher price tag, given the innovation it brings to the table. The need gap was obvious and the USP of Goodmylk did hit the right chord as what initially started with getting 15 orders a day, has amped up to a huge scale in no time.
Making it happen
The brand offers free shipping to cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Chennai and Hyderabad and is at present shipping to almost all Indian cities. With a focus to go deep with D2C and keeping an online-first approach, Goodmylk is building an ecosystem of ‘integrity’. Both the Founders admit that their team cultivates this character and when reaching out to customers or staying afoot during a negative remark, the team is always ready to address the problems, if any. From easy resolution to providing that human touch, the brand’s biggest strength is its ‘happy’ approach.
“Even though having humans at every juncture of the functions requires a lot of funds and then to sustain the set-up or rope in newer technology we need a steady cash flow. But we are able to absorb a lot of that internally keeping the price tag at a sweet spot, because most of our operations are in-house. From cold chain to logistics to production, we are tying the loose ends and delivering only quality through our range. Our endevour is to further reduce the price tag and bring it to a double digit pricing in the coming days. We want our customers to choose conscious lifestyle without having to once bat an eyelid over the exorbitant price,” Abhay adds.
Eyeing the future
A remote-first company, Goodmylk uses technology as the brand’s backbone. Simplicity is held closer to the brand’s soul. So, whatever is well-suited for the team is made the call of the day. Tightening the brand’s distribution and manufacturing to get the process more seamless and to support more pin codes is high on the agenda now. Moreover, bringing the milk closer to the customer on a daily basis just like conventional milk, is the next big step for the brand. Presently, apart from the brand’s own website, they are also retailing locally through community-driven stores in selected cities, offline and on BigBasket, Amazon and the likes online.
