“Enabling a Plant-Based India”
“It’s not easy to raise a milk allergic kid in India. Every day was a struggle till I met Veganarke.” – reads one of the testimonials on the Veganarke Facebook Page.
If you are following a vegan diet or have dairy restrictions, you can definitely relate to the above comment. Veganarke and its brand Goodmylk established by 21-year-old Abhay Rangan and his mother Veena is a venture with a mission not just to provide plant-based dairy options, but also raise awareness about related issues. I spoke to Abhay about the venture, making products that represent his ideologies and stepping into the entrepreneurial world this early. Meet Goodmylk.
Activism and Entrepreneurship
At 16, Abhay started a non-profit for animals called Society For Animal Rights and Veganism. The organisation quickly expanded over ten cities with many young volunteers joining in and campaigning for animal rights. Abhay shares that of the many topics discussed, something that came up repeatedly was that vegan options are either expensive or not that easily available. Coming from a family which was already following a vegan diet, Abhay decided to make such products accessible and affordable.“My family has been vegan for about eight years now, and we were making plant-based milk products at home. During the initial days of Veganarke, my mother would make the milk in our kitchen, and I would come back from college and deliver it to various places across Bangalore.”
This was in 2016. As the word spread around more and more people began opting for Veganrake’s dairy products. “For a long time, my mother and I were taking care of the whole process. We didn’t move to a factory until about eight months ago. Now, we partner with a manufacturing facility and produce in bulk under the brand name Goodmylk. Of course, manufacturing commercially did require some adaptation. We have also grown as a team. We have someone overseeing the logistics, operations and we deliver across the country.”
Goodmylk's founder Abhay Rangan on making affordable pant based dairy products. Click To TweetAbhay adds that even their products have evolved with time.”When we started, we had about eight or ten products. We wanted to test the waters and see which ones would work better. Now we have a milk product and a curd product- both of which are vegan and have a long shelf life. They don’t need refrigeration. We have done a lot of work on our product development to meet global quality standards.”
Goodmylk’s “Mylk” is a peanut-based dairy product. Their curd made with peanuts and rice is said to be the world’s first shelf-stable vegan yogurt product.
Consumer Response
Abhay shares that from the inception, Goodmylk has received a warm response from its consumers. A lot of the customer base during the early days came through word of mouth marketing. Veganarke recently raised USD 400,000 , a significant milestone for this team. “Our business grew because of happy customers. People spread the message because they were so glad to have these product options. If you stop by our Facebook page, you will find that all the reviews are five stars and nothing less. People have been encouraging of our work through our journey from the home kitchen to a manufacturing unit. When you move to a commercial set up, the product does undergo some sensory changes. Our customers have stuck with us through the transition and as we worked towards streamlining our processes on a larger scale. We are extremely grateful for that. They know we are doing this for a bigger cause. It makes so much of a difference when you, your customers and your stakeholders are aligned with the vision of making plant-based options affordable.”
Recipe contributed by Goodmylk customer Kanchan Bilgi
Image Courtesy: Goodmylk
Vision and Plans Ahead
Abhay says that Veganrke and their brand Goodmylk is built on the principle that their venture must represent the values they support all the way through. “Our products are manufactured using machinery which is locally produced. We were producing almond milk before, but we don’t do that anymore. Almonds aren’t local, so by principle, we decided to stop it. I believe all these decisions matter when you want your product to represent your vision. We do have our ambitions of expanding internationally, but a lot of what we are doing right now is trying to be conscious of all our stakeholders. As social entrepreneurs, we have four bottom lines- people, planet, profit and animals. We consider each one of these as an important part of all our decisions. This is also one of the main reasons why we worked on creating a product that does not require refrigeration through the supply chain,” he adds.
And plans ahead? “We would like to create more products that replace dairy in different ways- to start with cheese, butter and ghee. We have a product pipeline in mind, and we would like to roll them out one by one.”
I asked Abhay if entering this tough world of entrepreneurship at such a young age has made the journey more difficult than it already is. “There are advantages and disadvantages to starting so young. I don’t have experience, but we make up for it by having an awesome advisory board. They have experience in scaling businesses and in building plant-based formulations. People have been kind enough to give us their time, wisdom and experience and help us through the process. Perks to starting young is that I have a lot of time and energy to give to my venture and achieve all that I want to. I think that really helps on a long-term basis.”
Despite all his achievements this young entrepreneur has his feet firmly set on the ground.”I feel privileged to be afforded the opportunities that I have been given. There is lot more that I would like to achieve. This is just the beginning.”
For more information visit https://goodmylk.in/.
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