Uzhavar Bumi Agro Products Private Limited has raised ₹1.7 crore from Madurai-based Native Angels Network. The Madhuranthakam-based dairy products firm will be utilising the funds raised for its expansion and marketing. The funding announcement was made through a video call in the presence of several other entrepreneurs from across Tamil Nadu.
The co-founder of this startup, Vetrivel Palani, said, “Our current capacity is 2,300 litres per day and we will be scaling this up to 10,000 litres per day in the next four months. Till date, we have not focussed much on marketing, but that would also be a priority now,” he added.
Nativelead Foundation’s CEO Sivarajah Ramanathan believes that start-ups such as Uzhavar Bumi will not only survive these lockdown conditions but emerge more successful and in demand. “Socially mindful start-up ventures are sure to thrive post-lockdown and COVID-19”, he said.
The start-up has been working directly with individual farmers and cattle owners to source fresh milk which is transported to their facility in Chennai. It is then chilled in sterilised conditions and bottled in eco-friendly glass bottles through a sanitised process. The bottled milk is then distributed to consumers within 12 hours, eliminating the need for chemical pasteurisation and any other additives. What started with a sale of about 10-15 bottles a day has now reached 4,000 bottles per day.
