How this Rajasthan-based founder made Rs 4 Cr selling camel milk and its products

Having spent years in their respective jobs, Hitesh Rathi and Shrey Kumar decided to explore the organic food market and bridge the gap within the farm to table model. They built on their idea of processing camel milk and Aadvik Foods came into existence.

One of the first Indian brands to process camel milk, it started with just one SKU, and now deals in 40 SKUs including soaps, chocolates, flavoured milk, moisturizer, face wash, facial scrub, day cream, and body butter.

The company deals directly with the camel breeders of Rajasthan and Gujarat not only creating a sustainable source of income for them but also helping them take care of the animals thereby maintaining its population.

The founders have till now worked with more than 100 camel breeders.

Founded by Hitesh Rathi in 2016 as a bootstrap company with a capital of less than Rs 10 lakh, the idea of processing camel milk came out in a discussion among his group of friends. Shrey says, “People in other parts of the world were already selling camel milk. Hitesh, who comes from Rajasthan, thought why not create a source of income for the nomadic camel herders. Thus, the company was founded and a couple of months later, I joined as a co-founder.”

Though they had a slow start because there were no initial takers for this product, today, Aadvik Foods clocks a total of Rs 4 crore due to its immense health benefits, claim the founders.

Incorporated in 2017, the company has its offices in Delhi, Nokha, Bikaner, and Bhuj. Its pasteurisation plant is in Baroda. At the plant, they have incorporated new technologies like the ‘freeze drying’ process to manufacture milk powder without compromising its quality, taste, flavour, mineral, and nutrient contents.

The founders claim that they are at present receiving 5,000 orders in a month.

Entering a new market

You have to take the rough with the smooth, and building a new market was difficult for the founders. Shrey says,

We started by creating awareness about the health benefits of camel milk. Initially, people were skeptical due to preconceived notions and it was the biggest challenge for us to enter the market.”

In recent times, camel milk and its products are being sought after as healthy alternatives. The founders say it also has medicinal benefits and is a remedy for chronic conditions like diabetes, autism, and improving general immunity. “Also, camel milk can be consumed by lactose intolerant people and due to its low fat content, it is high in demand by the fitness enthusiasts,” says Shrey.

Keeping in mind that this is a perishable product, it is packaged under specialised guidelines that keep its shelf life extended for 60 days in frozen form and nine months in powdered form.

To create awareness about their products, the two founders contacted doctors, dietitians, influencers, and YouTubers during the initial months.

Hitting the goals

They started taking initial orders on call and through their website. Slowly and gradually, they hit all the e-commerce platforms, and today camel milk products by Aadvik Foods are widely available on Amazon, EBay, Flipkart, Bigbasket, Shopclues, Snapdeal, and Doodhwala, etc.

They are the prime sellers on Amazon.com and deliver their products globally. They have their distribution channels in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bathinda, and Chandigarh. Aadvik Foods has till now exported its camel milk powder to distributors from the US, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Being a profitable company since day one, the brand has till now received more than two lakh orders from across the world.

Future prospects

Aadvik Foods has targeted to grow on both online and offline platforms and are in process to introduce more products. Shrey says,

"We are not going to limit ourselves to only camel milk products. We cannot create a Rs 10k crore company with just one product. Our research is on and we are planning to launch goat milk also."

The brand also envisions to polarise its flagship product, the camel milk, as the next superfood in the world via the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry.

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