India Vegan Milk Startup Goodmylk Raises US$400K In Second Seed Funding Round

Veganarke Enterprises, the India-based operator of plant-based milk alternative brand Goodmylk, has just completed its second seed funding round with US$ 400,000, bringing the total financing raised so far to around US$ 800,000. With the latest injection of capital, the Bengaluru-based company hopes to expand their product distribution within the local area and launch new partnerships with supermarkets. It comes as the plant-based dairy industry is showing no signs of slowing-down with investors going long on animal product alternatives, driven by health-conscious and environmentally aware consumers who are choosing dairy-free more than ever before. 

Veganarke Enterprises, the parent company of vegan dairy substitute brand Goodmylk, has just raised around US$ 400,000 in a second seed stage investment led by Ginni International alongside other angel investors Elisa Khong and Sandeep Singh, and venture capital firm VegInvest. The latest round of capital brings the total funds raised by the India-based company to US$ 800,000, which the company says it will use to expand its distribution capabilities in Bengaluru and create fresh partnerships with regional supermarkets. 

Goodmylk was founded in 2017 by animal rights activist Abhay Rangan, who quit engineering college to start the company and make plant-based food choices a “household habit.” Initially started as a door-to-door service providing homemade plant milks, the brand now manufactures a line of dairy-free products, which include cashew-oat mylk, peanut curd, plant-based butter and vegan mayonnaise. Currently, Goodmylk’s products are available for purchase on their own website and Alibaba-backed grocery app BigBasket.

“We want to focus all our efforts on Bengaluru and make the product available ubiquitously in the city before expanding outside,” said Rangan. 

According to the company, the demand for plant-based dairy products isn’t just coming from committed vegans, who make up only 30% of Goodmylk’s sales. “Vegans aren’t our primary market…typically, we want to go after a set that isn’t vegan. This is consistent with what we observed in the global demand,” explained Rangan in a conversation with TechCircle.

As for the trend that Rangan is alluding to, it is clear that consumers around the world are opting to go dairy-free more than ever before. Earlier this month, America’s cow’s milk giant Borden Dairy became the second major dairy company in the country to file for bankruptcy, citing changing consumer landscapes as a key reason. In late 2019, the world’s biggest exporter of milk, New Zealand-based Fonterra, experienced its second year of losses in a row.

Much of this industry trend has been driven by the rise in environmental awareness about the footprint of our consumption choices. With climate change climbing towards the top of the agenda with millions of students striking for action and scientists reiterating the emissions associated with meat and dairy consumption, more consumers are reaching for plant-based alternatives, which has pushed the sales of oat milk up by an astonishing 636% within just one year. In addition, consumers are waking up to the health impacts of consuming dairy, especially in Asia where an estimated 90% of the population are considered lactose-intolerant.

Lead image courtesy of Goodmylk.