The digital revolution in India has enabled the Bharat consumer to access the internet at a fraction of the cost. India has the 5th lowest mobile data prices in the world. As urban India seems to have hit a plateau with 341 million users (about 69% penetration), much of the growth in internet users continues to be driven by rural India with 351 million users with 37% penetration. While access to the internet has brought to the fore opportunities and broadened the horizons of the rural population, some aspects of their lives remain untouched. One such area is the cow and its integral role in the lives of everyday Indians.
The productivity problem of Indian cattle
India produced and consumed the most amount of cow milk worldwide in 2022, drinking about 85 million metric tonnes. It also has over 300 million bovines, almost 1 for every 5 Indians. Despite its milk production and consumption scale, India ranks way behind the EU-27 and the US in terms of milk production. The major reasons for low milk productivity in India are both intrinsic (low genetic potential) and extrinsic (poor nutrition/feed management).
The extrinsic factors are primarily due to the low quality of feed/fodder and age-old operational techniques. Added to this, high raw material costs, lack of infrastructure and quality control measures around cattle feed have plagued the system for decades.
This lack of timely availability of nutritionally rich feed and malpractices around the standard of feed bags affects the productivity of cattle and the farmers who own them. Most farmers either end up travelling miles to buy below-par feed for their cattle or resort to buying from a regional middleman/store which impacts the health of their cattle.
Although internet penetration and better banking experiences have improved the lives of the Bharat audience, the digital revolution is yet to materially impact important aspects of their economic lives like access to high-quality feed for their cattle. Improving this has a direct impact on their profitability, cattle health, lifestyle and nutrition.
Cattle Guru, the one-stop shop for Bharat farmers
Factual studies have shown that enhancing the quality and quantity of feed and fodder has a greater impact on increasing milk productivity than breed improvement. We estimate cattle feed to be a $50Bn - $100Bn annual market but most of this market is fragmented and awaiting a transformation.
This is where Cattle Guru wants to simplify and transform the Indian farmer’s life by improving the lives of their cattle.
Cattle Guru is a one-stop shop for dairy farmers that caters to all their holistic needs. It aims to deliver a hassle-free and seamless experience to farmers by providing them high quality, low-cost feed at their doorsteps. Farmers can place an order, track their delivery and make payments on receiving their feed without having to go through the hassle of travel and toil.
How the Antler India Fellowship helped create Cattle Guru
Gaurav Panwar, Vaibhav Agarwal, and Lovepreet Singh decided to build Cattle Guru because of their sheer passion and commitment to creating a difference in the life of rural farmers. Having seen this problem in their daily lives, the trio brought together their experience, insight, and love for technology to create Cattle Guru.
The founders were a part of the Antler India Fellowship, a program focused on college entrepreneurs. The equity-free grant allowed the three co-founders to chase their idea with the freedom to experiment, and build the startup of their dreams. Throughout the time we spent with them during team office hours, partner one on ones, pod catch-ups, and coaching sessions, the three founders have shown a promising upward trajectory with a high bias for action, passion for their customers, product thinking and fantastic storytelling skills.
We believe their unique approach to this problem coupled with deep insights and strong product chops, will make them the go-to solution for every dairy farmer in India.
If you are a student found thinking about venture-scale opportunities, check out Antler India Fellowship. Applications are now open.
