The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the realization among the people to consume healthy food products and include them in their daily diet. One of the common food products consumed by people on a regular basis is milk. People are choosing the best quality food products for a healthier lifestyle and also to boost immunity.
Speaking of immunity, A2 milk is termed to contain strontium which helps in boosting the body’s immune system, promotes healthy blood sugar levels. A2 milk also contains Omega-3 fatty acids that are said to be great in removing cholesterol deposits. Milk contains a primary protein known as β-casein which comes in two forms: A1 and A2. A2 milk is a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Calcium, Thiamin, Riboflavin, and Potassium.
In view of the benefits of A2 milk, we got an opportunity to speak to a couple of A2 milk brands in Mumbai.
Speaking to Ms. Akshali Shah, Sr. VP-Strategy of Pride of Cows, Ms. Shah says that Pride of Cows works towards providing safe, hygienic, and unadulterated milk to society. The concept of “Farm to Home” was introduced by Pride of Cows. It is the first dairy farm in the country that has implemented the use of Homeopathy and Ayurveda in dairy cows. She further adds that the concern to provide the healthiest milk was since the beginning of Pride of Cows. Whether pandemic or not, Pride of Cows promises to deliver the best and the healthiest milk to consumers. The main focus of Pride of Cows is providing unadulterated and the healthiest cow milk and it caters to more than 45,000 households in Mumbai.
While speaking to the founder of Provillac, Mr. Siddharth Runwal, he says that Provillac was founded back in 2013 and the reason to start Provillac was the product itself. Provillac focuses on delivering the healthiest farm milk directly to consumers to avoid adulteration. When asked about delivering the healthiest milk during the crucial time of the pandemic, Mr. Runwal said that because Provillac focuses on delivering milk from farm to home, Provillac provides antibiotic-free and hormone-free milk; they have been testing antibiotics and hormones at the farm level. Provillac caters to approximately 20,000 households in Mumbai. While talking about managing the delivery system during the peak lockdown, Mr. Runwal says that Provillac has its delivery system in place which allows smooth functioning. He adds that Provillac is very technology-focused which came in handy while managing the delivery system at the time of lockdown in Mumbai.
Speaking to Nitin Sawale, CEO of Sarda Farms, he says that Sarda Farms is based out of Nashik and is in the market for 11 years. He says that Sarda Farms is one of the fewest farms that deliver milk from their own farm to the consumers. He adds that most of the brands that claim ‘Farm to Home’ do not have their own farms, they buy the milk from local farmers and some of them might have a contractual agreement with the farmers. Mr. Sawale says that the adulteration that reaches out to the customers’ doorstep is not so good, and Sarda Farms wanted to deliver the best milk; all the requirements were fulfilled by Sarda Farms to deliver the best milk to the consumers. He says that there is a possibility of adulteration of milk when it is purchased from outside, but dairy is big science. He says that even if there is a small farmer having 2-3 cows, the quality of milk as compared to Sarda Farms will differ. When speaking about providing the healthiest milk during the time of the pandemic, Mr. Sawale says that they have been giving good quality and the healthiest milk for 11 years, so the pandemic was not so different. With around 1100 cows at Sarda Farms, all protocols were followed to ensure the safety of the cows, says Mr. Sawale. When talking about managing the delivery system, Mr. Sawale says that everybody panicked during the time of the pandemic, but, Sarda Farms still delivered milk during such crucial times. He says that Sarda Farms has not missed a single delivery for 10 years and has catered to providing the best milk to its consumers. Sarda Farms delivers around 10,000-11,000 litres of milk in a day and around 3 lakh litres in a month in Mumbai and the number fluctuates, says Mr. Sawale.
Speaking to the Co-founder of Dear Cows, Mr. Sarvesh Pande, he says that Dear Cows was started back in 2017. Considering to provide good quality milk, healthiest milk and considering the problems faced by the next generation with respect to milk; this was the main reason why Dear Cows was started. When asked about proving the healthiest milk to the consumers, Mr. Sarvesh says that Dear Cows has a 3 point mission statement from which the first one is to empower the cowherd community in India, second is to preserve and conserve the indigenous cow breeds of India and the last point is to create awareness about the benefits of milk and milk products. He says that the solution to a few health problems was always A2 milk coming from desi cows. About delivering the healthiest milk, Mr. Sarvesh says that there is a proper end-to-end supply chain. He adds that there is a lot of transparency with the consumers regarding the quality checks, random checks, and the test report is updated to all the consumers on their mobile app. Mr. Sarvesh further adds up that Dear Cows caters to more than 3,500 families every day, provides around 3,000 litres of milk in a day and around 90,000 litres of milk in a month in Mumbai. Talking about managing the delivery system during the lockdown, Mr. Sarvesh says that assurance was provided to the delivery team. Additionally, all precautions were taken during the lockdown.
Speaking to Mr. Nitin – Daily Sales Executive from Vedaz, he says that Vedaz started around 3-4 years ago and it focuses on providing the best quality of milk. Vedaz provides products like ghee, honey, and milk. Vedaz looks after providing A2 milk coming from Gir cows. Speaking about providing the healthiest milk to the consumers, Mr. Nitin says that since A2 milk is considered healthy and nutritious, Vedaz looks after providing A2 milk from Gir cows to its consumers. Vedaz delivers around 1,500-2,000 litres per day in Mumbai.
Speaking to Mr. Madan Mohan – Managing Director at Gir Amritphal about delivering the healthiest milk, he says that Gir Amritphal grows its own fodder for the cows. It grows different kinds of fodders in different seasons and it follows old ancient processes to grow fodder and has a Vedic way followed in their process. Green oats, maize, moringa, sugarcane, dry shorghum, dry groundnut fodder, churi of 9 different lentils, and a few more items are fed to the cows at Gir Amritphal, says Mr. Mohan. Gir Amritphal delivers around 1,000 litres of milk on a daily basis and around 30,000 litres in a month. Speaking about the delivery system, Mr. Mohan says that the police were very cooperative for the milk delivery, online passes were given to the delivery team.
Speaking to Mr. Neeraj Mittal – Director at Mr. Milk, he says that Mittal Dairy farms is a brand under Mittal Group. He says that Mr. Milk is a ‘product of passion’. Mr. Mittal says that they wanted to get away with the middlemen and wanted to set up their own farm of desi cows and provide unadulterated and untouched milk in the market. Furthermore, talking about delivering the healthiest milk, Mr. Mittal says that the health and activity of the cows are monitored on a daily basis, there is a specific diet plan for each age group of cows. Mr. Mittal says that glass and plastic bottles are not used to pack the milk so as to save the environment. Mr. Milk delivers around 600 litres of milk per day in Mumbai and around 20,000 litres of milk in a month. Since the essential services were allowed during the lockdown, Mr. Mital says that not a single delivery was missed, resulting in a smooth delivery function.
Talking to the owner of Krishna Surbhi, he says that Krishna Surbhi has a tie-up with the farmers in providing A2 milk ensuring the quality of milk being delivered to the consumers. The owner further adds that Krishna Surbhi deals in delivering and re-selling A2 milk in Dahisar. Talking about managing the delivery system during the lockdown period, he says that since the essential services were allowed, due to which Krishna Surbhi did not face much problem with respect to milk delivery. Krishna Surbhi delivers around 70-80 litres of milk in a day and around 2,100 litres of milk in a month in Dahisar.
Speaking with Mr. Sanket Pednekar – Project Manager at Hari Bol, he says that Hari Bol is not a profit-driven company but it is a cause-driven company in providing the healthiest milk to its consumers. Talking about delivering the healthiest milk, Mr. Pednekar says that ‘Hari Bol’ is looked at it as a movement for sustainability. A German DNA testing lab has been set up wherein the milk is tested in the lab on a daily basis, says Mr. Pednekar. Speaking about managing the delivery system during the lockdown, Mr. Pednekar says that Hari Bol has its own app-based system and also a delivery team that helped them to smoothen out the milk delivery during the pandemic.
Speaking to Mr. Deepak Bhanushai – Director of Kesaria Farms, he says that Kesaria farms is a family farm and was started in 2011. Mr. Bhanushali says that Kesaria Farms initially started with 20 cows and the number has increased to 170 cows. He further adds that the delivery chain is handled by Kesaria Farms, also the quality checks are ensured by them, thus promising the consumers that Kesaria Farms sells the healthiest milk. Since delivering and selling of milk came under essential services during the lockdown, Mr. Bhanushali says that they did not face problems while delivering milk. Kesaria Farms caters to around 500+ households on a daily basis.
Speaking to Mr. Yash Dubey – Founder of Happy Cows says that Happy Cows was Mumbai’s first packaged A2 Gir Cow milk brand that was started back in 2016. He further adds that it was started to deliver pure A2 milk to Mumbaikars and Happy Cows is one of the largest A2 milk brands in Mumbai. Happy Cows caters to more than 4,000 customers on a daily basis. Talking about managing the delivery system during the lockdown, Mr. Dubey says that precautions were taken and support was provided to the delivery boys and drivers with respect to insurance so that they continue to work comfortably. Talking about providing the healthiest milk to the consumers during the time of Covid, Mr. Dubey says that even before Covid, the motto of Happy Cows was always to provide the purest and the best quality of milk. Happy Cows delivers around 1,15,000 – 1,20,000 litres of milk in a month. Speaking about the idea behind the brands’ name, Mr. Dubey says that according to Indian culture, cows are considered as ‘mother’; with the brand of Happy Cows, Mr. Dubey says that they wanted to make a very clear statement that when ‘mother cows’ are happy, they deliver happy milk. Happy Cows ensures to give the cows good care and the best of treatment.
