A start-up formed by two tech graduates from BIT-Mesra has won the hearts of Ranchiites with farm-fresh milk at doorsteps during the lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19

BIT-Mesra alumni and friends Manish Piyush and Aditya Kumar, who left jobs with Tata Motors to float their venture in January 2019 to start their venture, Puresh Daily Foods Private Limited, in a span of one year have earned a turnover of Rs 1 crore.

During the lockdown, so far they have delivered 50,000 litres of milk to 600 houses in Ranchi and on its outskirts.

“The lockdown has truly taught us that in adversity there is a huge opportunity. Our revenue has jumped by 100 per cent from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore and counting,” said Manish.

He added that they also got the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Innovation Lab (ABVIL, a special purpose vehicle under department of IT and e-governance, Jharkhand) recognition as Jharkhand Covid-19 Warriors.

During the lockdown, they started providing milk in sealed glass bottles at doorsteps outside containment zones, he said.

“That gained people’s trust. Compared to the usual milk pouches, sealed bottles are more healthy. Milk is an essential item and almost every family wants milk supplies,” Manish said.

“We also helped farms facing crisis during lockdown by procuring milk from them, processing and preserving them or giving them the |right market price by |supplying to NGOs and government bodies. In fact, we also helped farmers who were not getting buyers for their vegetables produce by purchasing their products in bulk to feed cattle in farms. It not only helped farmers earn, it improved the nutritive value of milk, improving immunity in general for consumers,” he added.

Aditya said they maintained the cold chain of milk bottles at 4°C to prevent it from getting spoilt.

“Normally, milk gets spoilt in three hours but as we maintain the cold chain it stays alright till eight hours,” Aditya said. “In contrast to the pasteurised homogenised milk where fats are added, our milk does not have additives and is good for even cardiac patients. Our milk also has high protein (4 per cent) compared to normal pasteurised packaged milk (2 per cent).”

Puresh Daily Food milk costs Rs 60 per litre, which is more expensive than normal packaged milk. But Aditya said their quality and delivery in sealed bottles at doorsteps “made customers overlook the price”.

The venture has also started making milk products such as paneer, ghee and khoya.

One can download the Puresh Daily app from Google Play Store to order products with an option to pay online. Those who don’t have Android phones can contact the call centre number 9297777440 and place orders.