Engineer couple quits jobs, builds dairy business with Rs 2 crore turnover and exports to UAE, Australia

As concerns around food adulteration and unhealthy eating rise continuously, more people are looking for natural, trustworthy alternatives. For Shreekant Malde and his wife Charmy, this concern became personal after a tragic loss in 2014. Shreekant lost his father to cancer. 

It prompted the couple to rethink their lifestyle and food choices. Faced with processed, adulterated options, they wanted something natural and authentic for themselves and the community.

In 2017, the duo quit their jobs and founded GauNeeti Organics, a dairy venture in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar. Starting with just four Gir cows, the farm has grown to a herd of over 170, producing A2 milk and a variety of native cow products. It reaches more than 500 households while upholding cruelty-free practices.

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Why dairy, and why Gir cows?

“In 2014, when (Shreekant’s) father passed away due to cancer, it made us question our lifestyle and the food we were consuming. That tragedy shook us. That’s when we decided to move towards a healthy, natural choice. However, farming requires a large land parcel, but we did not have it. So after research, we chose dairy farming,” Shreekant and Charmy told 30Stades.

Shreekant, with a BE in IT and a Masters in Software Engineering, quit his decade-long career in IT while Charmy, a chemical engineer, quit her job as a professor to start GauNeeti in 2017. “We started GauNeeti, not only for ourselves but also to share these real, organic products with people around us,” 

They chose Gir cows, a native Indian breed native to the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. 

Gir cows produce A2 milk, which contains beta-casein protein. Choosing native breeds also helps preserve indigenous biodiversity and maintain traditional dairy knowledge. 

“Our focus is not just on milk production but on ethical, cruelty-free practices. After a calf is born, it is allowed to feed sufficiently before any milking begins. This helps the cows produce oxytocin, often called the ‘happy hormone,’ which naturally improves milk quality and overall well-being of the animal,” Shreekant says. 

Cows are fed organic fodder grown without pesticides. Seasonal adjustments are made to maximise nutrition, and health check-ups are done every 4 to 6 months for diseases such as TB, Johne’s disease, and brucellosis.

“Every step is labour-intensive, but we provide the utmost care to our cows,” the agripreneur adds. 

Also Read: Engineer starts dairy farm after daughter diagnosed with lactose intolerance; clocks Rs1 crore annual revenues

Supporting local farmers 

GauNeeti’s vision extends beyond its farm. The Maldes have partnered with three progressive farmers, providing them with guidance, infrastructure, and lab tests while buying back their milk.

“It is a win-win for both as it is a farmer support community of sorts. We believe that passing on farming knowledge and empowering others is crucial. If we don’t carry forward farming, what will the future generations do? They will have money, but they won’t know how to make their food. So we hope GauNeeti’s model demonstrates that ethical farming can be economically viable,” Charmy says.

Quality over quantity

Delivering quality comes at a cost. While a Jersey cow can produce 25 litres or more per day, a Gir cow yields only 8 to 10 litres, which decreases over time. No hormones are used to boost milk production. Organic green fodder requires constant manual weeding to prevent contamination, making the process labour-intensive but essential for maintaining quality.

“Because we deliver in glass bottles to stay eco-friendly, breakage occasionally happens. Customers may also forget to pause deliveries when away, leading to spoilage. All these costs are absorbed by us, reflecting our commitment to quality over convenience. Keeping all this in mind and to make the farm viable, the milk is priced at Rs 120 per litre,” Shreekant says.

Apart from the cow sheds, the GauNeeti farm also has 75 vermicompost beds to use the cow dung. The compost enriches the soil, producing nutrient-rich fodder that feeds the herd and helps maintain the overall farm health. The compost is also sold to local farmers, supporting the surrounding agricultural community.

Expanding the product range

“GauNeeti has diversified into a 25-product portfolio, including A2 milk, Bilona ghee, ghee-based biscuits, protein bars, paneer, and butter, all preservative-free and without refined sugar or flour,” Charmy says.

Beyond dairy, they make eco-friendly products such as panchagavya, incense sticks from cow dung, and lip balms. They plan to introduce spreads, chocolate-based products, and cheese.

Their A2 butter is available in 75 gm, 150 gm, and 500 gm packs, priced at Rs 200, Rs 400, and Rs 1,250 respectively, while A2 Bilona Ghee is sold at Rs 1,300 for 500 gm and Rs 2,500 for a litre. Fresh paneer is priced at Rs 160 for 200 g, and eco-friendly dhoop and incense sticks are available at Rs 120. The ghee-based biscuits range from Rs 210 to Rs 400, depending on the variant.

Scaling without a retail outlet

GauNeeti operates as a direct B2C brand, delivering milk to over 500 households in Ahmedabad. They participate in farmers’ markets across the city and have shipped small quantities of bilona ghee, dhoop, incense sticks, etc, internationally to the UAE and Australia.

“Since our products are niche and slightly premium, a retail outlet isn’t feasible for us right now.  We are bootstrapped and prime locations would be expensive. So we plan to continue our farmer-to-consumer model,” says Shreekant.

“We have achieved a turnover of Rs 2 crore, reaching operational break-even. All of this has been possible through our personal savings and family support. We haven’t taken any loans or subsidies," he says.

"We are gradually recovering our phased investment of around Rs 80 lakh, taking a slow and consistent approach to uphold our ethics and long-term goals,” he adds. 

GauNeeti team includes 35 staff members. “We also work with local women to make the incense sticks and other products, providing them with sustainable livelihoods and empowering the community,” Charmy says.

Education and ethical awareness

For the Maldes, selling milk and other products comes second to educating the community about native breed cows, the difference between A2 milk and commercially available options, and the benefits of consciously switching to real, organic products.

“We want to spread awareness to more people, and we believe the business, taking our products to more people, will naturally follow. When we attend farmers’ markets, people may initially buy just a small quantity of ghee or other products because of the price. But once they see the difference, they often order larger quantities the next time,” Charmy says.

Vision and values

From a personal loss to building a community-centred, ethical dairy, Shreekant and Charmy aim to create a model rooted in passion, sustainability, and social responsibility. They believe that if more people see such a model succeed, farming can become aspirational again, helping future generations value food, nature, and community alongside economic growth.

“We are incredibly proud of what we’ve built and the positive impact we’ve had on so many lives… every challenge has been a learning experience, and every success has been a step toward creating something that benefits not only our customers but also the environment and our community. Usually, we see many people with a lot of land asking their next generation to move to cities and find jobs, but I think the times are changing. We hope the next generation is encouraged to take up farming sustainably,” they sign off.

(Chandhini R is a Kerala-based journalist specialising in human interest, entertainment, and art and culture stories)

Also Read: From washing milk bottles to hitting Rs4 crore turnover, how this engineer built a dairy business in Odisha

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