The increasing awareness on the benefits of camel milk has led to a steady rise in its demand in India and Rajasthan-based Aadvik Foods, one of the key players in this segment, is betting big on its growth going ahead. The company targets 30-40 percent growth in the current financial year (FY20).

In a candid chat with Moneycontrol, Shrey Kumar, Co-Founder, Aadvik Foods said, “We are clocking approx Rs 4.5 crore annually. Target is to increase by 35-40 percent this financial year.”

The company intends to more than double its sales in the next two years.

Established in 2016 by Hitesh Rathi and Shrey Kumar, Aadvik Foods started its journey by selling just one litre of camel milk. The company now sells 10,000 liters of camel milk a month and in the last three-and-half years it has sold a little over 2 lakh litres milk across the country.

Currently, the company receives 150 orders on a daily basis for camel milk and milk-based products.

It operates across Delhi, Nokha, Bikaner, and Bhuj offices, while the company’s pasteurization plant is located at Baroda.

The company that deals directly with the camel breeders of Rajasthan and Gujarat offers a wide range of products in the camel milk segment such as frozen milk, chocolates, milk powder (plain, banana flavour and chocolate flavour).

It also offers camel milk-based skin care products including body butter, soap (six variants) and day cream.

Kumar pointed out that the shelf life for frozen camel milk is roughly 45 days, milk powder is 9 months, chocolates is six months, and skin-care products is from 12-24 months.

In terms of cost, Aadvik Camel Milk (Frozen) 200 ml pack is priced at Rs 100, a pack of 40 grams camel milk powder is for Rs 360, while Aadvik Camel Milk Chocolates Pack of 3 x 50-gram bars is for Rs 255.

Aadvik Foods targets both online and offline platforms for growth and the products are sold on the company's website and via e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Flipkart and eBay and through physical stores.

“We are present in stores in Delhi/NCR, Lucknow, Punjab, Chennai and give home deliveries in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi/NCR. Offline is a great market for us because most of the consumers buy from offline stores especially in the FMCG sector,” Kumar said.

In the camel milk space, the competitors for Aadvik are Amul, Camel Charisma, Nutra Vita, and As Fresh.

Speaking about the customer base for camel milk and camel milk products, Kumar said, “People with diabetes, autism, lactose intolerance, and with a healthy lifestyle for overall body growth and kids are our main customers.”

Camel milk contains less lactose than cow’s milk, making it more tolerable for many people with lactose intolerance.

The milk contains insulin-like proteins, which may be responsible for its antidiabetic activity. Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels

When it comes to calorie, protein, and carb content, camel milk is comparable to whole cow’s milk. However, it’s lower in saturated fat and offers more vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium, iron, and potassium

It’s also a good source of healthy fats, such as long-chain fatty acids, linoleic acid, and unsaturated fatty acids, which may support brain and heart health

Kumar said Aadvik plans to launch camel milk sugar-free chocolates and goat milk soaps soon.

Dairy Market

Although the camel milk market is at a nascent stage, it is expanding fast due to increasing awareness on the benefits of camel milk, Kumar said.

Kumar believes alternate milk like that of goat and camel is expected to increase to 5 percent of the total dairy consumption in India.

The value of the dairy market in India touched Rs 9.16 lakh crore in 2018 and is expected to more than double to Rs 18.6 lakh crore by 2023.

In 2018, the global market for camel dairy products reached a value of $5.64 billion growing at a CAGR of 3.89 percent during 2011-2018.

The camel dairy market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.01 percent during 2019-2024 reaching levels worth more than US$ 8 billion by 2024.