At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Akshhit Jhaveri for an exclusive interview with us. Akshhit is an Entrepreneur, Consultant and Founder of Kyte Milk. Let’s learn more about his background, journey and his advice for our community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Akshhit:
Could you please talk us through your background and your journey?
Let me start by letting you know that I’m a Gujarati and being a Gujarati we have very few options of what to do in life, Dhando haha. Coming from a Gujarati background I always knew I wanted to do a business but didn’t know which industry to step in. My father is a businessman too but I didn’t wish to join him as I wanted to do something of my own.
This story goes back to 2018 when I went to Bangalore to study about electric vehicles. One fine day me and my roommate from Mumbai were relaxing in our room and that’s when I happened to come across a news channel covering a child’s death due to adulteration in milk. I was shocked and even more when I researched deeper to find there were many more cases as such.
At that point, I realised this is a problem and it needs to be resolved. After researching more into the Dairy Industry I came across a solution. A solution which would free India from its adulteration in milk and milk products.
I knew it was a capital-intensive business model but I had to do what was supposed to be done. A fire within to bring a change not for today but for a brighter future of India and its youth. I decided to build my own farm, KyteMilk.
Our farm is located in Pune, at the outskirts of Manchar. At our farm we only raise Gir cows, this is an indigenous (desi) breed found in Gujarat and some parts of Rajasthan. We treat our cows as a part of our family. On a 20+ acre land located on a hilly area covering a beautiful landscape view, we let loose our cows to freely roam about letting them decide today at which part of the farm they would like to enjoy the view from.
Talking about adulteration, we’re far-fetched from that. In fact, we do not even allow artificial insemination and totally believe in the natural mating process for which we have bulls at our farm too.
We do not use any sort of preservatives resulting in delivering our milk to you within 16 to 18 hours of milking. Farm fresh, yes very much. We also grow our own fodder for our cows using natural fertiliser which makes our fodder free from chemicals resulting in organic milk. Yes, we’re also organically certified.
Through this journey, we’ve been able to help the pillars of our country, our farmers. At our farm we do not hire people from outside but the local farmers. With their expertise, ancestral knowledge and problem-solving hacks we onboard them to take care of our cattle. In return, we give them assured wages throughout the year.
We also educate them with modern agricultural practices which help them not only use their land for farming efficiently but also enjoy increased revenue.
“KyteMilk” is such a unique name, talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
When we talk about a problem, how do we see it? Is it happening/Will it be happening and why is it happening?
No, this problem has been there since decades and giants of this industry have been running it very smoothly. Ever wondered why in today’s time we have so many lactose intolerant people and when we head back to our village/hometown we hear of nothing as such?
The reason: these giants of the dairy industry supply a type of milk known as A1 milk. This type of milk is derived from foreign breeds like Holstein-Friesian and many more (cows having white and black spots).
A1 milk is a type which is not 100% suited to human bodies. In the longer run, this creates lactose intolerance which can be easily seen in today’s time when compared to decades ago. While A2 Milk derives from Indigenous (desi) cows and does not create lactose intolerance, our ancestors never faced this issue.
Now you might wonder why would these dairy giants feed us A1-type milk. The answer is very simple: Holstein, Friesian and other foreign breed cows give 15 to 20 litres of milk on a daily basis and on the other hand, our Indigenous (desi) cows give 8 to 12 litres of milk on a daily basis (the best part comes in now) but the maintenance cost of both is the same.
Knowing that every Dairy Giant is a business and their end goal is to maximise their profits, they sell us what is the most cost-effective for them neglecting the health problems they carry.
In addition, these dairy giants do not have their own farms and cows. They tie up with farmers promising a fixed return and the type of milk they want, A1 from foreign breeds. This milk from farmers is collected at dairy collection centres owned by dairy giants.
These dairy collection centres do not have regressive quality checks and the best part of it is YOU CANNOT TELL WHETHER THIS MILK COMES FROM COWS / BUFFALOS OR GOATS, they are all collected at one place and together sent to packaging facilities to pack the milk.
Knowing all these problems I decided to step into this industry and bring a revolution to uplift the health of our people and youth of this country.
This is how KyteMilk was born.
Now a lot of people asked me why I named my brand KyteMilk, the reason is very simple. The name resembles to my vision, my dream, Makarsankranti a kite soaring high in the sky. It also means no matter what culture, religion or race you are from, it is a festival which welcomes everybody and is enjoyed as one.
Despite the challenges, what keeps you going when things get tough?
A promise that I made to myself, no matter what goes wrong I cannot give up. I knowingly and unknowingly feel I have many lives depending on me, now and in the future, and this feeling is enough for me to keep pushing forward.
Since a child I always dreamt of being something big in life, somebody who’s loved, respected and known for his deeds. Today where life has got me, when I reflect back, I feel I connect the dots though I yet have many things to do.
I believe I have miles to go before I sleep.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
1) Don’t give up easily, trust yourself and the process.
2)Always do your thorough research and do not get swayed away by words.
3)There’s no substitute for hard work and consistency.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
It’s very simple
1) Have the urge to do good for the people.
2) Always have a positive mindset even on the darkest days.
3) Love and believe in yourself even when nobody does.
4) For a very long time you’ll only hear a single clap, don’t get discouraged by it.
5) First take care of your health only then you’ll be able to take care of others.
6) Take quick but moreover smart decisions, don’t forget not everywhere hard work is required.
7) Make discipline your best friend.
8) Structure your work, without structure, you will keep falling.
9) And last but not least, keep pushing forward.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
1) First and foremost, STUDY. By studying I don’t mean study how and what everybody does but study thoroughly the area you are interested in.
2)Understand all the pros and cons before stepping into anything.
3)Always work for somebody before you start working for yourself, there’s no shortcut for experience and practical knowledge.
4) To be honest, there’s so much to be shared and as much as I’m happy and glad to be associated with this platform I cannot communicate and share all. But people do reach out to me on LinkedIn inquiring about KyteMilk or my other business (Jhaveri Enterprises) Jhaveri Global Kitchen which is into exports.
I love guiding and supporting people in their journey, always remember to pass on happiness and knowledge.
Last but not least, what about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
The most satisfying feeling I get through KyteMilk is spreading awareness and knowledge to people. It’s to know and feel that yes, I’m doing good for the people which will not only reflect today but also in the future.
When you do an act of kindness, it just doesn’t reflect on the immediate person but also passes on to many others. You never know if one act of kindness/goodness can make somebody’s day or even life.
For me, It has always been my dream and vision to do something for my country and KyteMilk makes me feel that I’ve begun my journey of making a difference for the people of this country.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
