Mukesh Ambani, Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan drink THIS dairy’s milk, it's priced at...

In Pune, Maharashtra, there is a dairy farm called 'Bhagyalakshmi,' which supplies milk to some of the most famous celebrities in India. From the Ambani family to Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar — all of them receive milk from this dairy. The price of one litre of this milk is Rs 90.

The owner of this dairy farm is Devendra Shah, who proudly calls himself the country’s biggest “gwala” (milkman). Interestingly, Shah was not always in the dairy business. He used to work in the textile business before starting his dairy journey. He launched his product line called ‘Pride of Cows’ with just 175 customers. Today, Bhagyalakshmi Dairy has more than 22,000 customers in Mumbai and Pune, including many celebrities.

At Shah’s dairy farm, there are over 2,000 Dutch Holstein cows. Each cow costs between Rs 90,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The dairy farm is spread over 26 acres of land and produces more than 25,000 litres of milk every day.

This farm is very high-tech. The cows are given RO (Reverse Osmosis) purified water to drink. Rubber mats are placed for the cows to stand on, and they are cleaned three times a day. The cows are fed a healthy diet, including soybean, seasonal vegetables, alpha grass, and maize fodder. Soft music plays 24 hours a day at the farm to keep the cows relaxed.

The entire process of milking and bottling is automated. No human touch is involved. Before milking, each cow’s weight and temperature are checked. If any cow is found unwell, it is sent to the hospital. The milk travels through pipes, gets pasteurized, and is then filled into bottles. In just seven minutes, milk is taken from 50 cows at once.

Shah’s daughter, Akshali Shah, who heads the marketing team, shared that every day, delivery vans travel around 163 kilometers, delivering milk from Pune to Mumbai in just three and a half hours. Deliveries are made between 5:30 AM and 7:30 AM. Customers can change, cancel, or modify their delivery address through their personal login ID.

According to the Investor Relations Society (IRS), India’s dairy market is expected to cross USD 140 billion (Rs 9,08,670 crores) by 2020, almost double from USD 70 billion (Rs 4,54,335 crores) in 2013.