Western Australia’s first commercial camel milk dairy has partnered with equity crowdfunding platform Birchal to raise $1.2 million and enter the global infant formula market, worth $56 billion.
Good Earth Dairy has spent almost five years and around $4 million to develop IP and produce camel milk at a reduced price in comparison to current market prices.
The average price of camel milk is $18AUD per litre and tins of the powder sell for around $100AUD in China. Good Earth Dairy says the only “sophisticated competitor” at scale has a production cost of $12AUD per litre.
“Good Earth Dairy has developed unique agritech to produce the camel milk below AUD $3 per litre and with the addition of yield improvements, the cost will drop below AUD $1 per litre, which is a marked competitive advantage and will enable the milk to be commoditised,” Good Earth Dairy co-founder and CEO Marcel Steingiesser said.
“With our novel IP to reduce costs and increase yield, camel milk is now a viable disruptor to the multi-billion dollar global infant formula industry, and we intend to enter that market with the support of this equity crowdfunding campaign.”
Good Earth Dairy was co-founded by Steingiesser, a former employee in the Western Australian government alongside Kim Chance and Henry Steingiesser, and cameleer Stephen Geppert.
Its camel milk products are developed in the pilot plant, which are being sold at 50 stockists across WA, as the business looks to create a “sustainable, ethical agricultural industry focused on large scale production of pure Australian camel milk within a thriving market”.
“Understanding milk chemistry and our gut requirements we believe this will be a major disruptor to the AUD $400 BN global dairy industry,” said Steingiesser.
Camel milk is free from the key allergen of dairy milk and can cater to the infant formula market, which is expected to grow to $100 billion by 2025.
With an aim to raise $1.2 million through public investment, Good Earth Dairy is looking to scale its IP to more than three million litres per year for each commissioned dairy while ensuring its products are Australian-made, as well as list on the ASX in early 2021.
