Viaka #1: Using camel milk in baby food with Desert Farms
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Hi everyone, this is Hani. This week, we’re shining the spotlight on Desert Farms, a start-up using camel milk as a replacement for baby formula. Founded by Walid Abdul-Wahab, Desert Farms is related to Plus.VC’s, one of our MENA VC partners.
Desert Farms Quick Stats
Founded: 2014
HQ: Santa Monica, California
Founder: Walid Abdul-Wahab
Product: D2C personalized & affordable infant formulas 🐪. We made a near-identical baby formula to human breast milk. We did this by using unique proteins found in camel's milk and other 'superfoods from the desert
Website: https://desertfarms.com/
KPI’s
$2M ARR
$400K raised
5 full-time employees
Ask: $3M to expand production and distribution capabilities.
I got the chance to chat with Walid about Desert Farms, their story, and their goals for the future. Here are some of the insights from our chat.
What is Desert Farms and how did it come to life?
I’m Palestinian originally but I grew in Saudi Arabia. I’m a single father, and I’ve constantly been frustrated with the quality of baby food formula, the “only” option for my kids since breastfeeding has always been an obvious impossibility. During one of my trips to SA, I found out about the potent properties of camel milk, and started thinking about ways it could be used in baby food. I started digging into it, blogging about it, and upon my return to the US, I teamed up with scientists from UCLA and USC to confirm my findings. The results were astounding: in addition to nutrients like vitamin E, zinc, and selenium, a single cup of camel milk also contains 10% DV of protein, 11% DV of potassium, 15% DV of phosphorus, 30% DV of calcium, and 70% DV of vitamin B1. In short: camel milk is the closest and healthiest alternative to human breastmilk.
After selling some of my early products to mosques and ethnic food gathering, I built a real business around what has now become my passion. Today, Desert Farms offers a variety of products, ranging from milk, to powder, to hump fat (used as cooking oil). All of our products are camel-based.
What is the problem you’re trying to solve, and what market are you after?
We’re really trying to bring a healthier alternative to baby powder formula. Over the years, we’ve been exposed to the potential health effects of formula, exemplified by the plethora of recalls that have constantly plagued the industry. I always say that breastmilk is the best option for a baby; however, the fact of the matter is that 70% of the US population today uses formula. They deserve better; this is where Desert Farms comes in.
What is your current traction?
Since our founding, we’ve raised $400K through a mix of angel investments and debt. We make $2M ARR, but we really need to scale both our production and distribution capacities.
We are a team of five people made up of scientists, designers and people on the farm. We also work with pediatricians to review and approve our products. We have a camel farm in Missouri, but we also source some of our products from the Middle East, Abu Dhabi in particular.
What are you looking for within the Viaka community?
We’re currently raising a $3M round. We are trying to launch a full-suite of products; baby formula generally has three main types (covering different stage of an infant’s development) and we want to have offerings on all three of them. This will enable us to significantly augment our LTV over time.
This requires substantial investment in our production facilities, as all of our products have been homemade for the past three years. The money will thus enable us to lock in partnerships with our manufacturers, which requires large upfront costs.
Part of the money will also go towards marketing (we want to open new international markets) as well as the costs related to getting new products approved by relevant health authorities.
Any type of investors/people you’re looking for specifically?
We’re looking for early-stage (nothing above Series A) investors who have experience in the food and/or foodtech industry. This includes investors in meat/dairy alternatives start-ups for example.
Additionally, we are looking for people with connections to the Abu Dhabi camel farming business, as we source some of our products from over there and we will need more suppliers as we scale.
We are also looking for a senior advisor with D2C startup experience, preferably in the food & beverage space, and with knowledge of the FDA approval process. This opportunity will be compensated.
If you want to get in touch with Walid, feel free to do it on LinkedIn or by reaching out to his email walid@desertfarms.com
Weekly partner spotlight
Below are a list of opportunities curated from the Viaka network of VC-backed start-ups in MENA.
A D2C startup doing $2m in ARR selling camel milk products in the U.S, is raising $3m to start large-scale production, and currently connecting with early-stage investors in FoodTech.
Building MENA’s leading B2B cloud-based subscription and billing platform that empowers subscription-based businesses with operational, analytics, and billing tools to efficiently manage their subscribers. They’re looking for a senior advisor with early-stage startup experience, particularly in leveraging data analytics to optimize the performance of an Enterprise SaaS business. This opportunity will be compensated.
A FinTech startup providing alternative financing options to MSMEs in MENA. They’re looking for a senior advisor with FinTech Experience in MENA, and a knowledge of Islamic financing in particular. This opportunity will be compensated.
Plus.vc invests in early-stage founders (up to Series A) that have a MENA background or connection, but are founding their companies outside of MENA. They are looking for MENA-related start-ups in North America.
A Saudi Arabia-based telemedicine app, where users can upload photos of their skin condition, a certified dermatologist will analyze their data, provide consultation and diagnosis, and recommend a suitable treatment and prescription. They’re raising a pre-seed round of $400,000, about half of which is already committed.
If you would like to get involved with any of the opportunities above, please fill out this form and indicate what opportunity you are interested in in the “notes” section.
That’s it for this week!
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