Shauravi Malik, Cambridge economist and ex-JP Morgan and Virgin Group leader, and Meghana Narayan, national swimmer and ex-McKinsey public health lead, co-founded Slurrp Farm in 2016 with Umang Bhattacharyya. Backed by Anushka Sharma, the brand reached ₹97.5 crore in FY25 revenue, raised $18.3 million across six rounds, and is now present across preschools, quick commerce, and five international markets.
A Diwali Party in London, a Daughter Named Nandita, and a Giant Gap in the Market
• Shauravi Malik and Meghana Narayan met through a mutual friend at a Diwali party in London. Shauravi had spent six years at JP Morgan in M&A advisory and leveraged finance, then worked as an investment manager at Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. She studied economics at St. Stephen's College, Delhi University, and earned her master's from the University of Cambridge. Meghana had served as an Associate Principal at McKinsey and Company leading the public health practice, and was a decorated national-level swimmer representing India.
• When Meghana had her daughter Nandita and struggled to find nutritious, traditional food options on Indian shelves, the founding question crystallised. Friends visiting from India would ask Shauravi and Meghana to bring back baby food from London. The contrast was undeniable: abroad, the children's food aisle was rich, varied, and health-forward. In India, it had barely changed in a generation.
• "From the time that you were a child to now, the choice on the shelf for what a baby or a child eats is pretty much the same," Shauravi says.
• The answer was already in India. Just hidden in grandmothers' kitchens. Ragi. Jowar. Foxtail millet. Recipes that had nourished Indian children for centuries, abandoned when packaged food arrived and never reclaimed.
• In 2016, Shauravi, Meghana, and childhood friend Umang Bhattacharyya, a graphic designer and visual artist who became the creative engine of the brand, founded Slurrp Farm under Wholsum Foods Private Limited. They began in their own home kitchens with personal savings. The first ragi cookies took 12 months to develop, involving a childhood friend's original recipe and manufacturers who pushed back against unfamiliar ingredients. The founding team, as Shauravi says, had to "kiss a lot of frogs" to find partners who shared their vision.
Grandmother's Recipes, Modern Science, and a Movement That Celebrity India Backed
• The boldest product decision Slurrp Farm made was to build an entire children's food category from scratch rather than compete in an existing one.
• India's large format retail stores had dedicated dog food aisles but no children's food shelves. Slurrp Farm walked into that white space with millet-based cereals, pancake mixes, dosa mixes, noodles, pasta, cookies, and natural sweeteners, all formulated without artificial additives, preservatives, or refined sugar, and built around ingredients that Indian mothers already trusted at home.
• The packaging, led by Umang, featured playful Indian animals, a rhino, elephant, monkey, tiger, bear, and parrot, making products immediately recognisable, child-appealing, and culturally rooted. The brand's 40% repeat rate on Amazon and BigBasket confirmed the product strategy: parents who try it, keep buying it.
• When GST unified India into a single market in 2017, Slurrp Farm's nationwide distribution ambitions became structurally possible. When the Amazon Global Selling Propel Startup Accelerator selected the brand, Slurrp Farm entered the US, UK, and Europe. And when Anushka Sharma, one of India's most respected celebrity entrepreneurs and health advocates, became an investor and brand ambassador, she added the kind of national credibility that aligned perfectly with Slurrp Farm's positioning as a brand mothers could trust unconditionally.
• The social impact dimension runs equally deep. Slurrp Farm partnered with the Akshaya Patra Foundation through a Food For All Children programme, enabling children from all income backgrounds to benefit from nutrient-dense millets and lentils, taking the mission from urban shelves into the lives of children who need it most.
Scale and Real-World Impact
• Wholsum Foods, the parent company of Slurrp Farm and second brand Millé, generated ₹73.2 crore in FY24 and ₹97.5 crore in FY25, representing 33% year-on-year growth and approaching the ₹100 crore milestone. Nearly 98% of total revenue comes from operations, with the Slurrp Farm Toddler range including cereals, sweeteners, and teething puffs contributing 36.13% of operating revenue, the largest single category. The company employs 104 people as of August 2025. Total funding raised stands at $18.3 million across six rounds from 29 investors including Fireside Ventures, Investment Corporation of Dubai, Raed Ventures, Alkemi Ventures, and Scarlet Ventures, which led a ₹30 crore extended Series C round. Anushka Sharma is a confirmed angel investor and brand ambassador. The brand is available on Amazon, BigBasket, FirstCry, Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart in India, with a presence in the UAE, US, UK, Europe, and Singapore. In June 2025, Slurrp Farm partnered with KLAY Preschools to bring millet-based nutrition directly into India's early learning ecosystem. In November 2024, a Zepto partnership enabled faster quick commerce delivery across India. The five-year vision targets ₹500 crore in revenue and 40,000 stores. Founders hold 47.81% equity with a combined net worth of ₹254 crore as of February 2024.
The Best Products Are Rediscoveries, Not Inventions
• The sharpest lesson from Slurrp Farm's journey is this: the most powerful food innovations are often rediscoveries, taking what grandmothers always knew and giving it the science, packaging, and distribution it deserves.
• Shauravi and Meghana did not invent millet-based children's food. They rediscovered it, validated it scientifically, made it delicious, and put it on a shelf where it belonged. The ingredients were always there. The knowledge was always there. What was missing was two mothers with the conviction to bridge the gap between grandmother's kitchen and a modern Indian parent's grocery basket.
• "Making products that are good for the consumer, good for the farmer, and good for the planet is core to what we stand for," they say.
• A Diwali party in London. A daughter named Nandita. A ragi cookie that took 12 months to perfect. An Anushka Sharma seal of trust. And a brand now feeding the next generation of India, one millet at a time.
Sources: StartupPedia, Tracxn, Founder Thesis, APN News, Dealroom, StartupTalky, Entrepreneur India
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