Wastelink Bags $3 Mn To Turn Surplus Food Into Animal Feed

Cleantech startup Wastelink has raised INR 27 Cr (around $3 Mn) in its Series A round from early stage investment firm Avaana Capital.

The Delhi-based startup plans to deploy the fresh capital to enhance its tech stack and expand into newer categories. Wastelink has also set its eyes on ramping up its geographical footprint and exporting its products, cofounder and CEO Saket Dave told Inc42.

Founded in 2018 by Dave and Krishnan Kasturirangan, Wastelink is a B2B food upcycling startup that leverages its proprietary AI-powered tech stack to turn surplus food items into feed ingredients for animals. It caters to two sets of clients – food processing (producer) and animal feed companies (manufacturing).

On the producer side, it procures surplus and rejected food and FMCG items which are then processed at its facilities (in Sonipat, Lucknow, Mumbai and Bengaluru) and turned into its proprietary feed ingredient called ECOMIX. This raw material is then used by animal feed companies in manufacturing animal food products.

The startup has also built an AI-powered reverse supply chain tracking system, which offers food processing companies the visibility into the usage of their food waste and plastic packaging. Similarly, it helps the animal feeding companies to know how the raw material is being made.

“Animal feed is the backbone of our food system, yet it suffers from chronic volatility in quality and price… We’re addressing this by delivering consistent, traceable, and cost-stable nutrition at scale,” Dave said.

Wastelink currently claims to serve more than 5,000 pincodes across India. It claims to have upcycled more than 35,000 tonnes of FMCG surplus into feed ingredients and to cater to more than 38,500 animals annually via ECOMIX.

Including the current round, the startup has raised around INR 47 Cr till date, Dave said.

Wastelink competes with startups like Sea6 Energy, Krimanshi, among others. It operates in the broader food upcycling market, which is witnessing healthy growth on the back of rising need for sustainable practices and innovations in food processing. The sector is also helping reduce food wastage in India, where 78 Mn tonnes of food is discarded annually. As per a report, the global upcycled food market is projected to become a $119.8 Bn opportunity by 2034.

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