The animal feed industry forms the backbone of global food systems, yet it grapples with a persistent challenge—volatile supply and fluctuating prices of key ingredients. Traditionally, feed production depends heavily on commodities like maize and soya. But these are increasingly exposed to climate risks, price shocks, and inconsistent nutritional quality.
For farmers and feed manufacturers, this unpredictability translates into unstable costs, inconsistent yields, and lower profitability. Addressing this very challenge, Wastelink—a pioneer in technology-led food upcycling—has stepped in with an innovative approach that promises both stability and sustainability.
Credits: The Economic Times
The Funding Boost
In its latest milestone, Wastelink, a brand of Forplanet Ingredients, has raised INR 27 crore (USD 3 million) in a Series A funding round led by Avaana Capital. The fresh capital will fuel Wastelink’s nationwide expansion, strengthen research and development, and enhance its proprietary technology platform.
Avaana Capital, a leading tech-focused fund, has backed transformative startups across energy, food, agriculture, and supply chains. Their bet on Wastelink underlines the company’s potential to redefine animal nutrition not just in India but also globally.
The Wastelink Breakthrough – ECOMIX™
At the heart of Wastelink’s solution lies ECOMIX™, a performance-tested, traceable feed ingredient created by upcycling food surplus from FMCG companies. Unlike traditional feed sources, ECOMIX™ offers standardized nutrient content, ensuring consistent animal performance while shielding manufacturers and farmers from commodity-driven price volatility.
This innovation is powered by Wastelink’s AI-enabled formulation and logistics platform, which streamlines collection, processing, and distribution. By doing so, the company closes the loop on food surplus while creating a dependable input for the feed industry.
The impact is already visible: since inception, Wastelink has upcycled more than 35,000 tons of FMCG surplus into feed ingredients. Each year, ECOMIX™ supports over 38,500 animals, improving milk yields by up to 15%, while giving manufacturers a stable, cost-effective input.
Voices from the Leadership
Saket, Founder and CEO of Wastelink, explained the company’s mission:
“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. This fundraise powers our nationwide expansion and strengthens our R&D and technology to build a category-defining company.”
Co-founder Krishnan added:
“Our approach combines science, technology, and circularity to create a reliable feed input the industry can trust. Redirecting food surplus is the mechanism—but the outcome is resilience in animal nutrition that benefits farmers, businesses, and the planet.”
Investor Confidence in Circular Innovation
Avaana Capital sees Wastelink as a game-changer. Swapna Gupta, Partner at Avaana Capital, highlighted:
“Wastelink is reimagining animal feed by solving two critical challenges—nutrient inconsistency and price volatility. By redirecting food surplus into standardized, traceable inputs, their platform strengthens supply chain resilience. This is the kind of breakthrough innovation India can pioneer to build future-ready food systems for the world.”
The alignment is clear: Wastelink’s circular economy model tackles food waste, improves farmer incomes, and enhances resilience in animal nutrition—all while addressing sustainability at scale.
Building the Future of Feed
Founded in 2018, Wastelink has steadily built credibility in the animal feed ecosystem. With its flagship product ECOMIX™, the company is carving out a new category in feed science—one that blends circularity, traceability, and technology.
The latest funding round will enable Wastelink to scale operations nationwide, invest in advanced R&D, and expand partnerships with feed manufacturers and farmers. Its long-term vision? To establish a global benchmark for sustainable animal nutrition that balances performance with environmental responsibility.
About the Players
Wastelink (Forplanet Ingredients) is reshaping India’s animal feed industry by providing stable, traceable, and consistent nutrition through its proprietary platform and ECOMIX™. By upcycling food surplus, it delivers resilience to farmers, feed manufacturers, and the wider food chain.
Avaana Capital, founded in 2018, invests in deep-tech and frontier innovations across Energy, Supply Chains, Food & Agriculture, and Advanced Materials. With high-conviction investments in startups like Enlite, Eeki Foods, Turno, Dreamfly, and Farmart, Avaana continues to support ventures pioneering globally competitive solutions from India.
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Credits: Indian Startups News
A Circular Revolution in Motion
The feed industry’s reliance on volatile commodities has long been a stumbling block. With Wastelink’s breakthrough, the sector now has a pathway to price stability, traceable nutrition, and sustainability. As it expands its reach, Wastelink isn’t just redefining animal feed—it’s shaping the future of food resilience in India and beyond.
