India’s livestock industry employs roughly 80 million families across the country, contributing ~INR 11 lakh crore to the country’s economy per year. It provides both meat and milk products, minimizing reliance on imports and contributing to a self-sustaining food sector. However, today, this industry is faced with a glaring problem—failing immunity in livestock animals. This poses a threat to not only animal health but also rural livelihoods. 

One solution to this problem is to boost animal immunity using food supplements. Occamy BioScience Pvt Ltd., founded in 2018 and headquartered in Khargar, Maharashtra, is doing just this. 

Using a combination of various ingredients, this company, under founders Saloni Godbole Tewari and Milind Niphadkar, manufactures affordable nutraceuticals for livestock. By improving general immunity, these edible supplements elongate animal lifespans and increase the quality of their milk and meat. This, in turn, raises farmer incomes and contributes to national food security.

Understanding the animal immunity crisis

Due to various reasons, livestock animals around the world are growing more vulnerable to disease. Even when disease does not result in animal death, it causes economic hardships for farmers since sick animals produce a poorer quality of meat and milk. In many cases, animals do not even produce enough milk, pushing farmers to adulterate it before sale and thus reducing its nutritional value for customers. 

Aiming to quickly quell livestock diseases, many farmers are driven to use more antibiotics. Unfortunately, these can linger in animal products, posing significant health risks to consumers.

Moreover, at a macro level, as antibiotic usage increases, infectious microorganisms develop antimicrobial resistance. Their evolution into more resilient strains also increases the chances of their transmission from animals to human beings. Thus, falling immunity in livestock represents a crisis for not only animal but also human health.

Occamy’s approach to animal immunity

Rather than using solely antibiotics, an alternate solution is to use nutraceuticals, or food supplements, to boost overall immunity. However, most existing nutraceutical options are generic, offering the same nutrients for all animals. They also tend to be expensive, lowering access for marginal farmers. 

Noting these limitations, Occamy has developed animal food supplements catering to different livestock species and varieties. Each of these supplements contains gut-friendly microbes, fermented plant products (e.g.,  rapeseed, seaweed), organic toxin binders, minerals, and vitamins. 

While calculating the nutritional requirements of animals, Occamy factors in the specific needs of small farmers and the work that animals do in different rural contexts. This allows it to work with local stakeholders to provide the appropriate nutraceutical solutions, minimizing unnecessary expenditures for buyers.

What impact has Occamy created?

Currently, Occamy is most active in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, but also has a presence in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Through its collaborations within village networks, it has provided over 17,000 farmers with information about nutrition and economics, enabling them to make more informed decisions about animal rearing. More than 8000 of the farmers who purchase these nutraceuticals for their animals have seen a 2X return on investment. 

Using these supplements has improved overall health for ~50,000 animals, leading to a 10% increase in milk productivity. Each of these animals has also shown a 20% reduction in methane emissions per day, demonstrating the value of this innovation in countering climate change. Occamy’s dedication to sustainability can also be seen in its manufacturing process, which has saved over 40% of electricity costs for the company.

 In recognition of its efforts, the company has won a number of awards including the Dairy Titan Award of 2026 from the Trade Council of India.

Potential for scaling the solution

Starting with a pilot investment of INR 20 lakh, the company has gone on to receive support from the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) and RKVY RAFTAAR. Important technological partners include NDDB CALF Ltd. and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Occamy’s work aligns closely with the World Health Organization’s One Health objectives of enhancing food security, reducing antimicrobial resistance, and promoting climate sustainability. To widen its reach in India, policymakers could provide institutional support in three major forms.

First, state governments could improve nutraceutical product testing by helping Occamy collaborate with veterinary college farms. 

Second, they could build trust by setting up streamlined certification procedures for innovative supplements through entities such as the FSSAI or Bureau of Indian Standards.

Third, they could provide more support for last-mile postage services that can bring these supplements—guaranteeing their material integrity—directly to farmers.

Together, these steps could counter the animal immunity crisis at the grassroots level, improving livelihoods for farmers while also ensuring Indians have access to healthy, safe meat and milk products.