Your kid likes chocolate milk, but one day, you see the ingredients list. You know the mix isn’t healthy, and you’re faced with two choices—buy it anyway, or break it to your child that they can’t have it anymore. With DGard Naturals, the choice is made for you. All-natural, preservative-free milk mixes that everyone can enjoy, guilt-free.
Avinash Balamurali, the Founder of DGard Naturals, worked corporate jobs for 8 years before realising his heart was just not in it. He came from a family of entrepreneurs and decided to get into it himself. He wanted to start a unique, agriculture-related, value-added business, so he turned to fruits and vegetables, but with a twist. Avinash describes their brand, “Generally, products using these ingredients have a very short shelf-life, so we wanted to make something with a much longer lifespan, while also being convenient for the consumers. We saw an opening in the health mix sector, where big brands have been kings of the market, so to speak, for decades, and have had little to no competition. There was not much innovation either in the space. Today, parents look for healthier alternatives to mass-produced milk mixes, and more people have been recognising that they’re lactose intolerant. We aimed to create products without maltodextrin or milk solids, both of which are ultra-processed filler ingredients in most products.”
They wanted their products to be clean-label in the literal sense—clean ingredients and clean, clear English on the packaging so people understand what they’re getting, no jargon, no short forms. ABC mixes have grown in popularity today, but DGard Naturals makes it even better: only apple, beetroot, carrot, almonds, makhana, pistachios, walnuts, and cane jaggery. They also make versions with dates, for those who want to cut down on sugar. Their health mixes have been noticed by the vegan community, who can add these powders to soy, almond, coconut, or oat milk, or even to hot water. Kids and adults can enjoy their products.
For kids aged 1-2, the brand offers date-based milk mixes that are high in fibre and promote brain development through ingredients like walnuts. For kids aged 2-8, they offer cane jaggery-based drinks, including chocolate varieties. For people who want to enjoy a guilt-free hot chocolate, there is a chocolate and nuts powder, sweetened with Tamil Nadu’s traditional palm candy. They make a rose petal and dates mix for women’s wellness. They also offer turmeric milk, which is enriched with cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and dry ginger.
When asked about product formulation, Avinash says, “It is all done by my family: me, my wife, and my parents. We do a few rounds of testing before launching any product; first, with friends and family, and then with a small, niche group of customers, after which we tweak our combinations and formulation. Everything is made in-house, in our own factory, in compliance with FSSAI-recommended testing and rigorous quality checks.”
The way the ingredients are chosen, he says, is by looking at their processing levels. The ingredients have to be clean, lactose-free, natural, and minimally processed. The only processing their fruits and vegetables go through is dehydration. Avinash explains, “Our goal is to bring back foods and nutrition that old people used to eat when they were younger. That’s why they’re still so healthy. The foods they consumed were naturally healthy and tasty, without the use of machines. It’s actually not that hard to formulate a product without preservatives. We use the dehydration process at a particular temperature to draw out all the moisture, and we use a 3-layer aluminium packaging to increase the shelf life. That’s it!”
The full range of DGard Naturals’ health mixes
The biggest challenge was educating customers about their food habits. He recalls, “It was hard in the beginning to convince people to give DGard Naturals a try. We had to answer a lot of questions—Why are we different? Why choose this health mix over others? Why do we not use filler ingredients? What are the disadvantages of using those? Why should you avoid preservatives? Luckily, once they understood our brand, we built a good community of people who are now repeat customers. I think telling a story is more effective than just marketing your products directly.”
In the future, Avinash hopes to see DGard recognised as a clean brand that puts its customers’ health first. They’ve been working on plain, single-ingredient fruit powders like mango, banana, pineapple, and strawberry. They also want to release smoothie blends at some point for people trying to achieve their fitness goals.
On the topic of lessons learned during the course of running DGard Naturals, he smiles, “Patience. There is so much to do before developing the actual product. We have to do market research first and formulation next. We quickly understood that every brand plans its course, but it will ultimately grow at its own pace. That being said, we still have to put in the hours and nourish it to push it along. Things must be done according to the particular time and stage. We have learnt so much over time, not just about the process, but about the people and their thoughts as well.”
ABC Choco and Turmeric Mixes
Avinash talks about a customer, a mother, who mixes the powders with a tiny bit of water, milk, or honey to form a thick paste. She uses it as a spread for bread and chapatis. He chuckles, “We learnt that this is another way to use our powders; we never thought of this. We live in an era where old things are coming back. The quote ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ wasn’t said just for the sake of it; it’s true. It’s not ‘an apple a month keeps the doctor away for a year’,” he laughs. “That’s why we chose ABC to be our main product. Beetroot promotes blood circulation, and carrot improves eyesight. They come with natural sweetness and an earthy taste, and as a bonus, make the milk pink, which is very attractive to children. This is a testament to the fact that natural ingredients that are found abundantly can be harnessed to make healthy alternatives to the ultra-processed foods in the market. We’re trying to keep people informed about why processed foods are cheaper. Less processing means a longer making process, which is what makes it healthier than ultra-processed food. You get all the nutrients without having to add any fortified vitamins and minerals. We, as a brand, are completely against adding anything unnecessary and unnatural.”
He talks about the reason he is motivated to keep going: “It’s the opportunity we have to support farmers and keep our consumers healthy. In Tamil Nadu, there is only one mango pulping unit, which means that farmers who have no access to it face the risk of major wastage. We stepped in and bought the mangoes from them to make our powder. Our family has a farm in our hometown, so I’ve grown up seeing how much work the farmers put in and how the results are not in line with their efforts. Without them, we’d have no food on our table, and I think that’s why I’m so passionate about agriculture. We exclusively partner with Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), with no middlemen. We want to support and empower them to the fullest. Every day, I’m excited to work and contribute to something meaningful,” he concludes.
Dates Rose Petals and Dates Banana Mixes
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