Wastelink Raises ₹27 Cr to Upcycle Food Surplus into Animal Feed

India’s animal feed industry, the very backbone of the country’s food system, has long struggled with one recurring challenge — the unpredictability of supply and price. Farmers and feed manufacturers often find themselves at the mercy of volatile global markets for maize and soya, staples that dominate feed production but are deeply exposed to climate risks, fluctuating demand, and inconsistent nutritional value.

Now, a young Indian company is offering a bold solution. Wastelink, a pioneer in technology-driven food upcycling, has raised ₹27 crore (USD 3 million) in a Series A round led by Avaana Capital, to expand its mission of turning food surplus into high-quality, standardized animal feed ingredients.

Turning Waste into Nutrition

At the heart of Wastelink’s model lies a simple but powerful idea: redirect food surplus — the mountains of excess produced across FMCG and food companies — and convert it into dependable animal nutrition. The company’s proprietary AI-enabled platform collects, processes, and reformulates this surplus into ECOMIX™, a traceable, performance-tested animal feed ingredient.

For an industry plagued by rising costs and uncertainty, ECOMIX™ offers stability — delivering consistent nutrition while shielding manufacturers and farmers from the shocks of global commodity swings.

Since its inception in 2018, Wastelink has already upcycled over 35,000 tons of surplus food, transforming what would otherwise be waste into feed ingredients that today support 38,500+ animals every year. The impact goes beyond just availability: the company claims ECOMIX™ has helped improve milk yields by up to 15%, offering tangible benefits for dairy farmers.

Building Resilience at Scale

For Wastelink’s founders, the mission is bigger than just feed production — it’s about building resilience across the food chain.

“Animal feed is the backbone of our food system, yet it suffers from chronic volatility in quality and price,” said Saket, Founder and CEO of Wastelink. “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 that ensures resilience for feed manufacturers, farmers, and the broader food chain.”

Echoing this, Krishnan, Co-Founder of Wastelink, 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.”

Avaana’s Bet on the Future of Food Systems

For Avaana Capital, the investment aligns with its focus on transformative technologies that solve structural challenges in sectors like energy, agriculture, and supply chains.

“Wastelink is reimagining animal feed by solving two critical challenges — nutrient inconsistency and price volatility,” said Swapna Gupta, Partner, Avaana Capital. “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.”

Avaana has previously backed startups at the intersection of sustainability and technology, from climate-resilient farming to next-gen energy storage. Wastelink now joins this portfolio as the fund’s latest bet on a circular economy approach to food and agriculture.

The animal feed sector globally is under pressure. With climate change threatening agricultural yields, and feed costs rising year after year, farmers are looking for sustainable alternatives that don’t compromise on nutrition. India, one of the world’s largest dairy and poultry producers, sits at the center of this challenge.

Wastelink’s model attempts to turn what was once a liability — food surplus — into an asset, ensuring both economic and environmental value creation. The company’s expansion, powered by the new funding, is expected to scale this model nationwide, potentially changing how India thinks about waste, feed, and resilience.