Brew Hems

Business, Investment and money—brewed fresh, minus the jargon.

How BREWHEMS Stress tested an Investment Deal for HNI client with a Dairy Manufacturing Unit

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY

Tier-2 Dairy Manufacturing  |  ₹5 Cr Structured Capital Raise  |

THE OPPORTUNITY

A profitable, FSSAI-compliant dairy manufacturing unit operating at 40% capacity utilisation is raising ₹5 Cr in structured capital to fund a 2.5x revenue scale-up over 24 months. The business has grown from ₹23 lakh seed capital (2022) to ₹12 Cr revenue (FY25) on a B2B distributor-led model — having deliberately exited the brand-led D2C race that consumes ₹100+ Cr of marketing capital from competitors. With 60% of installed plant capacity already paid for, every incremental litre converts at 35–45% contribution margin versus the 5–8% blended P&L margin. This is the core thesis: the investor is buying embedded operating leverage on an asset already in place, not funding net new capex from scratch.

THE BUSINESS  (FY25)

  • Revenue: ₹12.0 Cr |  EBITDA: ₹65–70 L (~5.5%)  |  PAT: ₹40–45 L
  • Installed plant capacity: 25,000 LPD |  Current utilisation: 40%  |  Idle headroom: 60%
  • Channel: B2B distributor supply, multi-city tier-2/tier-3 cluster within 150 km radius
  • Procurement: Mix of direct farmer + aggregator; opportunity to migrate to ~70% direct
  • Compliance: FSSAI-certified, GST-compliant, audited financials FY23–FY25
  • Promoter capital deployed: ₹23 L initial + retained earnings; zero external equity to date

STRATEGY

The 60% idle capacity is the core asset. Four parallel revenue tracks fill it without new plant — capital deployed is largely into procurement, cold chain, and working capital, not greenfield.

  • Private-label contract manufacturing for D2C dairy brands (Country Delight, Akshayakalpa, regional players) that are capital-constrained on plant. Target: 8,000–10,000 LPD anchor contract within 6 months.
  • Value-added products on the existing line — paneer (25–30% GM), ghee (30–40% GM + export), curd, lassi, flavoured milk. Incremental capex ~₹85 L.
  • Institutional channels — Mid-Day Meal, ICDS, Railways, defence canteens, modern-trade private label. Thin margin, zero marketing cost, anchors volume and bankability.
  • Backward procurement integration — 10 village-level Bulk Milk Coolers. Eliminates dalal layer, saves 8–12% on milk cost, unlocks quality-sensitive premium SKUs.

USE OF FUNDS  —  ₹5 CR

Use of Funds Amount % of Raise
Value-added products line (homogeniser, paneer vat, ghee kettle, pouch-fill, lab) ₹0.85 Cr 17%
10 Bulk Milk Coolers + village-level collection infrastructure ₹1.60 Cr 32%
Cold chain — 3 reefer vehicles, distributor-end deep freezers ₹0.70 Cr 14%
Working capital for 2.5x volume scale-up (receivables + inventory) ₹1.50 Cr 30%
Systems & people — ERP, CFO hire, BIS/FSSAI/export licensing ₹0.35 Cr 7%
Total Capital Raise ₹5.00 Cr 100%

FINANCIAL TRAJECTORY

Metric FY25 (Actual) FY26 (Plan) FY27 (Plan)
Revenue ₹12.0 Cr ₹19–21 Cr ₹30–32 Cr
Gross margin 8% 11–12% 15–16%
EBITDA ₹0.65 Cr (5.5%) ₹1.7–2.0 Cr (9%) ₹3.8–4.2 Cr (13%)
Capacity utilisation 40% 65% 85%
Direct procurement share ~30% ~50% ~70%
Value-added product share of revenue 0% 20% 35–40%

EBITDA expansion bridge: VAP mix shift (+400 bps), direct procurement (+250 bps), operating leverage on fixed cost base (+200 bps).

THE ASK  —  ₹5 CR BLENDED STRUCTURED INSTRUMENT

The capital is structured as a blended instrument from a single HNI investor. The split provides the investor with secured downside on the larger tranche and equity upside on the smaller tranche — and avoids over-diluting the promoter while still delivering a target IRR of 19–22%.

Tranche A  —  Compulsorily Convertible Debentures: ₹2.00 Cr

  • Coupon: 11% p.a., paid quarterly
  • Conversion at the lower of (a) ₹12 Cr pre-money, or (b) 20% discount to next institutional round
  • Conversion window: 36 months; equity post-conversion ~15–17% on fully diluted basis
  • Reserved matters, board observer seat, broad-based weighted average anti-dilution, tag-along

Tranche B  —  Secured Non-Convertible Debentures: ₹3.00 Cr

  • Coupon: 13% p.a., paid quarterly
  • Security: first charge on plant & machinery; second charge on current assets
  • Tenure: 48 months; principal repayment in equal instalments from Year 3
  • Personal guarantee from promoter

Blended investor economics: ~12.2% cash yield during hold period + equity upside on Tranche A conversion. Target cash-on-cash 2.5–3.0x over 4–5 years; IRR 19–22%.

EXIT PATH

Year 4–5: strategic acquisition by a regional dairy major or an institutional Series A from a consumer/food PE fund. Comparable tier-2 dairy transactions in the last 36 months — ₹40–60 Cr revenue, 12%+ EBITDA, with direct procurement networks — have closed at 6–8x EBITDA. At projected FY28 EBITDA of ₹5–6 Cr, this implies an enterprise value of ₹30–48 Cr, providing a clear liquidity path for both tranches.

FOUNDER & DATA ROOM

Promoter: Ujwal — Founder & MD. Prior career in corporate management; founded the unit in 2022 with ₹23 lakh of personal capital. Built to ₹12 Cr revenue and operational profitability without any external equity. CIBIL, ITR, and personal asset declaration available on request.

Data Room — ready for investor review:

  • Audited financial statements: FY23, FY24, FY25
  • GST returns (GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B) reconciled to P&L — 36 months
  • Current account bank statements — 24 months
  • Distributor contracts, channel-level P&Ls, top-customer concentration analysis
  • FSSAI licence, BIS certifications, pollution and effluent clearances
  • Plant valuation report, asset register, insurance schedule
  • Procurement contracts, BMC site map, farmer relationship register
  • 24-month operating plan with monthly cash flow model and sensitivity scenarios
  • Promoter ITR, CIBIL report, personal asset & liability statement
  • Draft term sheet, shareholders’ agreement, and debenture trust deed

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Brew Hems

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading