Startup develops millet- and A2 milk-based ice creams free from refined sugar, synthetic sweeteners, and industrial additives to meet growing demand for healthier frozen desserts.
A Bengaluru-based startup, ELVN-ELVN, is redefining the premium ice cream category with a clean-label ice cream range made without refined sugar, synthetic sweeteners, industrial stabilisers, emulsifiers, or E-number food additives. Founded in 2024 by Barath Akkihebbal and Akash Narain Mittal, the company aims to offer consumers healthier frozen desserts made from simple, natural ingredients while maintaining premium taste and texture.
The startup currently offers two product lines. The MILLET range is a vegan ice cream made using Indian millets such as jowar, ragi, foxtail millet, and pearl millet, combined with coconut milk. The SELECT range features dairy ice cream prepared with A2 Desi cow milk and fresh cream sourced from indigenous cattle farms in Karnataka. Both ranges are sweetened using whole dates, allulose, and monk fruit instead of refined sugar or artificial sweeteners.
According to the founders, the company follows a strict clean-label philosophy: if an ingredient carries an E-number, it is excluded from the recipe. Instead of conventional industrial stabilisers and emulsifiers, ELVN-ELVN has developed proprietary formulations using natural ingredients to achieve the desired texture and consistency. This approach is intended to appeal to health-conscious consumers as well as individuals with dietary sensitivities, including lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance.
Developing the products required nearly 11 months of research and around 50 formulation trials before the founders achieved the desired balance of taste, texture, and shelf life without relying on conventional food additives. The company also collaborated with the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM-T) to develop a proprietary millet milk extraction process and has signed a long-term research partnership to support future product innovation.
Manufacturing is carried out at the company’s own facility in south Bengaluru, with a production capacity exceeding 5,000 cups per day. Raw materials are sourced primarily from Karnataka, including millets from Bijapur, ragi from Mandya, and A2 milk from indigenous-breed farms in Kabini, helping create a localized and traceable supply chain.
To support its growth, ELVN-ELVN has secured a ₹2 crore soft loan under the Government of India’s Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, along with a subsidy of ₹15 lakh. The founders have also invested approximately ₹70–80 lakh of their own capital and are currently expanding retail distribution across Bengaluru through a micro-franchise freezer model, with plans to enter Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi NCR, and Pune.
With increasing consumer demand for minimally processed and transparent food products, ELVN-ELVN aims to establish itself as more than an ice cream brand. The founders envision expanding into multiple food categories while maintaining their clean-label philosophy, reflecting the broader shift toward healthier, ingredient-focused food innovation in India’s processed food industry.