Millium, a millet-based startup, emerges with a purpose

September 4, 2025 Start Up Valli Sarvani

Millium, a flagship brand of SatGuru Superfood, was founded by Palak Arora during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown while still in college.

Motivated by a personal quest for nutritious, immunity-boosting food and her father’s chronic health condition, she began experimenting with millets, ancient, nutrient-dense grains that had fallen out of mainstream use.

Unable to access her college lab, Palak turned her Faridabad home terrace into a mini research lab.

Using simple tools like solar dryers and pulverisers, she developed ready-to-cook mixes like millet porridge, idlis, and Punjabi-style cheelas.

Her scientific background in food technology helped her understand that millets require specialised processing, unlike wheat.

This gap in the market, the lack of convenient, processed millet foods, became the core of her venture.

By 2021, she officially registered her company and launched Millium in mid-2022.

The brand’s focus is clear: combine traditional grains with modern processing to offer quick, healthy, and tasty meals.

Today, Millium manufactures over 29 tonnes of millet-based products monthly and earns about ₹3 lakh per month, catering to a wide consumer base with products ranging from ₹55 to ₹640.

Millium’s ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat millet products are high in fibre, micronutrients, and plant protein, offering balanced meals without preservatives or additives.

With a tagline “Healthy Bhi Jaldi Bhi,” the brand suits modern, fast-paced lifestyles by offering nutritious meals in under 10 minutes.

Palak directly sources grains like ragi and jowar from farmers, offering them fair prices and timely payments. This has revived interest in millet farming and ensured a steady rural income.

Millets are eco-friendly, requiring less water and enriching the soil, making this startup a promoter of sustainable agriculture.

The startup faced several challenges. It began without a lab, funding, or team. All early product development happened with basic home equipment.

Changing the perception of millets from a “poor man’s grain” to a premium, health-forward option took time and education.

Transitioning from small-batch solar drying to industrial-scale manufacturing while maintaining quality required major operational upgrades.

Without external investors, Millium had to grow cautiously, managing resources wisely while building brand recognition and trust.

Millium is more than just a food startup; it’s a movement to revive millets, empower farmers, and make India’s traditional grains fit into modern kitchens.

Despite early hurdles, Palak’s journey shows how knowledge, purpose, and resilience can reshape diets and livelihoods, one grain at a time.

Image Credit: Millium Website Screenshot