For Saloni Godbole Tewari, science has always been a matter of purpose. Growing up in a family that valued education and ethical entrepreneurship. She studies microbiology with an intention of translating it into innovative yet affordable products. While working as a junior research scientist in ACTREC, she was filled with a spirit of innovation. But deep down, one question nagged at her: why was none of this life-saving science reaching the people who needed it most—India’s farmers?
A personal inclination to improve rural lives and she found animal husbandry as an important domain where her ideas could be implemented. Declining milk quality, unhealthy animals, and the indiscriminate use of antibiotics pointed to a systemic problem. That’s when she had a realization: if probiotics and immune boosters benefit humans, why not animals? And so began her journey—senior scientists as her co-founder—to build a firm dedicated to making things better.
Turning Point
Saloni’s shift from cancer research to cattle health was no accident—it was a calling. She recognized that while cities had access to healthcare breakthroughs, rural India was still dependent on age-old animal husbandry practices, misconceptions, and awareness which led to misuse of medicines, antibiotics etc leading to food security issues. This not only harmed animals but also jeopardized human health.
Determined to change this, she teamed with Dr. Milind Niphadka, a senior scientist, to start Occamy Bioscience in 2018. Their goal is to make nutraceuticals—science-based, natural supplements—available to farmers all over India.
“Chyawanprash for Cows/ Livestock animals”: Science with a Farmer’s Touch
Occamy's products are easy, efficient, and farmer-friendly. Rather than synthetic medicines, they employ beneficial microbes, herbs, and nutrients that stimulate immunity, enhance digestion, and increase milk yield in animals.
Saloni frequently refers to her products as "Chyawanprash for cows and goats." Just like human supplements can prevent disease and promote vitality, these products maintain animals' health and productivity—Rather than artificial nutrition, occamy nutraceuticals have microbes, amino acids, proprietary Bypass protein, seaweed, organic toxin binders and more such authentic ingredients of the highest quality in an all in one mix hence called as Chavanprash.
Her key innovations are:
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Rakshak: increases immunity and resolves nutrition-linked pregnancy and conception issues in livestock
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Bovi Booster: Increases milk quantity, and quality (fat, SNF and protein) as well as reduces somatic cell counts
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Buck Booster: Protein supplement for weight gain in goats and improves meat taste
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Piggy Booster: Nutraceutical for pigs - promotes weight gain and immunity development
Farmers throughout Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, MH, WB and TN and India have noticed obvious gains. In one village, a cow was barren until she was given the supplements. She became pregnant within a short while. Her grateful owner gave Saloni a pair of silver toe rings, a heartfelt gesture of rural respect.
Fighting Antibiotic Resistance
Saloni’s mission goes beyond animal health. She’s also tackling the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, which is now a global concern. In rural areas, antibiotics are often overused on livestock, fighting Antibiotic Resistance. Salonis mission goes beyond animal health - it's about One Health. Farmers unknowingly overuse antibiotics/ hormone injections to sustainably milk quality/ quantity when fluctuations of weather happen or nutrition becomes expensive. With improved animal health, occamy is working on food security, reduced antibiotic usage by farmers and also heading towards climate sustainability by reducing methane emissions from livestock aligning with all the one health goals by the WHO.
By substituting these medicines with natural remedies, Occamy Bioscience prevents contamination of the food chain. "Healthy animals ensure safer milk for children and safer meat for families," Saloni says.
Overcoming Bias with Grace
Although most of the livestock care in India is done by women. The important decisions—particularly financial ones—are left to men. Saloni, a woman and an outsider to rural farming communities, encountered her fair share of resistance.
Men at times wouldn't talk to her or had inhibitions discussing business with a woman in the rural most areas . They also had age linked judgements. Clothes also mattered. Indian wear gathered more respect . She soon realised a saree builds faster trust and respect than a degree she says laughing. Agriculture has culture in it and all this really matters, she said.
She also encountered logistical challenges—such as venturing alone to remote areas She also encountered challenges while travelling across the rural areas like hygienic washrooms or basic accommodation. She soon built a local team of men and women on field to manage operations and sync culturally and eventually established an all-male field team to bridge this gap while still training and mentoring women farmers. These women farmers are now some of her most devoted customers.
Heartfulness Meditation and Resilience
Guiding Saloni through all this heartfulness : guiding through this resilient leadership is heartfulness meditation. She has practiced and taught meditation for ten years or more. It guided her through numerous crossroads—such as giving coping challenges like giving up PhD , sustaining the pandemic, running a credit linked business to losing her father recently when she needed him the most .
"Meditation gives me a lot of clarity and empowers within," she says. It has influenced company culture as well, where empathy and purpose are core values. She has taught more than 300 young people and other entrepreneurs how to manage stress and make conscious decisions through workshops.
A Model for Meaningful Entrepreneurship
Saloni Godbole's journey is not just that of startup success. It is an inspiration of impact entrepreneurship driven by empathy and purpose. In her eyes, transformative change does not necessarily need to begin on a grand scale. She frequently speaks of how her mother started coaching women, which slowly evolved into an enabling system for a large group of women. Saloni feels that perfection is a myth and urges people to start where they are and with what they have. "Start where you are. Learn as you go. Let your mission guide you," she advises.
Her approach reminds budding game-changers that true success is not about just profit, but about impact. For Saloni, the greatest reward on investment is when a farmer tells her that his goat lived due to her supplement. "That's the return I care about," she says softly. Her model demonstrates how businesses, when purpose-led, create waves of change beyond balance sheets.
From Livestock to a Healthier India
As Occamy Bioscience steps into the future, its vision is growing steadily. Saloni Vision is growing steadily and successfully and plan to expand with product range for all livestock animals , immunity for poultry as well as addressing gaps in the pets sector. Yet, despite the scaling, her core philosophy remains firm: science must serve, not just succeed.
She dreams of building an India where farmers are empowered with the right knowledge and affordable tools, where animals are treated with dignity, and where consumers can trust the milk and meat on their plates.
Her guiding belief continues to inspire every step she takes:
“Science with soul is not only transformative—it’s unstoppable.”
“The best businesses don’t just sell products—they solve problems with love.” – Saloni Godbole Tiwari
Saloni Godbole is one of the new wave of agri-entrepreneurs—scientifically inclined, socially aware, and spiritually rooted. By combining microbiology with traditional knowledge and empathy, she is creating a gold standard for livestock health care. Her journey from microscopes to microbes—is a lesson for us all. Change does not always start with policy or protest. Sometimes it begins with a bottle of gut-friendly powder and a farmer's silent nod of appreciation.
