Techie Family Quits Jobs To Start Eco-friendly Food Packaging Biz; Clocks Rs 10 Cr Revenue

Plastic is a menace. Everyone knows that.

It’s bad for the environment, bad for the waterbodies and bad for the atmosphere.

But when oceans clog up urban drainage systems, and there’s a sudden flood, no one saw coming, that’s when, might we say, the plastic hits the fan. Or when plastic food containers break down into microplastics that eventually end up entering the human food chain.

Along with the Government aiming to reduce plastic consumption in India, startups like Aecoz are driving the initiative forward and bringing real, on-ground change.

Founded in 2019 by Dhanvita Sathyanand, Srinidhi Rajaram, and Bharath Sathyanand, Aecoz is a Bengaluru-based biodegradable packaging startup that makes food containers and parcels that are a safe and effective alternative to harmful plastic packaging. 

The Indian startup is now going global and expanding operations in London, United Kingdom.

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HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Dhanvita Sathyanand, along with her husband, Srinidhi Rajaram, and her brother, Bharath Sathyanand, come from coastal Karnataka. 

While Dhanvita worked as a technologist at Misys, Srinidhi was the VP for Global Operations at JP Morgan. Bharath is a seasoned mechanical engineer with in-depth knowledge of operations and machinery.

Despite having high-paying jobs in their respective industries, they quit their jobs.

In an exclusive interview with Startup Pedia, Dhanvita says, “The three of us wanted to start something of our own. In 2017, we decided to get into the procurement industry and bridge the supply chain gaps there.”

That is how Agrainz started, a hotel and restaurant procurement company.

Bharath adds, “We were looking after end-to-end grocery and other related supplies for numerous restaurants, hotels, and food delivery companies. Cultfit, Eatfit, Swiggy, and Zomato—all of them were our clients.”

But when COVID-19 hit, hotels shut down, and the business came to a stop. The trio of entrepreneurs didn’t give up.

They decided to enter the biodegradable packaging realm and build it as a separate arm. That is how Aecoz came into being.

When asked about the primary motivation to enter the packaging field, Srinidhi explains, “At Agrainz, we would regularly see how much plastic went into food packaging in hotels, restaurants, and delivery businesses. It was concerning, and we often wondered if there was a solution. When things came to a stop during the pandemic, we were inspired to drive change and build a safe packaging startup.” 

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CHALLENGES

One would assume that the team already had a vast network of clients to sell biodegradable food packaging solutions. But that wasn’t the case!

Even though Dhanvita, Bharath, and Srinidhi had a reputed clientele, the pandemic pushed many companies to go into the cost-cutting zone. They became apprehensive about switching to food packaging that demanded a little extra as compared to the regular plastic containers they were originally using.

So initially, Aecoz struggled to convince companies to adopt biodegradable packaging. Lots of negotiations, long discussions, regular follow-ups, and meetings went into converting leads into potential clients.

Dhanvita says, “It happened slowly but steadily. And we were patient with it. Biodegradable packaging has a certain cost attached to it, and it’s not an easy sell, especially when the market is reeling from the effects of slow business.”

Then there was the challenge of funds. The startup adopted a bootstrapped approach, and the entrepreneurs pooled their savings.

Nevertheless, they persevered.

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AECOZ: BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING SOLUTIONS

Aecoz has now become one of the leading providers of disposable food containers and biodegradable packaging. From paper containers that can securely contain hot curries and ice creams to pizza boxes—the startup aims for everything in the food delivery and storage space to be safe for the environment. 

Not just this, Aecoz is committed to adhering to customers’ specific needs and tailoring and customizing paper packaging products to fulfil them. The solutions are innovative and efficient. 

The startup uses 100% biodegradable paper that comes with a US FDA certification. Each product is made with Kraft paper, ITC, or Century paper that is FSC certified.

The products are recyclable, eco-friendly, and biodegradable. They include anything and everything from Paper Juice Cups, Paper Dip Cups, Paper Ice Cream Cups, Paper Food Containers, Paper Salad Bowls, and Paper Meal Boxes.

Bharath tells Startup Pedia, “We are also into brand packaging. Aecoz offers customized packaging solutions to brands. We go above and beyond to print any design or colour they ask us to.”

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GROWTH STORY

Since its inception, Aecoz has drawn high-end clients like MTR, Lulu Mall, and Magnolia, which is a high-end New York-based bakery with branches in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru.

Srinidhi reveals how they landed MTR as a client. He says, “When we pitched to MTR, we committed to multiple rounds of samples. And we were okay doing that. They were pouring very hot rasam into the paper bowl containers, and they wanted to be absolutely sure that there was no damage to the food. Aecoz met their requirements, and they’ve been with us since 2020.”

As a startup working tirelessly to drive real change, Aecoz has prevented 4 lakh kilograms of plastic from entering the food industry and, eventually, the landfills. The in-house team remains very small, including just the founders. The production, manufacturing, and sales are outsourced.

Aecoz supplies biodegradable packaging to food brands and companies all over the country and exports to the UAE, North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

It has now set up shop in London and is working on expanding there and directly supplying paper packaging to European food brands and companies.

The 100% bootstrapped startup has witnessed impressive revenue growth as well.

According to the founders, since its inception, Aecoz has clocked a total revenue of Rs 10.25 crores. For FY25, they’ve already crossed the Rs 4 crore mark and are anticipating revenues of Rs 7 crore.

LOOKING AHEAD

Aecoz, as a biodegradable packaging startup, has a simple mission: to be present wherever food is and replace plastic there.

Dhanvita, Srinidhi, and Bharath aim to grow Aecoz not just in India but also abroad and create a sustainable packaging brand that meets world-class standards and proves to be an effective, comfortable switch from plastic containers. London, for them, is only the beginning.