Hyderabad: Chuk, the flagship company of Yash Pakka (formerly Yash Papers) that manufactures compostable and biodegradable tableware, plans to double its production capacity of moulded products to 2 million units per day by 2023. The company aims to emerge as a global leader in the sustainable food packaging segment.
Chuk provides products that are an unbleached, eco-friendly and carcinogen-free. The company has garnered revenues of Rs 46.6 crore so far and has invested Rs 65 crore to set up a plant in Uttar Pradesh with a production capacity of 1 million units per day.
Amit Sharma, CEO, Compostable Business, Yash Pakka, told Telangana Today, “A large number of Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) and restaurants have been using plastic for packing and delivering food. However, there has been a growing concern around the harmful effects of plastic on the environment as well as human health.”
“To eliminate the use of plastics for packing different food items, QSRs and individual outlets have been looking for food packaging solutions that are not just eco-friendly, but also cost-effective and efficient that prevent food leakage. We aim to replace single-use plastic and Styrofoam with compostable packaging solutions,” he added.
All tableware products are manufactured using agri-residue pulp such as bagasse, a fibrous sugarcane waste. Bagasse pulp makes products lightweight for ease in handling, flexible to protect from damage, and strong to prevent spillage. More so, the company also recovers 95 per cent of the cooking chemicals used to manufacture the pulp, thereby making it more environment-friendly.
Growing user base
“Some of our key customers include McDonald’s and CCD, among others. Under the brand name Chuk, we offer lightweight, flexible as well as compostable tableware products to several QSRs such as Haldiram’s, HMS Host, Chai Point, and Lite Bite Foods. Besides, we also have a strong global presence and we export our products to 43 countries,” he said.
The company has a rapid prototyping facility with which it can convert a concept to prototype within 100 days. “We are currently catering to almost 14 cities in India including Hyderabad. If we just look at Hyderabad/Telangana, our sustainable food packaging solutions are used by HMS Host, Chai Point, Green Organics, Taj Tristar, Street Darbar, Fat Tiger, Hokipo, among several others. Plus, we are also associated with IT companies such as Google, Wipro, and Amazon,” added Sharma.
In the next couple of years, the company plans to expand its reach by adding customers, especially in the QSR segment, along with its partners in the food packaging industries. The plan is also to expand footprint in the retail and wholesale market.
On innovation, he said, “At Yash Pakka, we are innovating to work towards a solution to bring out paper to make bags that can replace the polythene bags which are a menace for the environment.”
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