Astu Container Box

Pollution resulting from single use plastics has reached  a global crisis. If not resolved there will be more plastics than fish in the oceans by 2050. One of the top 10 contributors to this pollution globally is the single use disposable food take away box packaging used in food delivery and takeaway sector. In Bangalore city alone, more than 967 million containers boxes made of plastics are disposed every year.  

Our naturally compostable alternatives “Astu Eco Container Boxes” are designed to replace these boxes and eliminate this problem not only in Bangalore but globally. With this, we 

- Decrease 48600 tonnes of plastic from entering into the oceans and landfills in 5 years

- Create 760 job opportunities in Rural India 

- Empower more than 150 women in becoming entrepreneurs and role models  

Astu Eco Container Box is designed for the Take-away and Food Delivery Market to decrease single use plastic food containers. They are made of 100% natural material (i.e., Areca tree sheaths), 100% naturally compostable, and 100% circular 

More than 971 million pieces of plastic food containers end up in landfills in Bangalore alone per annum. 

Market Size:The online and offline food delivery market size is growing exponentially @ 16% and is expected to reach USD 17.02 billion on 2023 in INDIA alone. Packaging is 10 to 15% so market size in India alone for food delivery packaging is expected to be USD 2 billion.

Impact:

* DECREASE 48000  tonnes of plastic from entering oceans 

* ELIMINATE 521 million pieces of plastic

* CREATE jobs for 760 women in Rural India

* EMPOWER 150 women in becoming entrepreneurs and role models

* CHAMPION the cause of Environmental Stewardship 

* EDUCATE about severity of single use plastic problem and their contribution to climate change

* INSPIRE a whole generation of entrepreneurs to incorporate sustainable practices and engage in innovation for sustainable products

* UNIFY the Areca Sheath Sustainable Products Industry

Astu Eco Container Box designed to replace single-use plastic take-away boxes. They are

EARTH-FRIENDLY 

-Made from naturally fallen leaf sheath

-No trees were harmed in the making of this product

-Agri waste converted to a usable product

-Additional income for farmers

-No additives. Mono-material

-100% natural and compostable

-Decreases contamination in landfills

-Directly goes into green bin  saves labor, energy and infrastructure

-100% Circular 

HIGHLY FUNCTIONAL

-Food friendly

-Heat food in microwave

-Store in fridge

-Perfect for take-aways 

-Stackable and storable

-Sturdy and strong

TECHNOLOGY:

From the existing simple mechanical die press machines, that produce 20000 Astu Containers per month, we have engaged with a well known german international automation company to develop a modified, semi automatic production line that will 

o       Increase production capacity to 1,500,000 Astu container units per month 

o       Decrease unit sale price to equal plastic container.  

o       Enable us to meet large B2B orders

o       Have a scientific approach to production with focus on efficiencies and long-term costs.

World over, there is strong impetus by governments and other bodies to now  move into sustainable alternatives. The race is on across industries and businesses.

The take-away and delivery market (restaurants, cloud kitchens and food delivery aggregators) world over are seeking sustainable alternatives to plastic food box. Options are few and far between and they are stuck between the rock and the hard place, since there are no functional and cost effective solutions to replace plastic boxes and at the same time, there are impeding plastic bans that threaten their business.

Astu Container boxes, are 100% natural and naturally compostable, earth-friendly, functionally matches requirements of take-away food industry and cost effective.

Our talks with leading food delivery aggregators, have exposed the large need here and our ability to effectively alleviate their pain. 

R&D: Through continuous engagement with our target segment, we are working on improving the design of MVP. This will help us stay ahead of the line. For eg; product standards that match the international packaging standards both in terms of stackable, storable, printable, food grade etc, tamper proof lid lock ability etc 

Develop robust Supply Chain: Through our Fair-play Astu Farmers Collective, we ensure sustained, continuous and uninterrupted supply chain for large B2B demand. 

Build Production Efficiencies:  From the existing simple mechanical die press machines, that produce 20000 Astu Containers per month, we have engaged with a well known German automation company and designed a first generation production line that can produce 1,500,000 Astu containers per month at costs equal to existing plastic competition. 

Also Astu Container boxes are now sought for packaging small-sized farm produce (Strawberries, mushrooms etc) and FMCG secondary packaging. Both these areas are exciting and scalable opportunities.

Current Situation: 

1.The areca production industry is still a cottage industry and hence the machines and processes used for areca products production has a very low volume capacity and high labor requirement. Therefore unable to satisfy the demands of large B2B volumes order. 

2.Supply Chain: Currently only the small farmers are a part of the supply chain and it is very fragmented. The small farmers appreciate the additional income, but cannot support the large requirement of raw materials and quality materials. The large farmers till date have not found this lucrative or interesting.

With Astu Container Box project we have

* A first generation production line that can produce at scale and bring down costs due to economies of scale. 

* Uninterrupted supply of raw materials through large farmer fair trade coalition

* International standards in terms of functionality for product design.

* Social impact in environment, women empowerment, livelihood and clean energy

* Product cost lesser or equal to plastic alternatives

The existing production system and associated supply chain is more a cottage industry. We intend to unify the areca industry and pioneer innovative solutions at our GEAR (Good Earth AStu Research) Center, that can take the areca sheath industry into larger functional domains and continue to decrease global plastic foot-print

The new production line will automate /semi automate not only the die-press process but also the the pre and post 'die-press' production activities.The product innovation and R&D is also focussing on an organic coating that can be applied not only on areca but on paper also. Some areas we have consciously left unchanged so we have the opportunity to provide employment in rural India. But we are exploring innovative collection process which includes drones, tree-net collection.

As part of post consumer recycling project, we intend to collect back used Astu containers and route for reuse, recycling, 

The core technology of die-press is not new. We are extending technology into process areas which typically were labor intensive and prone to quality issues earlier. This includes collection, storage, cleaning, production line feed system etc. This has also enabled us to crack the biggest challenge - production at scale. 

Problem: More than 971 million pieces of plastic food containers end up in landfills in Bangalore alone per annum.

Activities: First generation production line to address production at scale, Innovative supply chain model to ensure uninterrupted quality supply of raw materials, training and empowerment for job opportunities and micro-entrepreneurship, continuous R&D for product innovation and improvement and provide horizontal and vertical scalability, 

Outputs: Innovative international quality products for target segment, new products for FMCG secondary packaging vertical and farm produce vertical, confidence in production system, supply chain system and initial large customer engagement

Outcomes: In 5 years

* DECREASE 48000  tonnes of plastic from entering oceans 

* ELIMINATE 521 million pieces of plastic

* CREATE jobs for 760 women in Rural India

* EMPOWER 150 women in becoming entrepreneurs and role models

* CHAMPION the cause of Environmental Stewardship 

* EDUCATE about severity of single use plastic problem and their contribution to climate change

* INSPIRE a whole generation of entrepreneurs to incorporate sustainable practices and engage in innovation for sustainable products

* UNIFY the Areca Sheath Sustainable Products Industry

Current impact - Decreased 500000 pieces of plastic through innovative and sustainable alternatives for consumers. Astu Container boxes have 5 regular customers using 4000 Astu Container boxes very quarter. 

By 1st year - Astu Container Boxes will decrease 3600 tonnes of single use plastics, providing 18 million take away boxes to a minimum of 3 customers in Bangalore and employing 188 rural Indians including 25 women.

By 5th year - Astu Container Boxes will decrease 48000 tonnes of single use plastics, providing 234 million take away boxes to a minimum of 10 customers nationally and employing 720 rural Indians including 150 women.

This below covers goals and impacts 

Current impact - Decreased 500000 pieces of plastic through innovative and sustainable alternatives for consumers. Astu Container boxes have 5 regular customers

By 1st year - Astu Container Boxes will decrease 3600 tonnes of single use plastics, providing 18 million take away boxes to a minimum of 3 customers in Bangalore and employing 188 rural Indians including 25 women.

By 5th year - Astu Container Boxes will decrease 48000 tonnes of single use plastics, providing 234 million take away boxes to a minimum of 10 customers nationally and employing 720 rural Indians including 150 women.

Funding.

1. Seeking funding /grants from organisations where there is mutual match in our goals

2. Irrespective of funding, Continue to grow existing customer base and push through innovation for improved products and new product development for other verticals

Employed - 3

Technology partners  and R&D parters - 4 organisations

Contract and outsourced - 2 - Digital marketing 

Anitha Shankar BSc, MBA 

An adventure sports lover, an alumni of NOLS, and a nature lover, her earlier ventures were related to outdoor education, sustainability and survival in the wild. It is time for direct impact to protect and nurture our earth and there is no time to waste! 

Skilled in earth friendly product design and development, the Good Earth Astu Research (GEAR) Center is led by her. As CEO and Founder of Astu Eco, she also handles marketing, sales and strategic communications. Her vision reflects in Astu's vision - to impact 1 billion people by 2027 both in terms of providing sustainable solutions and building awareness on sustainable livingShe firmly believes in ‘making a change - one step at a time’ 

Uday Shankar BE, PGDM

In the early part of his career his strong hands on operational skill built the necessary expertise to manage resources efficiently in a manufacturing industry. With increase in responsibilities he also garnered specialist knowledge of finance, accounting & other functions necessary to manage a large business. Stepping into the role of a CEO he was well equipped to shape RDC concrete from a INR 35 Crore operation to a nationwide INR 320 Crore company. This was followed by a role at Robo Silicon which had a slew of challenges in building the first fully statutory compliant company in fragmented industry with little or no compliance across India. Currently, he is Co-founder of Astu Eco and will handle Operations and Manufacturing divisions.

Technology Partner - German machine automation and designer

Farmers Collective - Supply chain

Rural micro financing network  - to engage rural Indians including women with job opportunities

1. Manufacture  of sustainable take away container boxes. 

2. Distribution network to sell nation wide. Below are financial projections 

All Figures in Millions YEAR 1YEAR 2YEAR 3YEAR 4YEAR 5Sales1.319788732.597171834.61672626.87550818.13706531Expenditure1.966672632.388367123.747685874.338376524.56227096P&L-0.64688390.208804710.869040322.537131573.57479435Cash in Bank0.763003831.652005723.201243226.418571989.99336633

3. Use same production line with different die tools to produce vertical integration of product production (FMCG secondary packaging, Farm produce packaging). 

To meet like minded entrepreneurs and learn from them. To seek mentorship. And to network for funding and grants.

Seeking connects with social impact organisations to showcase our work and gain funding, through grants or equity

Seeking Research experts who work on the fore-front of design and development of sustainable products.

SOLVE

Research experts in biotechnology working on resins, natural materials to replace plastic

Astu container box project in the next five years envisages supporting more than 150 women in becoming role models and entrepreneurs. 

"You empower a woman, and you will uplift the whole family." This impetus will provide financial stability, confidence and gender equality in rural Indian women. This in turn will ensure girl children get educated and dream of being an independent confident woman who not only adds value to her family, but to the whole community. We envisage women role models who will inspire other women to voice their opinions, assert their rights and stand on their own two feet, while continuing to make a clean and green Earth

• Within 5 years we will be able to increase our production capacity from own revenue and additional funding and expect to have a 4 production lines 
  • This will eliminate 48000 tonnes of plastics from entering the oceans
  • This will create 760 of jobs and 150 women entrepreneurs in India.
• We expect to meet the entire city’s needs producing 1 bn takeaway box per annum within 10-13 years.
  • This will eliminate 200000 tonnes of plastics from entering the oceans
  • This will create 11500 of jobs and 3000 women entrepreneurs in India.