Innovation

BECO satisfies UN SDG 12 which ensures sustainable consumption and production patterns. This SDG aims at fighting against climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. A beach clean up in Mumbai prompted Aditya, Anuj, and Akshay to ponder the real environmental damage. They saw a wrapper that was produced in the 1990s which made them realize how much waste we generate which lead them to think about the environment and sustainability. They saw an opportunity when a massive plastic ban was imposed. This led to the development of BECO in 2017.

BECO wants to support consumers in living a waste-free lifestyle. Since Anuj is Aditya's cousin and Akshay and Aditya were Indian Institute of Technology classmates, the three of them created BECO. They reasoned that instead of focusing on waste segregation, they should concentrate on producing things that are affordable, sustainable, and environmentally beneficial. They want to increase customer awareness of environmentally friendly products. By concentrating on supply chain, marketing, branding, and D2C (direct to consumer) tactics, they created a strong team. They then bootstrapped, which taught them how to manage resources even more effectively and intelligently.

The start-up produces inexpensive, environmentally friendly goods like kitchen towels, tissue rolls, and garbage bags so that consumers may enjoy the ease of single-use products without damaging the environment. Along with tissue paper and rubbish bags, BECO uses bamboo to make kitchen towels, toilet paper, and toothpicks. Most Moso bamboo is grown in China, Maharashtra, and the North East of India. Bamboo of this kind can be used to produce incredibly absorbent and recyclable bamboo cloth.

Inspiration

A beach clean-up in Mumbai prompted Aditya, Anuj, and Akshay to ponder how real environmental damage is. They discovered an orange wrapper, which one of their parents immediately recognized as the wrapper of a Chocolate Bar that had been discontinued in the 1990s. Shocked? That's exactly what they were thinking. For a long time, there is a little plastic wrapping. Consider the impact of the plastic things we use every day.

The massive plastic ban was a watershed moment for them, resulting in the development of BECO, a company that is eco-friendly from the inside out.

Everything is founded on the simple but powerful understanding that every plastic item we use will return to us in the future. A corporation that strongly believes in the rights of people and the environment The company thinks that its beliefs are just as vital as its products. Plant-based products can deliver the efficacy you need, and goods created from biodegradable plant-based ingredients are a more sustainable option than plastic-based ingredients. They provide end-to-end sustainability, from raw material procurement to manufacturing methods to packaging to distribution to product disposal. He quoted " BECO is helping consumers to lead a zero-waste lifestyle."

Overall impact

BECO was founded in 2017 in Mumbai by Akshay Varma, Aditya Ruia, and Anuj Ruia. The start-up produces inexpensive, environmentally friendly products like kitchen towels, tissue rolls, and garbage bags that provide consumers the flexibility of single-use items without harming the environment. BECO initially intended to concentrate on tissue paper and trash bags, but after talking to its mentors, the business decided to employ bamboo to make kitchen towels, toilet paper, and toothpicks as well. BECO utilizes Moso bamboo, which is mostly grown in North East India, Maharashtra, and China. This variety of bamboo can be used to produce compostable, reusable bamboo cloth that is incredibly absorbent.

Unlike a typical microfiber cloth, which is non-biodegradable, the bamboo kitchen towel may be cleaned and reused up to 100 times. The business made the decision to stop using plastic to package its products after realizing the harm that plastic packaging caused to the environment. BECO substitutes recycled and craft paper. The immediate result will be a decrease in the trash produced by unnecessary everyday activities. We'll lean more toward environmentally friendly and biodegradable goods. It will assist in changing peoples' habits.

The long-term effect will be a decrease in overall waste as people adopt new habits. As a result, there will be less energy, chemicals, and other discharges into the environment associated with the manufacture of these goods, thereby contributing to the wellbeing of society and the environment.

BECO continues to see a surge in its presence and adoption in both online and offline marketplaces because of a constant rise in awareness and demand. By increasing the quantity and consumption of their products, they intend to compete favorably with their plastic rivals. Of course, this is better for the earth as a whole: More households switching due to rising demand increased competition with significantly valuable and cheap alternatives.

Business benefit

The growing need for a sustainable lifestyle in Indian cities inspired a slew of eco-friendly startups and indigenous products, one of which was BECO. In fact, as India’s appetite for online shopping and deliveries increased, the need for eco-friendly packaging, and sustainable and recyclable everyday essentials only kept getting more and more acute. It was on this belief in a sustainable lifestyle that the trio of Akshay Varma, Aditya Ruia, and Anuj Ruia ventured with their indigenous range of products. India had no dearth of sustainable consumer goods brands, and as a result, these brands were inclined to become luxury brands to compensate for the higher manufacturing and procurement costs for sustainable products.

This noble thought was however promoted through an initial round of seed funding of $3 Million led by Rukam Capital along with Priyavrata Mafatlal, Better Capital, Prashant Pittie, and Titan Capital which was furthermore utilized for research and developmental activities, marketing, and supply chain functions as well as to hire talent across verticals. They followed a medium of Green Marketing to face the initial challenge of developing sustainable products, launching them at a price point, and then selling them to the end consumers. They also built communities that efficiently communicate their message to other consumers.

Today, BECO has its competitive pricing in line with what many big paper product companies charge, which makes more sense for the consumer.

A pack of four BECO bamboo tissues comes at a price of INR 225 (USD 2.74), and a box of facial tissues is priced at INR 90 (USD 1.09) which is about the same as what consumers pay for similar paper-based non-recyclable products.

BECO also claims to have grown its revenue by 5x in the previous financial year (FY 2021-22).

Social and environmental benefit

While plastic is a sturdy product, it's not necessarily a material that we would choose to use in the future, which raised the question: Is this the ideal product for me? BECO is a company that offers solutions for consumer goods that are chemical-free and kind to the environment.

It offers a variety of products like its reusable bamboo towels Made from 100% organic bamboo plants which can substitute to regular tissues. These are completely biodegradable in nature and also prevent deforestation. These towels are also chlorine and Paraben free.

It also offers eco-friendly solutions in personal care like bamboo toothbrushes. We know that a lot of plastic is generated in conventional regular plastic toothbrushes. BECO has bamboo toothbrush which is hundred percent natural and biodegradable.

Also, it has cleaning products made up of a plant-based and natural detergent formula that will cut through oil, and grease and clean the dirtiest of clothes. It has no ammonia and bleach making it extremely safe for baby clothes and allergy free. It is Plant Based & Biodegradable, Enriched with bio enzymes, Made with natural essential oils, Earth-friendly, Cruelty-Free

BECO has a plethora of such products which is environmentally friendly so thus helping nature and society as a whole.

Interview

Aditya Ruia, Co Founder