Packaging as a service: The goal of this startup is to replace single-use plastic food containers

If you frequently order in, single-use plastic food containers are a way of life. However, since the ban on single-use plastic, eateries and retail establishments have been looking for alternatives. However, finding affordable choices has proven challenging, especially for small firms.

Thanks to InfinityBox, a company founded by IIT Kharagpur grads Shashwat Gangwal and Keshav Godala, Swiggy clients in some areas of Bengaluru can now select a reusable container. The startup wants to turn packaging into a service, using tough Tupperware-style containers in place of single-use plastic containers.

The two were inspired to explore for alternatives while in college after witnessing single-use plastic containers being burned because recycling wasn't an option.

Reducing the use of plastic

While plastic is one of the best inventions, according to Gangwal, the way it is used is a concern.

Plastic has many advantages, including being lightweight, affordable, flexible, and temperature-resistant. We reasoned that this was the only practical approach to enhance customer satisfaction without raising costs or harming the environment. So, he explains, "we developed a concept around recycling these containers.

Customers have been asked if they would be open to receiving their food in a reusable container that would be collected up later by a customer care person over the past year at several eateries in Bellandur, Sarjapur, and HSR Layout in Bengaluru.

Customers that choose reusable packaging do not currently pay extra, and InfinityBox receives a portion of the packaging price paid to restaurants for orders delivered in their containers.

The emergence of InfinityBox in late 2019 was hampered by the coronavirus epidemic. It is currently testing the reusable containers in four places, including Bengaluru and Mumbai with Swiggy. The business received a $800,000 seed round from Weh Ventures, Nithin Kamath's Rainmatter, and other investors in October.

"A reusable Tupperware container will be available to choose from when you place an order at a connected restaurant as a customer, at no additional cost. We will collect it from your home, wash it, and then reuse it, said Gangwal.

The Empire restaurant chain's Social, Swiggy's cloud kitchen brand Homely, and other locations in Bengaluru have the pilot live.

In addition to Swiggy, Gangwal also intends to engage with meal delivery services and establishments with sizable cafeterias, such as hospitals and airlines.

According to Gangwal, "We would have fulfilled roughly 150,000 orders up to this point and avoided the disposal of at least 20,000 kg of single-use plastic."

"A blend of Swiggy and Amazon"

He continued by saying that their goal is to do rid of anything throwaway and offer a reusable alternative.

Give me a packaging issue, and I'll give you a reusable solution. It doesn't matter if I buy the packaging, make it, work with a partner in logistics, or use our own logistics; it's all packed into the service and marketed, he claims. This also applies to products like paper cups and plates, where washing is handled by InfinityBox.

According to Gangwal, InfinityBox's primary responsibilities are inventory management and dishwashing, however not in the same way as Swiggy or Amazon. Swiggy works within a specific geographic area, in contrast to Amazon, whose operations are based on predetermined routes.

"Knowing the dense area gives me an advantage when I work with Swiggy. It is also Amazon's intended course of action. I send my (collection) guy at the time the customer has specified in a schedule. I have flexibility because we have timeslots inside a three-hour span. All of the articles are returned to our washing facility, he continues.

The boxes are cleaned in large industrial dishwashers before being delivered back to the eateries where they are used.

The adoption and retention rates are over 70%, according to Gangwal. InfinityBox is adding three to four restaurants and about 500 orders per week, he continued.

He claims that using InfinityBox for restaurant inventory management and procurement lessens problems, concerns about theft, packing, and spills, and minimises the use of plastic.

The answer

Concerns about the industry switching from plastic to such solutions were voiced by a few restaurateurs. Some of the main issues that have been raised relate to hygiene, scheduled services, and client interest.

As a vegetarian, Vedant Pasari, owner of cloud kitchen chain Edabba, said he would be hesitant to use such reusable containers. Hygiene would also be a consideration.

Although we are interested in sustainability and environmentally friendly solutions, he continued, "it's still extremely early to make such decisions."

Customers may be concerned about the hygiene of such boxes, according to another restaurateur, and may opt for disposable containers. In response, Gangwal compares it to plates and cutlery in restaurants, where patrons rely on the establishment's hygienic standards even when they are unaware of what was previously served on the plates.

InfinityBox user and owner of Salad Studio in Bellandur, Pratik Ranjan, is pleased with the support. "We have a long history with them; in fact, we were one of the original restaurants. This experience has been good thus far.

"It's quite pleasing that the carbon impact has shrunk. Customers enjoy it as well, and reviews have been positive thus far because they receive it in recyclable packaging, he added.

About 20% of Swiggy users who order from Salad Studio choose reusable packaging.

Although the process was mainly straightforward and the boxes were hygienic, customers Moneycontrol spoke to reported that the return process can be difficult. One of these customers, Rutwik, claimed that the service's erratic schedule made organising the return a day beforehand difficult.

Another client, Rohit, said he jumped at the chance due to the quantity of plastic that accumulates in his kitchen and would not mind using it once more.

Although InfinityBox now receives restaurant packing costs as payment, some customers claimed they would only be prepared to pay a small fee for the service.