Sustainability and a feeling for the environment were always in the back of Sushant Gaur’s mind right from his school days, when he learned how to make paper bags. And that’s where the roots of Adeera Packaging – a manufacturer of paper bags, handle carry bags, and paper pouches – were formed.
The Noida-based company was born in 2012 by CEO Sushant Gaur as Urja Packaging. He later joined hands with co-founders Ashish Agarwal and Atulya Bhatia to re-launch it as Adeera Packaging in 2019.
Sharing the origins of the paper bag manufacturing company, Gaur said, “Ashish Agarwal has a background in sales and marketing and Atulya Bhatia leads the logistics part. Our three-man team was formed within the first year of Adeera Packaging. I have been sensitive to the environment from a very young age. I and Ashish went to the same school, and even as students of class 5, we campaigned for a plastic ban in school. We were taught how to make paper bags by hand, which influenced us to take up this role to support the environment.”
Gaur said they had information about the then impending ban on single-use plastic and the gap in the supply of alternative packaging and seized the opportunity. “This is how we got in, growing slowly.”
They started by selling paper bags per kilogram, which was not a common practice in the industry. “When the ban actually happened, companies such as Grofers and BigBasket approached us, opening the doors for us in eCommerce. Atulya at that time was supplying to Grofers and BigBasket and this was how we met. He set up a logistics network across India for us, wherein we could deliver quality products at the same rate within 2-3 days in North India and within a week to Southern parts of the country,” Gaur said.
Service and quality are the focus of Adeera Packaging, primarily the strength of paper bags, their odorless factor, and their longevity. The company has diversified its product range from conventional paper bags to handle-carry bags and square bottoms, enabling its entry into the food and pharma industries.
Adeera Packaging aims to get into more FMCG marketing segments. At present, the company has a wide presence primarily because of the eCommerce and fast-food segments. According to Gaur, approximately 65% of its produce is being sold in the US along with six other countries via merchant exporters. Starting a sales office in the US, along with a manufacturing plant in the not-so-distant future, will be the first course of action in realizing that aim, Gaur said.
Blinkit, Apollo Pharmacy, BigBasket, Dunkin’ Donuts, Zomato, Swiggy and retail industries such as Tata are among the key customers of Adeera Packaging in India. In the US, Yum! Brands, KFC, and Taco Bell are among the prominent customers of the company. Growing twice in financial turnover every year, the paper manufacturing company hopes it can breach the Rs 100-crore barrier in the following year.
