"We need to focus on creating value-added products from crop residue"

Founded in 2018, Craste purchases crop residues from farmers and recycles them to make packaging materials and engineered boards for furniture. Operating under the company name, FUMA Labs Private Limited, the startup repurposes crop waste into moulded packaging, paper products, packaging and particle boards, helping farmers earn additional revenue. Craste has received several grants such as BIRAC SOCH Award, Biotech Ignition Grant (BIRAC), and AB InBev Grant, among others. The startup is also building packaging solutions using crop residue. It has developed a patent-pending technology, Fumasolv, to extract Lignin from crop residue to develop packaging solutions. The startup operates on the B2B model and sells its boards and packaging materials to businesses. It also works on research and development to create custom-made packaging solutions for its clients. AgroSpectrum interacted with Shubham Singh, Founder, FUMA Labs to learn more about the potential of agri -waste in allied industries. 

- Dipti Barve

How is Craste contributing to the use of agri waste in allied industry?

The name of our company Craste itself explains the nature of our work. Craste means crop plus waste which we are using to create business. As we are aware of crop burning, a huge issue in India, many farmers burn the crop residue due to unavailability of affordable and faster options to manage their crop residue. Understanding this issue, we decided to provide affordable options to farmers for crop residue management and mainly add value to the agri-waste. We incentivise the farmers about the value of the farm waste and as a secondary source of income. We buy the agricultural waste from the farmers and recycle them to make packaging materials and engineered boards for furniture. We have recently completed a sustainable and customised packaging solution project for Anheuser-Busch.

Recently the company has completed a pilot project for Beer brand Corona for eco-packaging-six packs made from 100 per cent barley straw. What's in store for FY 2023? 

We help multinational companies achieve sustainability goals. We are working with big companies like Nestle and ITC for sustainable packaging solutions. We are selling pulp made of agri-waste to paper mills and manufacturers of moulded items used in the food packaging industry. Besides this, we provide R&D services for multinational companies. Recently we completed a project for IKEA in which textile waste was provided by IKEA and we made stationary products out of the textile waste using innovative technologies.