In 1981, K K Jhunjhunwala wanted to set up a paper mill with a twist — using sugarcane waste or bagasse. Having seen his father’s sugarcane mill, he was well aware of the waste generated and its possible usage. He was determined to create paper sustainably, but there was a slight problem — he lacked the funds required for the machinery. His wife stepped in and sold her jewellery to fund his entrepreneurial dreams, leading to the birth of Yash Papers.
Starting as a small paper mill, K K carved a niche in the low-grammage (GSM) kraft market over the next 15 to 20 years. After undergoing heart surgery in the mid-90s due to a congenital condition, his perspective shifted. He aspired to travel the world on his motorbike and hand over the business to his sons — though, at the time, neither was interested.
Ved Krishna, the elder son, had no interest in joining the family business, having witnessed his father’s entrepreneurial struggles. At the time, he was studying sports management in London. Faced with his children’s disinterest and the challenges of running the business, K K attempted to sell it in 1998-99 but was unsuccessful. This led to Ved’s return to India, where he took over the reins.
Despite early struggles, from union issues to financial losses, Ved steadily grew the company. Today, 43 years after its humble beginnings under a tree, Yash Pakka Limited is a listed company with a turnover of Rs 414 crore in 2023-24.
From paper to purpose: A company’s shift toward sustainable packaging
When Ved returned in 1999, the organisation wasn’t in great shape. The company wasn’t growing, revenues were falling, operations were chaotic, and workers weren’t happy — leading to a tumultuous transition phase. There was a constant fear that the business would collapse.
“It took me about two to three years to put things back in order. As things started getting better, I looked at opportunities for expansion by manufacturing more specialised grades of paper using sugarcane waste,” Ved tells The Better India.
The company pivoted to producing specialty-grade paper for the food and pharmaceutical industries, from sugar sachets to McDonald’s wrappers.
However, just as they secured a major project, Ved lost his father and made what he calls “fatal mistakes” that nearly led to the company’s closure in 2010. Ved reflects that they managed to pull through this period thanks to the goodwill his father had built over the years; suppliers and buyers continued to support them.
This challenging time prompted Ved to step back and reconsider his path, realising that he had been following closely in his father’s footsteps, including his leadership style. “I was trying to be like my father, which he never wanted. We were very different people in many ways. I then sat down to really think about what I wanted to do. I wanted to do something aligned to the ecology and in service of the planet,” says Ved.
And then he found the pot of gold right in front of his eyes! While they were in the packaging business, supplying wrapping and bag paper, they weren’t creating impact. To leave behind a cleaner planet for the future, Ved decided to work on compostable packaging solutions.
“In 2014, we took a decision to work in the food packaging and food service segments. We moved the company into the realm of sustainability to reduce the environmental impact of packaging,” says Ved.
The company started producing biodegradable packaging products and also launched a brand CHUK, producing compostable and biodegradable tableware made from sugarcane residue (bagasse). Brands like Haldiram’s, Rebel Foods, and Café Coffee Day are their customers today.
“We use sugarcane pulp to make moulded fibre. We also worked towards flexible packaging using natural products for items like potato chip bags, chocolate wrappers, cookies, and biscuits. This was quite challenging as these products need longer shelf lives,” he explains.
By investing in R&D, the company achieved scalability, a critical factor that helped it stabilise and emerge from uncertainty. This focus, along with Ved finding his purpose, led to a turnover increase to Rs 200 crore in FY 2018.
In 2019, the company rebranded from Yash Papers to Pakka, meaning ‘packaging with a soul’. Ved stepped down as CEO and MD, transitioning to a strategy lead role, allowing him to focus on what he truly valued. In this new position, he prioritised strategic initiatives, innovation, and new business opportunities, while delegating day-to-day operations to others.
“We moved from being a pulp and paper company to being a sustainable packaging company,” says Ved. The company diversified its offerings into three main categories: paper, moulded products, and flexible packaging. All products are primarily made from sugarcane bagasse.
Building a sustainable future: Commitment to green operations and innovation
Beyond creating sustainable packaging, the company is committed to operating sustainably — a legacy started by K K Jhunjhunwala in 1995, when he established a power plant powered by rice husks, enabling the company to generate its own energy and go off-grid.
Ved has continued this legacy, now producing electricity with an 8.5 MW plant that operates entirely on biomass-based energy. He shares that both raw materials and fuel are sourced locally, within 200 km of their factory in Ayodhya. While focusing on sustainable inputs, Ved also aimed to minimise the company’s effluent output.
“Today, we recover 95 percent of the cooking chemicals used in manufacturing. We invested in chemical recovery equipment in 2005 to achieve this. We also use our solid waste and recycle it,” he adds.
They also set up a modern pulp mill to produce pulp to produce compostable tableware.
Today, Yash Pakka’s Ayodhya factory has a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year, with plans underway to expand this to 80,000 tonnes. The company is also broadening its global reach by establishing a new factory in Guatemala, which will have a production capacity of 1,30,000 tonnes.
With a strong emphasis on R&D and innovation, Ved has ambitious goals for the future, aiming to achieve a revenue of Rs 1,400 crore by 2025.
“We are investing heavily in finding ways to create products for the future. We are constantly looking at alternative nature-based materials to use,” he adds.
What helped Ved turn the company from loss-making to one of the biggest manufacturers of compostable packaging was finding his purpose.
“The most important thing in life is to really know what we are here for. We have a 40 to 50-year work span and an 80-year lifespan. What helped me was really trying to make each day count. I’m clear that I’m here to create and scale products to make a significant impact towards a cleaner planet,” he reiterates.
Edited by Pranita Bhat
