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As food delivery start-ups record millions of orders every day, their contribution to packaging waste also continues to rise. An environment-friendly food packaging startup, InfinityBox, is attempting to solve this with the use of reusable Tupperware containers.
Founded by IIT Kharagpur graduates, Shashwat Gangwal and Keshav Godala, InfinityBox has partnered with food delivery major, Swiggy, and is currently running its third food delivery pilot in Bengaluru. The company has tied up with 40 city restaurants but at the moment, is working actively with five — Chinese trail, Say Noodles, Chinese BAE, MOMOZ and Chopstick.
According to a recent filing by Swiggy’s investor, Prosus, the company fills 1.59 million orders per day and has 1,28,000 restaurants on its platform.
When a customer places an order from one of the five partner restaurants of InfinityBox, a Swiggy customer executive asks them if they want to opt for a reusable container. If they do, the order is delivered in the InfinityBox packaging. Later, the container is picked up by the executive at a scheduled time or customers can drop it at a smart bin nearby. The boxes are then washed and sanitised before being reused. The collection is handled by a small team set up by InfinityBox.
Collection system
InfinityBox has installed four smart bins in Bellandur, Bengaluru, for customers to drop their food delivery boxes by scanning a QR code. The company plans to set up 10 more smart bins in the next two months in Whitefield and Indiranagar.
Using a container 30 -40 times lowers carbon footprint. Also, North Indian, South Indian and Chinese cuisines make up 60 to 75 per cent of food delivery and paper containers are not ideal or eco friendly, Gangwal told BusinessLine .
InfinityBox started using Tupperware containers. In early 2020, the company ran a pilot in Mumbai which was funded by Swiggy. The company saw a 75 per cent adoption rate across the 10-restaurant partnerships. When food delivery volumes dropped during the first wave, InfinityBox diversified and started working with B2B food delivery company, GoKhana. It has also tied up with subscription-based tiffin service, Sprink, in Bengaluru.
InfinityBox has also partnered with a manufacturing unit in Mumbai to make microwavable five-compartment plates, which will enable the company cater to orders with multiple gravies and dishes.
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