In a country where over 26,000 tons of plastic waste are generated daily, and enforcement of single-use plastic bans is finally finding legislative teeth, a new kind of partnership is setting the tone for India’s packaging future—one that doesn’t just check the box on sustainability but fundamentally rewrites it.

On July 24, UKHI, a deep-tech materials startup spun out of IIT and IIM ecosystems, announced a landmark partnership with DCGpac, India’s largest B2B packaging distribution platform. At the heart of the alliance lies EcoGran, UKHI’s proprietary compostable biopolymer granules engineered from agricultural waste. These granules, now available nationwide via DCGpac’s extensive e-commerce network, promise to offer a scalable, affordable, and regulation-ready alternative to conventional plastics.

It’s not just a commercial alliance. It’s a strategic inflection point in India’s circular economy movement—uniting material innovation with mass distribution muscle to address a trillion-rupee problem: plastic.

A Material Solution in a Policy Moment
The timing of the alliance couldn’t be more calculated. With India tightening the screws on its single-use plastic ban—restricting products such as plastic bags under 75 microns, disposable cutlery, straws, and sachets—thousands of MSMEs, retailers, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are caught in a scramble for compliant packaging alternatives. Most have turned to paper, a seemingly greener option, but one that comes with its own baggage: added coatings, supply chain inconsistencies, and prices often 30–40 per cent higher than standard plastics.

Enter EcoGran. Derived from crop residues and other agro-waste, this granule-based material ticks all the boxes—regulatory, performance, and price. It decomposes fully within 180 days under industrial composting conditions and costs 15–25 per cent less than its paper-based counterparts. For businesses straddling sustainability mandates and razor-thin margins, that’s a proposition hard to ignore.

“EcoGran is not a niche alternative. It’s a system-level upgrade,” says Vishal Vivek, Co-Founder and CEO of UKHI. “It enables businesses to meet their ESG targets, reduce plastic dependency by up to 90 per cent, and cut costs—all without compromising on packaging performance.”

Technology Meets Distribution at Scale
While UKHI brings the innovation muscle, DCGpac is providing the scaling engine. With over 750 million units of packaging delivered and a customer base of 60,000+ businesses, DCGpac’s logistics and tech-enabled fulfillment system ensures that EcoGran doesn’t remain a lab prototype or niche solution—it becomes mainstream.

Under the new agreement, UKHI will focus on manufacturing and R&D, while DCGpac takes over digital marketing, warehousing, order management, and last-mile delivery. This symbiosis of roles means that small enterprises, D2C brands, and large FMCG players alike can now access sustainable packaging materials as easily as they order conventional polybags—without new supply chain headaches.

“True sustainability cannot be a luxury good,” notes Suresh Bansal, Founder and CEO of DCGpac. “Our partnership with UKHI brings next-gen materials within reach for businesses of all sizes—not just the top 100 corporates with deep pockets.”

A Triple Bottom Line Win
Beyond operational ease and compliance, the partnership scores high on the environmental front. Each ton of EcoGran™ used diverts approximately three tons of agricultural waste from open burning—a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in North India.

This means businesses that switch to EcoGran don’t just reduce plastic use; they actively contribute to cleaner air and lower CO₂ emissions, aligning with both Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandates and the evolving taxonomy of global sustainability benchmarks.

It also unlocks an unmissable opportunity for export-oriented firms. With the EU’s Green Deal, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws tightening, and U.S. retailers demanding traceable, low-carbon packaging options, early adopters of Indian-made biopolymers may find themselves with a competitive edge abroad.

Democratizing Sustainable Packaging
Perhaps the most compelling outcome of this partnership is access. Until recently, sustainable materials remained largely the domain of multinationals and funded startups. With DCGpac’s nationwide reach and seamless digital interface, even a small soap manufacturer in Coimbatore or a new D2C apparel brand in Jaipur can integrate EcoGran into their packaging—no MOQs, no import dependencies, no inflated costs.

This accessibility could be the tipping point for India’s bioeconomy. While government-led bans and subsidies create the demand nudge, it is platforms like DCGpac—backed by material science players like UKHI—that will deliver the practical how.

UKHI is just getting started. With backing from premier institutions including IITs, ISB, 100 Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts, the company has signaled broader ambitions: expanding its material suite beyond granules to flexible films, rigid containers, and even woven alternatives. Plans are already underway to triple production capacity by mid-2026, targeting sectors as diverse as horticulture, food delivery, and electronics.

The Road Ahead: Packaging as Climate Infrastructure
As the climate clock ticks and supply chains come under intense regulatory and environmental scrutiny, packaging is emerging not just as a compliance check but as a key vector of innovation. What UKHI and DCGpac are enabling is a decentralized, bio-based packaging economy—where waste becomes raw material, compliance becomes competitive advantage, and sustainability becomes systemic.

This is more than a B2B partnership. It’s a blueprint for how climate tech startups and legacy distribution giants can co-create new economic models—grounded in science, driven by scale, and accountable to the planet.

India’s battle against plastic pollution won’t be won with bans alone. It needs viable alternatives, built for Indian conditions and delivered at Indian scale. With EcoGran, that future may have just been fast-tracked.