How PeelOn’s Green Packaging Keeps Bananas Yellow For Longer

One in every four bananas peeled off anywhere in the world is grown in India. Reason enough to go bananas, especially when the world’s biggest market for the fruit looks perfectly ripe for a bite? 

What lies between the planet’s largest producer and the largest consumer of of the fruit? It’s the lofty tariff barrier President Donald Trump has set up for Indian exports. Trump’s banana republic stays unfeterred, even though a supply snag from Panama drives Americans bananas.    

The fruit fetched $377.5 Mn to India’s export kitty last fiscal, growing 30% over the previous year. Yet, India shipped only 8.2 Mn Tonnes of banana out of a production of around 37 Mn Tonnes in FY25, the commerce ministry informed the Lok Sabha. 

“Less than 5% of the total bananas produced here get exported. Yes, India too consumes a lot of it, but the major challenge has been in exporting this delicate fruit over long distances while maintaining its freshness and quality,” Taraka Ramji Moturu told Inc42.

Packaging, according to him, plays a key role in it. “If the packaging of your food items isn’t up to the mark, it doesn’t just risk spoilage, it can also shut the door on export opportunities.” 

Plant scientist Moturu tried to resolve this multi-layered problem with PeelOn – a startup he floated along with microbiologist Venkata Ravi Sankar Ummidi – using a packaging material that arguably enhances the shelf-life of food products three-fold. 

PeelOn helps banana exporters cut down on wastage and keep up the quality with a biodegradable alternative to plastics. It also helps export broccoli, okra, coriander and various fruits across Central America and the US.

Fruits and vegetables made up about 3.7% of India’s total farm exports of $48.8 Bn, translating to approximately $1.8 Bn in value terms in FY24. This indicates a massive underutilisation of India’s farm output in the global markets. It also adds to the country’s estimated annual food wastage of 78 Mn Tonnes, which primarily takes place in transit and in storage, underscoring the need for better supply chain management. 

“The most common issue with producers is their product being stuck at customs. Our packaging extends the green shelf-life of bananas by up to 60 days,” claimed the PeelOn founder.

Even Bananas Can Last Longer

In fact, the founders peeled off the seeds of PeelOn while trying to resolve the wastage crisis. 

“We were determined not to limit our scientific ideas or tech innovations to the laboratory. We wanted to put them in the real world to solve certain existing problems in real time,” Moturu said.

With the money they garnered from a diagnostic services business in Visakhapatnam, they set up SBiotech to develop solutions to prevent and cure viral infections in shrimps. “During the pandemic, the shrimp exports slumped. And, that’s when we got some time to start re-exploring the opportunities,” Moturu said. 

In this period, the founders came up with a coating solution that could be sprayed on fruits and vegetables to keep them fresh and extend their shelf-life. “It wasn’t a feasible option as sellers might miss a section while spraying or make the coating uneven. Plus, even if our solution was to increase the shelf-life, the problem of plastic packaging stayed on.”

The concern was real. How much more plastic shall we dump in the guts of the planet?

PeelOn came up in 2022 and the founders turned to PLA (polylactic acid) and PBAT (polybutylene adipate terephthalate) to make its packaging products. Essentially, startups use these biodegradable polymers to make the packaging more sustainable for the food and the environment. It has seven types of products on offer that eases packaging bottlenecks for both producers and retailers. 

The startup recently bagged $1 Mn from GrowX Ventures, Branch Venture Group, and Clean Energy Venture Group to set up a manufacturing facility in India and work on its expansion plans. It also received grants of around $130,000 from the Chilean government and the US Department of Agriculture. 

The entity is registered in the US, but has an Indian subsidiary to oversee its manufacturing operations in Vijayawada and Bengaluru. The company started its operations working with various vegetable and fruit producers in the US and Central America, and it entered the Indian market in FY26.

New Green Beats Old Biodegradables  

PLA is a plant-based bioplastic derived from renewable resources such as corn starch or sugarcane, and PBAT is a flexible, petroleum-based biodegradable plastic that decomposes faster than PLA.

But PeelOn isn’t alone in the field. It takes on competitors like Ecolastic and DrBio that use the same biopolymers to develop biodegradable bags and offer eco-friendly alternatives to conventional plastics.

“The distinction lies in the added functionality that elevates purpose into performance,” articulated the PeelOn founder. While all manufacturers of biodegradable bags address the decomposition issues, none can stop rapid spoilage of fresh produce.

That’s where PeelOn claims to have an edge over peers. “We are providing smart packaging. When I say smart, it means we have definitive barrier properties that delay the ripening process of the fruits and vegetables. We offer better functionality with our products, and that is our USP,” Moturu said.

PeelOn has so far filed four patents in the US for two of its processes and two plant additive formulations, which are yet to be granted.

Drawing Up The Reach-Out Roadmap

China is the largest producer of biopolymers like PBAT. PeelOn depends on the country for raw material supplies. It also purchases these biopolymers from Indian distributors, who source it from China. With a monthly need for 5-10 Tonnes of biopolymers, PeelOn purchases it for INR 120-150 a kilo. 

It also spends heavily on the research of its food additives, their production, and on the manufacturing process. All these jack up the product cost substantially. That’s a challenge for the startup in a price-sensitive market like India. 

The founders registered the company in the US to tap the American market before hitting the home turf. After launching the US operations in 2024, PeelOn slowly expanded to serve exporters near the US-Mexico border. 

The startup’s clientele majorly includes exporters from Central American countries like Honduras, Colombia, and Costa Rica. 

“Till now, we have had tie-ups with two co-manufacturing companies in India. Once we have our own factory, we’ll be able to bring down the operational cost, which will eventually lower the product cost.”

That’s not the end of the hurdles for the startup. Escalating geopolitical uncertainties and punishing US tariffs on India have pushed PeelOn to a crossroads since it is headquartered in the US and ships all its products from India.

“The 50% tariff will raise the landed cost for PeelOn since we manufacture in India, but our packaging still pays for itself by saving 2-3 times production.”

The startup is now focussed on scaling its capacity at the Visakhapatnam facility and diversifying in GCC and LAtAM markets to stay competitive and reduce the revenue dependency on the US. 

PeelOn is also piloting its products with a few quick commerce players to help them manage their food quality in dark stores. It’s a major area of concern for the $5.38 Bn quick commerce market in India that’s zooming at 15.54% to reach $11.08 Bn by 2030.

America is the top banana to PeelOn but, in a hostile tariff regime, the founders are doubling down on India to raise its revenue share from the present 80-20 ratio, as India’s $452 Bn agri commerce market grows 4.52% annually to reach $563.02 Bn in the next five years.