Roha Biotech Makes Eco Packaging from Mushrooms in India

Khushi Bhatia

| 2025-06-16 | The Ascendants

In the heart of India’s growing green-tech landscape, an unconventional biotech startup is redefining what it means to build in hard tech, without a playbook, without dilution, and without legacy inspiration.

Roha Biotech, co-founded by Aditya Srinivas Kandaala, has quietly constructed what is now India’s most advanced mycelium packaging factory from scratch. Over the past three years, the Chennai-based startup has raised ₹1.8 crore entirely through non-dilutive grants, survived what founders often call the “valley of death” in deep tech, and emerged with a next-gen biodegradable packaging platform poised to take on the ₹10,000 crore polystyrene market in India.

From Fungi to Foundry: The Genesis

Roha’s journey began at the IIT Madras Bioincubator, with a spark funded by the NIDHI-Prayas scheme through riidl. “We didn’t know a thing about mushrooms,” Aditya recalls. “But we knew the future was circular and needed new materials.”

The team took a high-risk, high-reward route. Within 18 months, they had developed what they now call a Mycelium Biofoundry, a biologically engineered equivalent to a metal foundry, but for fungi. This involved designing, experimenting, and iterating on the cultivation and molding of mycelium, the root-like structures of fungi, into functional, biodegradable packaging materials.

Unlike most startups, Roha had no predecessor to follow in India. “There was no one to look up to, no plug-and-play model. It was pure R&D and a lot of guesswork backed by method,” says Aditya.

Lean, Gritty, and Bootstrapped

What Roha lacked in precedent, they made up for in discipline. The first phase of their pilot plant was built on just ₹85 lakh in funding from BIRAC-BIG, Startup India SISF via Crescent Innovation and Incubation Council (CIIC), and MeitY-TIDE.

“We stretched every rupee. It was literally ‘కత్తి మీద సాము’, walking on a knife’s edge,” Aditya says, borrowing from Telugu to describe their precarious yet determined journey.

Instead of chasing early venture capital, which often shies away from deep tech with long gestation periods, Roha focused on execution. With Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT Bombay backing them via BIRAC-LEAP and CSR grants worth ₹1 crore, Roha avoided equity dilution while validating technology at scale.

The payoff? Over five paid pilot projects, ₹25 lakh in product contracts, and a production line that now delivers 4 tons/month of industrial mycelium packaging.

Engineering Materials of the Future

Roha’s materials are not just eco-friendly, they’re engineered for performance. The mycelium-based packaging they produce is:

Stronger than styrofoam
Lighter than plastic
Waterproof, fire-resistant, and sound-insulating
Certified biodegradable
Able to withstand 6ft and even 12ft drop tests

Aditya and his team see the product as not merely an eco-alternative, but a superior substitute, both environmentally and functionally.

The Market Signal: India’s Styrofoam Crisis

India currently uses 160,000 tonnes of styrofoam annually in packaging, a number that’s both alarming and an opportunity. With growing policy mandates around sustainability and ESG-driven procurement in industries like FMCG, electronics, and logistics, the demand for non-toxic, biodegradable, and circular materials is surging.

“We’re not just replacing polystyrene, we’re redefining what packaging can be in a circular economy,” says Aditya.

What’s Next: Scaling from 4 Tons/Month to 4 Tons/Day

Now Roha Biotech is preparing for a 30X scale-up, aiming to raise $1 million in growth capital. This next phase will expand their production to 4 tons/day, integrate AI and ML-based process automation, and target enterprise-grade contracts with major Indian and global packaging clients.

Unlike many cleantech startups, Roha isn’t waiting to figure things out after the raise. The team already has its scale model, supply chains, and microbial strains optimized for performance.

“This isn’t a research project anymore. We have industrial-grade repeatability. We’re ready,” Aditya says confidently.

A Team of Risk-Takers

Perhaps the most unique piece of the puzzle is the people. Roha’s team is young, cross-disciplinary, and united not by pedigree, but by grit. Aditya admits he took a huge chance: “I picked people who were risk-takers, no safety nets. That became our culture.”

This culture is evident in how the startup has outperformed the odds and how it continues to stay resilient in an ecosystem where hardware and biotech are still undercapitalized.

Why This Matters

Roha’s story is a case study in what’s possible when Indian startups choose to build original, high-impact technology, rather than chase trends. It also reflects a maturing innovation ecosystem where grants and public capital are now viable pathways to commercial success, especially in areas like climate tech, biomaterials, and synthetic biology.

At a time when VC money chases quick returns, Roha is playing the long game. And for once, that bet seems to be paying off.

Roha Biotech at a Glance