Page 49 - Avendus Huran Flipbook 2026
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belief. It also built on our existing strengths, especially when we Walk us through the hardest 6 to 12 months after you committed
realized the operational and energy efficiencies of locating the PLA to the bioplastics/PLA pivot. What were the challenges you
facility next to one of our sugar complexes.
encountered and how did you prioritize actions?
That blend of environmental responsibility, strategic synergy Those 6-12 months after we formally committed to the PLA pivot
and long-term value creation is what convinced me to focus on were easily the toughest. Bioyug had already been an idea in
sustainability-led, value-added businesses rather than expanding motion for four years, but translating a vision into a bankable,
purely within sugar and ethanol. Our INR 2,850 crore investment large-scale project brought its own set of realities. Bioplastics
in India’s first industrial-scale PLA biopolymer plant reflects that were still nascent in India, market awareness was low and
conviction, we’re not just entering a new space, we’re helping conventional plastics were undeniably cheaper in the short-term
define its future. so every discussion, from technology to economics, had layers
of uncertainty.
What helped us stay anchored was our conviction in where
You’re a fourth-generation member of the Saraogi family. How did materials of the future were headed. The policy environment was
growing up in a family with active entrepreneurs shape the ‘seed’ shifting, the government was firm about phasing out single-use
of entrepreneurship in you, and which childhood memory still plastics, and we knew that if we didn’t lead this transition, we
informs how you lead today?
would end up reacting to it later. So our priorities became very
Growing up in a family of active entrepreneurs meant that the clear: de-risk the technology, build internal alignment and keep
‘seed’ of entrepreneurship was planted very early for me. Some momentum even when the market signals were imperfect. In
of my fondest childhood memories are from the Balrampur many ways, that combination of belief, timing, and persistence is
factory, breaking sugarcane in the fields, being shooed away what got us through the hardest stretch.
along with the monkeys because every stick of cane mattered.
I had the privilege of observing my grandmother, Padmashri
Meenakshi Saraogi, lead with a rare blend of operational Who were the mentors, internal allies or external advisors who
sharpness and deep empathy.
helped you convert the bioplastics vision into a bankable project,
What stayed with me wasn’t just how she transformed the and what role did the extended family and board play in enabling
business from 1,600 to 73,500 tonnes of cane crushed per risk-taking?
day but how she built a community around it. One lesson I I have had a few key mentors who made the bioplastics vision
carry with me always is her unwavering principle of integrity and real. My father, Vivek Saraogi, has been central, his discipline,
responsibility toward farmers. Another value that shaped me clarity and ability to weigh risk with long-term value shaped how
is attention to detail, a trait she and my father both instilled. I approached this project. My late grandmother grounded me in
They believed you must know the business so well that no detail empathy and responsibility, reminding me that bold decisions
can slip past you. These early experiences didn’t just spark my must ultimately serve people. On the technical and strategic
interest in entrepreneurship but also continue to define how I
lead today.
Uth Series 2025 • U35 Business Leaders | 47
