Hyderabad Startup BioReform Wins UN Recognition

Hyderabad: A Hyderabad-based startup incubated at the Atal Incubation Centre of IIIT-Hyderabad has gained global recognition for developing a biodegradable alternative to plastic, with operations across eight Indian cities and four countries.

The startup, BioReform, has been recognised as a United Nations case study and has replaced over 15 million single-use plastic items, according to its founder, Mohammed Azhar Mohiuddin.

“We started with absolutely zero in college, and today we are at roughly eight figures in revenue and have replaced 15 million+ single-use plastics. While revenue is a key metric, our internal KPI is to measure our impact in plastic bags replaced,” he said.

BioReform’s product, the Greeny bag, is made from plant-based materials such as corn starch and biopolymers and decomposes within months. The company was founded in October 2021 during Mohiuddin’s engineering studies and was incubated at EdVenture Park, where it secured a pre-seed round. A manufacturing unit was set up at Jeedimetla in January 2022.

“First it was a printing customisation issue, then problems with the handles and sealing quality. The fourth run turned out perfect and we received our first big order,” he said.

The startup later joined the AIC-IIIT Hyderabad accelerator in 2024 and received a milestone-based seed grant under the EPAM Social Impact Innovation Programme. It currently operates five machines with a team of 11, serving over 300 clients across domestic and international markets including Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and London.

The company has also developed food-grade milk packaging and non-adhesive barricading tapes, and is working on biomedical packaging solutions.

“I am not an innovator. I am an entrepreneur with the risk appetite to bring social impact solutions into the market,” he said.

BioReform secured second place among 300 startups from 40 countries at a competition in Saudi Arabia and is in discussions to set up a manufacturing facility in Ras Al Khaimah.