Bakeys (sometimes also known as Bakey's) is an Indian edible cutlery manufacturing startup company based in Hyderabad, Telangana.[1] Bakeys was founded in 2010 by former ICRISAT researcher Narayana Peesapaty as an eco-friendly alternative to disposable utensils prepared with plastic, wood and bamboo, such as bamboo chopsticks.[2][3]

Bakeys
Bakeys Foods Private Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryFood, tableware
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010)
FounderNarayana Peesapaty Qayam Hashmi (Manager)
HeadquartersGolconda Cross Road, Musheerabad, ,
India
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsEdible cutlery, spoons
Number of employees
30 (2016)
Websitenone

Out of business

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Since 2017, the Kickstarter linked to the business has not been updated due to complications and fraud, as stated in this newspaper.

Products

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Bakeys uses different types of flours to bake single-use edible spoons, forks, and chopsticks, which can be consumed after their intended use.[3][4] Since 2010, it has sold more than 1.5 million pieces of cutlery throughout India.[5] As of April 2016, the company only markets edible spoons, but has plans to expand its operations to begin distribution of forks and chopsticks with income from a Kickstarter funding campaign.[4] As of April 2016, the company only ships its products within India.[4]

The products are vegetarian and are manufactured using with all-natural ingredients, (primarily) sorghum (jowar), and other types of flours such as wheat, rice, and millet.[3][5] The spoons have a shelf-life of 24 months and are so made that they will naturally decompose between 3 and 7 days after use if not consumed.[1] The spoons are manufactured in several flavors, such as cumin, mint-ginger, carrot-beetroot and sugar.[4][6])

History

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Bakeys was founded by Narayana Peesapathy in 2010 in Hyderabad. In April 2016, it earned a crowd-funding of around 25 lakh (US$30,000) from 1500+ backers through Ketto with its initial goal being only 1 lakh (US$1,200).[7] Following this support, the company started a Kickstarter campaign to increase its reach.[3][8] In April 2016, the company had 30 employees.[5] As of May 2017 the company had not yet started shipping to backers of the Kickstarter campaign, though shipments of the spoons to customers in India has continued without issue.[9] In January 2019, Narayana Peesapaty was arrested for allegedly cheating the Bank of Maharashtra of 2.5 crore (equivalent to 3.1 crore or US$370,000 in 2023).[10][11][12]

References

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  1. ^ a b Markham, Derek (28 March 2016), "Move over, disposable utensils, because Bakeys edible cutlery is here", TreeHugger, retrieved 31 May 2016
  2. ^ "Profile of the founder", Bakeys, retrieved 31 May 2016
  3. ^ a b c d Micu, Alexandra (30 March 2016), "India's Bakey edible spoon does two of my favorite things: limits dishes and plastic waste", ZME Science, retrieved 31 May 2016
  4. ^ a b c d Garfield, Leanna (1 April 2016), "These real-life Willy Wonka spoons are completely edible", Tech Insider, retrieved 31 May 2016
  5. ^ a b c Thomas, Anu (21 April 2016), "Edible Spoons: Bakeys' Narayana Peesapathy scoops up accolades with his innovative idea", The Economic Times, archived from the original on 5 May 2016, retrieved 31 May 2016
  6. ^ Boult, Adam (16 March 2016), "Edible cutlery: could this simple invention help save the world?", Telegraph, retrieved 31 May 2016
  7. ^ "Eat Your Spoon", Ketto, retrieved 31 May 2016
  8. ^ "Edible Cutlery: The Future of Eco Friendly Utensils", Kickstarter, April 2016, retrieved 31 May 2016
  9. ^ "Kickstarter Campaign Update", Kickstarter, 19 January 2017
  10. ^ Sameer (1 February 2019). "Hyderabad: One held for cheating Bank of Maharashtra". The Siasat Daily – Archive. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  11. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/india/deccan-chronicle/20190201/281728385751607. Retrieved 17 May 2023 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ "STATEMENT ABOUT BAKEYS FOODS PVT. LTD. AND NARAYANA PEESAPATY BY ANU KASHYAP DURR". anukashyapdurr.co.in. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
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