Markets

Phool.co Turns Temple Flower Waste into Profitable Biomaterials and Incense Business

NEWZA Editorial Team•

⚡ Key Financial Takeaways

  • Phool.co was incorporated in 2017 to recycle temple flower waste into incense and fragrance items.
  • The company raised $2 million in 2020 and $8 million in 2022, bringing total equity funding to roughly ₹95 crore.
  • Revenue hit ₹77 crore in FY25 and the firm is valued at about ₹200 crore.
  • In June 2026, the Allahabad NCLT approved a demerger of the Fleather biomaterials business into a separate entity.
  • Phool’s model includes hiring women from marginalised communities and converting waste into both consumer goods and a leather‑alternative material.

From River‑Side Observation to Startup Success

In 2015, Ankit Agarwal noticed a quiet problem while standing on the Ganga in Kanpur: flowers offered at temples were being dumped into the river, carrying pesticides and dyes. The observation sparked an idea that would later become Phool.co.

Founding a Waste‑to‑Product Engine

Agarwal, an automation scientist, teamed up with his childhood friend Prateek Kumar, an environmental engineer. Together they experimented with composting the flower waste, only to find that turmeric and vermilion made the process unviable. After several trials, they discovered that the discarded petals could be transformed into incense sticks and cones. The success of these first products led to the formal incorporation of Kanpur Flowercycling Pvt. Ltd. in 2017.

Building a Circular Supply Chain

To keep the flowers from reaching the river, the founders established a collection network that worked directly with temples. They organised sorting facilities and created handling protocols that could scale. The operation also became a source of livelihood, employing women from marginalised communities, many of whom had previously worked in hazardous tannery jobs.

Expanding the Product Portfolio

While incense and fragrance items grew in popularity, the team began to look at the residual material left after processing. This research culminated in Fleather, a biomaterial derived from floral waste that offers a sustainable alternative to animal leather. The new product line attracted interest from fashion and consumer brands and became a key driver of Phool’s growth.

Funding Milestones

Phool’s first seed round in 2017 was followed by a $2 million seed in 2020, led by the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation and joined by Social Alpha, IIT Kanpur, and the Indian Angel Network. The most significant capital injection came in April 2022 when Sixth Sense Ventures led an $8 million Series A, with participation from Alia Bhatt and existing investors. These rounds brought cumulative equity funding to about ₹95 crore.

Financial Performance and Valuation

By FY25, Phool’s operating revenue reached ₹77 crore. Independent data from Tracxn places the company’s valuation at roughly ₹200 crore, reflecting the market’s confidence in its dual‑business model.

Corporate Restructuring

In June 2026, the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal cleared the first motion for a proposed demerger of the Fleather business from Kanpur Flowercycling into a new entity, Fleather Private Limited. The split allows each line of business to pursue distinct growth strategies.

Looking Ahead

Phool’s journey illustrates how a simple observation can evolve into a scalable, impact‑driven enterprise. The company’s next steps will likely involve expanding the Fleather supply chain, deepening retail partnerships, and exploring new biomaterial applications.

Sources

- Publisher: Source Material Title: Phool.co journey URL:

Tags

- Phool - Fleather - Incense - Biomaterials - Indian Startups

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