When Pallavi Pande is homesick she turns to things she grew up with in India. Things like eating grand meals on banana leaves and eating with your hands.
Her U.S.-born children had a different reaction when brought these traditions out.
"When I ate with my hands and on banana leaves my young children said, 'eeww!' and I wasn’t OK with that," said Pande.
So she wanted to introduce the practice more into her family’s life. At the same time, she was looking for an alternative to the paper and plastic plates she would use when entertaining at home.
"I came up with the idea of serving street food on raw leaves but they are flimsy and fragile," she said, and that wouldn’t work for entertaining. "What if I make something better than this and introduce (this kind of tableware) to the Western world where we live? It’s giving a piece of India for everyone."
All of this led to her company Dtocs, which created a line of sustainable tableware made from naturally fallen Areca Palm leaves. Since 2019 she has sold 1.5 million items directly to consumers and last year had $500,000 in revenue. She is confident she will hit $1 million in sales this year.
She started the company aimed at consumers but during the pandemic shifted to more business clients. She intends to build that customer base this year. She uses Amazon to sell to consumers as well as businesses through the Amazon vendor central. She also uses Amazon to store inventory. Last year, she was part of the Portland Incubator Experiment.
The product: Dtocs makes a line of sustainable, disposable dinnerware. The products are made from naturally fallen palm leaves and turned into durable, stylish dinnerware that is easily compostable. She uses palm leaves from tree farms in India where she saw huge amounts of leaves left to compost.
“I’m going to create (a business) and make an impact with this waste and give these leaves one more use,” she said.
How it makes money: The company has 50 different products across plates, bowls, platters and more of all different shapes and sizes. Products come in packs of 25, 50 or 100 and are priced between $14 to $50.
Size of market: Customers range from direct to consumers who are looking for an alternative to plastic and paperware to business to business food services, charcuteries, caterers and hospitality companies. Locally, products are available at Market of Choice, Helvetia Farms marketplace and Amity PDX. In 2020, 219 million Americans used disposable cups and plates, according to research firm Statista.com, said founder Pallavi Pande.
“80% of marine litter is made of plastics, 70% of which originates from disposable items, so plastic disposables need to be replaced with safe and sustainable disposables made from renewable materials,” she added.
Competitive advantage: Dtocs palm leaves biodegrade faster than bamboo alternatives so the impact is immediate. Plus, Pande is building the company as a sustainable brand that helps the environment as well as the communities it works with. The company is minority women-owned and it works with manufacturers in India who mostly employ women.
Business it could disrupt: Dtocs wants to revolutionize the way consumers treat single-use disposables yet give them convenience of cleanup and classy look of the tableware.
Managers and their background: Founder Pallavi Pande is trained in electrical engineering but spent significant part of her career in logistics, so she was able to tap that knowhow to get products from one location to the consumer.
Abhey Bansal manages operations and supply chain in India. Bansal is Pande’s representative in country.
Advisers: Mitch Daugherty at Built Oregon; Colleen Skinkard at Livelihood NW and Ascend PDX; and Carline Cummings at Oregon Rain.
Investors: none so far, but Pande is open to discussions. She is contemplating raising a round.
Ideal exit: An acquisition by 2025
Closer Look
Company: Dtocs LLC
Headquarters: Portland
Founded: 2019
CEO: Pallavi Pande
Employees: 1, plus 50 including overseas contract manufacturers.
Web: dtocs.com
