Kavita Shukla

Inventor & Founder, Fenugreen

Kavita is the Inventor and Founder/CEO of Fenugreen (http://www.fenugreen.com), a pioneer in the movement towards reducing food waste worldwide. Fenugreen is a social enterprise addressing the enormous, yet often overlooked, global challenge of food spoilage with its simple FreshPaper™ innovation.

Kavita developed and patented FreshPaper while in high school, after she happened upon its active ingredients in a home remedy given to her by her grandmother in India. Since its launch at a Harvard Square farmer’s market in July 2011, FreshPaper has spread rapidly to farmers and families worldwide, and is now available at co-ops, independent stores, and national retailers including Whole Foods. Fenugreen is currently establishing initiatives to benefit local food banks in the U.S. and small-scale farmers in the developing world, with the mission of “Fresh for All.”

Kavita holds three patents, with three pending, and has received several international honors for her potential as an inventor-entrepreneur, including recognition from the Lemelson-MIT Foundation, the Cartier Women’s Initiative, the Davidson Institute, the Swiss Consulate, the British Consulate, and the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs. She has also been inducted into the National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors. Kavita has spoken to audiences around the world about the power of simple innovation, including at TEDxManhattan, the Women’s Forum, the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (where she spoke on a panel with Sir Richard Branson), and a Keynote at the 2012 Harvard Social Enterprise Conference. FreshPaper has taken Kavita from the local farmer’s market to the White House and ringing the NYSE Opening Bell. In the last 6 months, FreshPaper has been featured by The Washington Post, Oprah Magazine, Prevention Magazine, Gizmodo, TreeHugger and The Boston Globe. Earlier this year, Fenugreen was recognized as one of the most innovative young companies in the world as Grand Prize winner of the Kauffman Foundation’s Startup Open. Kavita holds a BA from Harvard University.