Wednesday 20th March 2024, Biophilica, a London based material innovation start-up known for its debut plant-based material, Treekind®, today announces the appointment of Dharan Kiru to their board.
Dharan, who is the ex-director of sustainable technology innovation at adidas, will advise the business as it continues to scale Treekind®, a plastic-free, home-compostable leather alternative made from leaves. Dharan’s board guidance will support in driving forward Biophilica’s ambition in sustainable innovation, as well as advise on the growth of the business and the development of the Biophilica brand.
With over 9 years service at adidas within material and tech engineering, Dharan brings a wealth of knowledge to Biophilica at a critical point in their scaling journey. With a deep understanding of material engineering and developing new sustainable technology, Dharan is well versed in driving long-term sustainable strategy within large scale businesses, having played a key role in innovations including adidas Boost, Made To Be Remade and leather alternative Mylo, which provided immense learnings for the future of material innovations.
As well as his new strategic advisory position on Biophilica’s board, Dharan is also an innovation advisor for Fashion for Good – the global platform that selected Biophilica to join their sustainable accelerator programme in 2021.
On accepting the board position at Biophilica, Dharan says:
“After working with Biophilica for a year in an advisory capacity, I was impressed by the progress on the material, an uncompromising stance on sustainability and, most of all, the talented people at the heart of the business. Most of the work lies ahead and being part of that journey is an opportunity and challenge I was not going to pass up.”
In addition to today’s board announcement, Biophilica is pleased to also announce the expansion of their London team, with the hires of a Head of Commercial and Head of Business.
Elvira Pilatti is joining as Head of Commercial, bringing over 15 years’ experience in premium luxury retail including roles at Net-a-Porter, John Lewis, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo. With Elvira’s strong knowledge of the industry, and solid commercial background, she will be a driving force for sales growth and brand visibility for Biophilica, leading the development, implementation and performance of the commercial strategy.
Jessica Kruger is joining as Head of Business, with 10 years experience in building and scaling two mission-driven brands, including one B Corp. She brings sophisticated “next-generation” materials knowledge, with a deep understanding of how to translate new innovations into products with consumer and commercial appeal. As Head of Business, Jessica will focus on streamlining operations and implementing processes to scale the company more efficiently.
Mira Nameth, CEO of Biophilica says:
“As our board and senior leadership grow, we are delighted to build a team with the specialist insights and expertise needed to help guide Biophilica as we work to scale our circular products and develop future innovations.”
About Biophilica:
Biophilica was founded in 2019 by Mira Nameth and is made up of a team of science, design and strategy experts. The material was brought to market in 2023 following Biophilica‘s seed round investment of. £1.2m funded by investors including Rhapsody Venture Partners – experts in tech and scaling lab-based innovations, as well as Fashion For Good. Biophilica moved into a 300 square metre facility in South West London in 2022 where the team is scaling up production & testing methods. To meet the growing demand, Biophilica is currently conducting large-scale trials in the UK and Europe.
Biophilica is proud to be an alumni of leading industry accelerator programmes, including LVMH’s La Maison de Startups and Fashion For Good, and has already received industry recognition, including The IET/Fashion District Manufacturing Futures Prize and the Mills Fabrica Techstyle for Social Good Grand Prize in 2021, and the Women in Innovation award in 2022.
Biophilica are also in a pre-commercial trials for a 100% biobased adhesive for bonding Treekind®, as well as paper, cardboard wood, and conventional leather.
