Packaging is among the high growth industries in India. A high degree of potential exists for almost all user segments which are expanding appreciably-Processessed foods, hard and soft drinks, fruit and marine products, cosmetics and personalcare, office stationary and accessories, fabrics and garments, white goods and other durables, electrical appliances and equipments, entertainment and other electronics, shoes and leather ware, gems and jewellery, toys and sports goods, chemicals and fertilizers. Due to lower manufacturing costs, India is fast becoming a preferred hub for packaging production. The Indian packaging industry has made a mark with its exports that comprise flattened cans, printed sheets and components, crown cork, lug caps, plastic film laminates, craft paper, paper board and packaging machinery, while the imports include tinplate, coating and lining compounds and others. In India, the fastest growing packaging segments are laminates and flexible packaging, especially PET and woven sacks.
The market size for packaging materials & systems for food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, toiletries, Ind. products, textiles, handicrafts, etc. accounts for 4%, while rigid & semi-rigid plastic containers is about 9%.The metal and tin containers accounts for 10%, glass containers 10% , corrugated board & boxes 23%, paper & paper board 36% and other ancillary materials like tapes straps, labels, adhesives, etc. - 8%.
Upgradation, both of functionality and aesthetics, characterizes the recent trends in the industry. Elaborate and more expensive packaging is penetrating deeper into marketing of industrial products and even agro-based products, like food and personalcare products, drugs and pharmaceuticals, consumer durables and electronic products, especially entertainment products.
Packaging market size in India is about Rs 65,000 crore is growing at the rate of 15 per cent per annum. Currently rigid packaging enjoys more than 65% market share but the traditional rigid packaging users are migrating to flexible packaging in a big way.Market size of PET/BOPP and other flexible film-based manufacturing segment is estimated at around Rs 25 billion. The cost impact of PET film and BOPP film on the overall packaging cost ranges from 35-85% depending on the product to be packaged. The main players are Paper Products, Akar Group, Orient Press, India Foils, RT Packaging and Mukund Flex Pack. Akar Group consists of Akar Laminations, Sharp Industries and Vishnu Vijay Packagers. The overall growth rate of the industry has tapered off to around 9%. The flexible packaging industry is expected to grow at about 10-15% per annum in the coming years. The laminated products are growing at around 30% p.a. There are about 600-700 packaging machinery manufacturers, 95% of which are in the small and medium sector located all over India.
The top packaging companies of India includes Parksons Packaging System , ITC Limited , Hindalco , Tata Tinplate Company of India , Moldtek Technologies Limited , Gujarat Glass Ltd , Advance Packaging , AMAC Plastic Packaging, E C Packaging Pvt. Ltd, The Paper Products Limited.etc.
The large and fast growing Indian middle class population and the growth of organized retail sector are the catalysts to growth in packaging. Packaging of essential products like food, beverage, milk, vegetable, food grains and pharma are the key driving segments because of the huge domestic consumption.