COVID-19 has hugely influenced the packaging industry in a profitable way. Since hygiene and contact-free services in every business became a priority, it changed the face of how industries package their products. Some of the best examples are double plastic covers, hand pumps, touch-free product designs, etc.

The newer designs and innovations in every product, from consumables to daily essentials, and others have impacted packaging manufacturers in India. While online markets flourished at an extremely rapid pace, ecommerce in 2020 was projected to increase 27% CAGR from 2017. The pandemic continues to boost this rising graph, taking it upward. Hence this value is expected to reach around $200 billion by 2026. In a nutshell, lockdown has proven to change the consumer preferences towards the online market, mainly due to the packaging impact and the growth in courier & shipment services.

Packaging Industry Forecast

Compared to the previous decade, 2020 has been a testimonial to a new concept entirely in the industry – flexible packaging. In fact, the top packaging companies in India began to explore different vertices of packaging to enhance the consumer experience and take feedback. Reviewing these arenas, the industry is estimated to build a billion dollar market in the future.

In 2019, it was predicted that the packaging industry in India will grow at a rate of 18% year on year, with rigid packing at 15% and flexible packing at 25%. However, in 2020, it observed a much-much higher percentage in various sectors like medical & pharmaceutical products, food and consumable products, hygiene products and daily essentials like toiletries.

Here a some key insights:

• While digital became means to entertainment, media and information sharing during the lockdown, still around 50% of the paper produced in the country was consumed for packing.

• Few sectors such as food & beverages, pharmaceuticals and currently COVID-19 care items such as masks, sanitizers, etc. continue to boost the market despite lockdown and unlock situations. Thus they saw huge investments in a couple of years creating scope for the industry to expand its spectrum in the markets.

• To build India’s potential in the International export market in conjunction with the packing industry, the government of India has asked the PIAI (Packaging Industry Association of India) to draw guidelines & policies for it.

Scope & Trends

Today the packaging industry in India is primarily managed and driven by technological advancements, new-age trends and a wide range of logistical applications. These were studied as per end user requirements and are adapted accordingly.

Some of the key trends studied and adopted were as follows:

1. The food packing and delivery sector switched to innovative packaging approaches. Eco-friendly product packaging boxes, bottles and others with educating content & marketing helped several brands to support the pandemic guidelines.

1. Organic products with plastic, foil paper packages and delivery facilities improved per capita income and generated employment, especially for working women.

Grocery entered the online & ecommerce markets and helped several companies like flipkart, amazon, big basket, Grofers, etc. to expand their services. Thus, elevating their sales; benefitting the package industry to another level.