Ken Research report identifies key trends in liquid packaging

According to Ken Research, the Indian liquid packaging market has grown at a CAGR of 7% over the last five years. Due to pent-up demand in the post-Covid era in the end user sectors, the liquid packaging industry also witnessed a steep year-on-year growth of around 20% in FY 22.

The report titled Market Study on India Liquid Packaging Market is characterised by leading players expanding their production capacities aggressively in the past few years. It provides an exhaustive analysis of the liquid packaging market in India. It is expected that in retailing, as trends like drone delivery come into being, Tetra Pak packaging will hold an advantage over glass and tin packaging as their packaging is lighter.

In terms of CO2 emission at the production stage, Tetra Pak cartons are the winner, followed by plastic, then aluminum, and then glass is the worst. The market is expected to witness enhanced use of Tetra Pak over the long term as it is also one of the fastest growing packaging segments. The liquid packaging market has shown a positive CAGR of 7% for the period 2018-2022.

In the flexible packaging market, Tetra Pak is one of the biggest revenue segments in the liquid packaging market. This form of packaging is also one of the fastest growing packaging segments. The end user market, which drives the demand for liquid packaging market includes firms from F&B, pharmacy, liquor, personal care, household care and industrial sector. The glass segment includes major manufacturers for pharmacy, liquor and F&B segment and the share of this segment in the liquid packaging market has been dwindling in recent years.

Glass packaging companies in India have global manufacturing and supply. In India, companies have largely set up manufacturing facilities in Gujarat. The glass segment includes major manufacturers for pharmacy, liquor and F&B segment. However, recycling the glass cullets is becoming a little difficult as most households do not segregate their waste in terms of glass, metal and paper. Ragpickers pick up bottles of glass and plastic, various factors come into play as a glass bottle weighs around 400 gms and a plastic one weighs 40 gms. 

The liquid packaging space is dominated by both global and Indian players. Global players include Tetra Pak and Huhtamaki while Uflex, Essel Propack and Tinplate are the major Indian companies. Along with the Indian players, global players are also setting up manufacturing facilities across India. One such is SIG, a leading system and solutions provider for aseptic packaging. The company has recently announced its entry into the Indian market with Kandhari Beverage as their first customer. Mitsu Chem Plast, a Mumbai-based manufacturer of plastic blow moulded and injection moulded products, is also looking to diversify its portfolio. They are looking to enter with pails for the packaging segment in order to cater to lubricant, paints, ink and the FMCG industry.

Today, there has been a change in packaging material for liquids that were traditionally packaged in glassware. For instance, alcoholic beverages, which are usually packaged in glass, are now slowly moving to PET and tetra packs because of convenience and sustainability reasons. In Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Tetra Pak is emerging as preferred packaging for alcohol. This trend has led to Delhi also selling alcohol in Tetra Pak in cartons