Pack-Man’s Mid-April Packaging Punditry

Bambrew develops recycled paper
Pack-Man loves all things recycled.

That’s why Pack-Man loves what Bengaluru-based start-up Bambrew has developed. A unique recycled paper which has better strength by infusing cotton fabric.

Pack-Man was awestruck to know the strength of the paper has been increased at least six times, and can be recycled more than once.

Q: What are the applications?
A: Well, Bambrew uses its proprietary technology to provide alternatives to eCommerce mailer bags, food packaging in the F&B industry, pouches and foldable cartons in the FMCG industry and PVC in the pharmaceutical industry.

Mother Dairy launches 15 products for summer
Pack-Man loves ice creams. And Mother Dairy has unleashed more than ten of them.

In addition, Mother Dairy’s F&V arm will present 15 new products for the summer season of the year. It includes ready-to-eat (RTE) custard, two cold-coffees.

Pack-Man is ready to beat the summer heat with a nice cool treat!

Summer delight from Mother Dairy: custard, cold coffees and ice-creams

Camp for pushing Campa
Pack-Man has been watching the return of Campa (in its transformed avatar) with bated breath.

The popular brand from the 1970s and 1980s (Pack-Man’s mum and dad’s generation), has been launched in cola, lemon and orange flavours. 

Reliance Consumer Products is planning a campaign with Kali Aerated Water Works about manufacturing and distribution partnership to push the sales of Campa

You want chai, Bhai?
Sri Lanka’s challenges in the tea production segment in 2022, has resulted in a rise in export of tea from India. To spur the demand for tea, India will have to make tweaks in the tea production process without compromising on the quality. 

A tiny tea tip from Pack-Man. Put used tea leaves in the soil around the plants in your balcony or compound, then add mulch and water. This may benefit the plants. However, take care to ensure that the used tea leaves are sugar-free.

Indians binge on snack
Despite inflation hitting Indian consumers, they are binge spending on snacks as usual.

Pack-Man spotted a report by Mondelez on the State of Snacking: India Report. It says nearly 76% of consumers claimed that they snack twice a day. Around three quarters of people said that they make a meal out of snacks at least weekly.

Pack-Man notices that the consumers' response is driven by the fact that snacks are the easiest of the meals and more convenient to grab than a full meal. The report said that 42% of Indian consumers have a snack before breakfast compared to 24% globally.

Pack-Man has been busy (I know we told you that already). But according to  a snacking report by Godrej in November 2022, “Data highlights that the recall for frozen snacks, both veg and non-veg, is catching up fast. The recall of this category is not very far away from the regular or standard Indian snacks. While the recall of veg frozen snacks was more than 60%, the nonveg category got a response from more than 50% Indians.”

FMCG volume growth was subdued
Meanwhile Pack-Man was talking to some kirana-store owners in Mulund and Chinchpokli. They said, the sales of daily essentials, groceries and home and personal care items grew 8% in the year ended 31 March.

Growth in FMCG segment in February 2023 post-Covid has recorded inflation

While that of electronic products surged 25% (Pack-Man corroborated this with our colleagues from Stuff). This means a gradual recovery in the last quarter after a flat growth in the initial few months of the financial year.