| 105Market Focus: India India market: growing under pressureAlthough not without its challenges, 2022 marked a fresh start and growth for the Indian label industry. Akanksha Meena reports he Indian label industry faced “Customization of packaging or labels has several challenges during the TCovid-19 pandemic. been in demand. Consumers are getting The supply chain and logistics industry was under heavy pressure due to travel sophisticated in their demands from brands”limitations and a shortage of resources. The hit on the logistics industry impacted the manufacturers reported multiple sales. the challenges in the early part of 2022 supply of raw materials. The number of labelstock manufacturers including paper shortages, and material The prices of paper, chemicals, adhesives, in India has grown and are exhibiting at unavailability, the industry bounced back metal and other products shot up Labelexpo in bigger numbers - another well. Customization of packaging or labels signifcantly. The Finnish paper mill strike indication of the positive growth of India’s has been in demand. Consumers are also impacted the availability of labelstock label industry,’ Sahni says. getting sophisticated in their demands in India. from brands. Embellishments on product Subsequently, margins thinned for Indian Quality gains momentum packaging, the use of AR/VR and more label converters. Though value chains Labels and fexible packaging were one of importantly sustainable package design are remain under cost pressure, with mitigating the few print segments to show growth highlighted throughout product campaigns measures taken by governments across during the pandemic, particularly with and packaging.’ geographies, a cooldown of prices is visible the rise in e-commerce and the need for Rahul Kapur, director, J K Labels and further reduction is expected. high-quality packaged food. comments that 2022 saw a large number of Despite the diffculties, the Indian label Pankaj Poddar, group CEO, Cosmo new startup companies in sectors such as industry found steady ground in 2022. First, adds: ‘Despite disruptions due to food, beverage and personal care. the pandemic, the overall demand for The biggest dissimilarity between the New trends emerging fexible packaging and the label industry new startups from the age-old businesses Harveer Sahni, chairman of Weldon increased because of the burgeoning need is the curiosity for learning. The new Celloplast, says that once the after-effects for packaged goods and personal hygiene generation frms are keen on understanding of the pandemic tapered off, the Indian products for home consumption. product options, applications and benefts. label industry exhibited its resilience in There was a spurt in the demand Brand owners’ priority has refreshingly full measure. for labels used for disinfectants and shifted from product price points to new Printers were back to work. Investments sanitizers while the labels used for the product offerings and brainstorming new in label presses were being made. A new beverage industry registered a decline. ideas, he mentions. trend emerged – faith in Indian label presses After lockdown restrictions were lifted, Brands are also driving innovation in the reached new levels. the industry bounced back quickly. Indian label industry.‘While the top-end printing companies With businesses having resumed regular For instance, as the need for serialization still opted for international brands, the operations, most brand owners are and extended attributes grows, along with middle or upper middle segment reported a recording higher demand for niche labeling demands for item-specifc information, the fair amount of installations of Indian-made products such as touchless transactions, encoding of variable data will continue to label presses,’ says Sahni. smart labels and social distancing labels.’. grow, Poddar says. He continues: ‘The Indian press New brand owners are demanding Machine-readable marking incorporating manufacturers have been turning out high-quality innovative packaging to elements such as augmented reality and better quality equipment. The market has compete with established brands. The need the Internet of Things (IoT) will also grow. shown defnite signs of boisterous growth for quality products has contributed to the Sustainability continues to hold despite margins being under pressure. Flexo recovery and growth of the label industry in center stage. printing continues to be the predominant the post-pandemic period. For the labeling industry, this means technology but digital is picking up fast and Factors including high economic building sustainable and biodegradable installations are being reported.’ growth in emerging economies, increasing labels using recyclable materials. The trend was also observed during disposable incomes and rising health Poddar points out that the Plastic Labelexpo India 2022, which made a return consciousness are driving demand for Waste Management (Second to the region. packaged food and beverage items. Amendment) Rules, 2022, published ‘The industry gave a defnite thumbs In turn, this has increased the need by the Central Government, include up to physical exhibitions as it returned for printed labels and technological new recommendations for creating a to shows in substantial numbers, specially improvements to create unique, circular economy.Labelexpo India 2022. Surprisingly, except top-quality labels. for one Chinese fexo press, there were Bhaumik Mehta, director, Flueron Inks, Turn to page 81 to read more from no other international brand presses says: ‘Flexible printing has seen robust Labelexpo India 2022 displayed live in the show. The Indian press growth in India in the past year. Despite Jan - Mar 2023