Parksons Packaging is a leading manufacturer of paper-based packaging, headquartered in Mumbai, with nine plants across India and one in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Present in monocartons, litho-laminated cartons, rigid boxes, gable-top cartons, and paper pods for food packaging.
As a gold sponsor of the FoodTekPack Conference, on 11 and 12 December at the Greater Noida Expo, the company presented its ParkPak gable top packaging, and was also the official hydration partner of the event. ParkPak has pioneered end-to-end solutions for gable-top cartons in India for volumes ranging from 120 ml to 5 litres. Characterized by its distinctive gable or house-shaped pitched roof, this recyclable liquid packaging works as a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic containers.
While historically associated with the dairy industry, gable top cartons have evolved into a multi-sector packaging solution. They are ideally suited for liquid food products such as milk, juices, and edible oils, but their utility extends far beyond the kitchen and the home. Remarkably, the format has helped ParkPak to contribute to the premiumization of water, both in North America and in India.
As Dr Ashish Pinto of Nesco in Mumbai revealed at the FoodTekPack conference, “Nesco is an exhibition and hospitality company, and the reason we got into water is that the highest consumed beverage in the world is not milk or juice, but water. Another reason is that we wanted to avoid plastic packaging, of which only 9% is recycled globally, the rest going mainly into landfills.
“For a brand to be born and to establish itself, it has to be eye-catching but also embody an idea that stands out. We are one of the first movers in the market and the only ones to put alkaline water in a box, which medical research indicates is a healthy product.
“The most important thing today is not merely producing a product and dishing it out. It’s no longer 1904 when the Model T Ford was being produced, and everybody had to buy the same product in the same black color. Today, it’s more about what people really want and the product experience, or its connections with their ideas. Look at the motivation or emotion that compels people to buy an Apple iPhone, or as we have developed with Parksons, My Water Box cartons, for healthy alkaline water. The convenient and premium packs are highly decorative – theme-based designs, and QR codes connect consumers to specific experiences. These are experiential and sustainable products.”
Dr Pinto explained that over 10% of Nesco’s 190 wedding clients annually, and global corporates who organize large company events are insistent that we totally avoid plastic. Answering a question about the carbon footprint of My Water Box, he said from a direct emissions perspective, it represents one-tenth of the carbon emissions compared to a PET bottle, since it is 98% biodegradable and 100% recyclable. Additionally, improved logistics and storage provide secondary carbon emission benefits.
Shrikanth Ramamurthy of Parksons said, “While sustainability is a key factor for new brands, there is also a cost factor. We are looking at reducing materials and making our packaging more easily recyclable. Although the focus of the Parksons liquid packaging business is on the integrity and the convenience of the product, we have invested heavily in R&D, and we are working on improving and lightweighting the structure and increasing its sustainability.”
The structural design of gable top cartons is highly functional – lightweight yet sturdy, providing excellent protection for the contents while remaining easy for consumers to handle, store, and pour. Apart from bridging the gap between convenience and environmental responsibility, Parksons and Nesco are helping to redefine the premiumization of seemingly ordinary products such as water in the Indian and global markets.
