He said that Indian packaging equipment and material manufacturers are getting sophisticated and as they gradually reach a desired level of maturity, they could find the US market to be a huge area of opportunity. The Pack Expo International will see strong representation from food, beverage and personal care segments, he said. The show will be co-located with Pharma Expo.
Although the packaging market in US is dominated to a large extent by rigid packaging, according to Izquierdo, there is a clear trend that flexible packaging is starting to acquire greater share. The shift is underway mainly because consumers are now looking for convenience and added value. “Since there are some really good Indian companies offering flexible packaging solutions, this trend could provide them with new business opportunities.”
Izquierdo stated that PMMI has started to move some processing equipment manufacturers from Pack Expo to ProFood Tech. The ProFood Tech, powered by Pack Expo, Anuga and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), brings together the biggest names in processing industry.
“As processing equipment manufacturers shift to ProFood Tech, we will look to rope in more entities from packaging technologies space as well as flexible packaging, track and trace, and digital printing,” he said.
Finally, expressing his view about the India packaging industry, Izquierdo said that India has the right kind of ingredients needed for growth in packaging consumptions. “Favorable demographics, rising income and developed distribution network are three main factors that drive growth in packaging consumption. The first two factors are very much present in India. I believe distribution network too will gradually improve. Once that happens you will see an explosive growth in per capita packaging consumption in the country.”
