Endowed with some remarkable qualities, corrugated packaging has evolved to become one of the most versatile modes of contemporary packaging. While protecting the products packed within, it facilitates safe transportation of products across long distances, boundaries and oceans. It is reusable, recyclable and stands out as one of the most eco-friendly types of packaging. The emergence of retailready packages that are primarily corrugated is changing the perception of goods manufacturers — driven by a growing retail industry demanding well made, attractive and convenient secondary packaging thatis also shelf-ready.
Design is playing an increasingly important role in the development of corrugated products since it can considerably enhance the value of the contents. It is no mystery now that with so many goods stocked on the shelves of supermarkets, the design of the outer box plays a decisive role. The recent FCBM Corpack 2013 conference in Chennairevealed the significant progress made by corrugators and packaging designers in India. Having started from the humble state of the brown box, multi-colour easy-to-handle packaging using litholaminated corrugated board has high shelf impact. Innovative locking and closure systems makes this packaging easy to open and instantly shelf-ready.
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Among the few presentations that successfully demonstrated the new wave of design, glamour and value quotient, Packers Products was one of the stars of the Chennai show. Besides bagging three Corru-Star awards this year, Packers Products has won many more over the years from 1979 to 2011. Amit Chaudhry, the director of Packers Products was
one of the speakers at the conference and showcased a few of his products to an appreciative audience.
Packers Products was the first corrugation plant in Delhi in 1959. The company dealt with the typical brown box corrugation in those years establishing a solid profile of clients in and around the city. Amit Chaudhry says that after 1995,the company decided to get into colour boxes and designing as he felt the market dynamic changing towards increased demand for colour and branding. The market itself ordered a change in thinking for growth to a sustainable business model.
Designer boxes were a niche concept at that time and the evolving retail market demanded new products from the manufacturers. Chaudhry says that the emergence of supermarkets in India accelerated the growth of designer retail boxes and there was no looking back for them. By 1997 Packers Products was associated with Perfetti, Adidas, and Pepsi.
Shelf-ready packs and point-of-presence (POP) products and displays are something which are in great demand and the goods manufacturers have realized that packaging design is the final frontier and consumer needs have to be addressed. As a result, box designers have one of the most crucial jobs at this moment, feels Chaudhry, because without the correct design any good product can face the risk of being overlooked by consumers. With a total staff of around seventy, and all operations in-house and under one roof, Chaudhry says, “It is very essential that there is a perfect synchronization between the client and the designer.”
The various marketing schemes of the manufacturers of the products such as reruns or offering freebies require designers to think out of the box, and Chaudhry says that it is essential that the correct ideas reflect on the design of the box and the right message that the manufacturer wants to is put through to the consumer. “A very clear brief is needed from my customer to help us hit the bulls eye,” says Chaudhry. With a year-on-year growth of 20 to 25%, Chaudhry takes great pleasure in recognition by the industry through its awards and accolades. “Innovation, clear and stand out designs along with shelf-ready themes are the unique selling propositions of Packers Products,” Chaudhry says.
In the corrugation industry ,there are not many designers at work and this is mostly because designing is a very time consuming and laborious process which needs special skills and creativity. Most of the brown box corrugators keep a count of how much they convert at the end of the day. However, Chaudhry says that volumes are never a priority or worry for his company because the skill-sets involved and the quality and output index are completely different for its performance. The corrugation industry needs to be ready to be adaptive to changes and flexible for the future. Shelf-ready packs and boxes are the themes for the moment and the future. However, with shelf spaces getting smaller and more expensive, the corrugated industry has to produce something which justifies the cost target of a manufacturer with the ultimate goal to help it sell products quickly and profitably.
