The Innopack conference on food and beverage packaging in Gurgaon on 23 and 24 April 2015 was a fairly comprehensive combination of technology update, reality check and self-advertisement. Topics covered included new flexible materials for enhancing shelf life, security considerations in packaging and ‘Emerging Opportunities in Dairy, Fruit and Snacking Products’ a presentation by Debabrata Deb. I will discuss this presentation because it inspired me the most.
Deb essentially presented a survey based on his own travels. He is an inveterate visitor to grocery stores and supermarkets around the country and around the world. His slides first showed the numerous and creative variations of milk products that have already come to Indian markets catering to various target groups and cultural tastes as well as susceptib- ilities. Dahi or yogurt now comes in variations that are both aseptic and extravagant in both price and calories. Slim, Rich, Probiotic, b-Active, masti, A+ Nourish, Natural and Fresh are just some of the catch-words that are enhancing dahi brands and the catch-lines that include Thick Fresh, Rich n’ Fresh and Daily Fresh. The Milky Mist Curd Dahi packs together all the words that are used to describe the same product across geographies.
The milk-based sweet products include fruit yogurts, misti doi and shrikhand. Then come the milk-based drinks including lassi (buttermilk) and masala milk products. Deb followed these with other milk-based products such as cheese spreads, margarine, butter, garlic butter and peanut butter. The milk tour de force was followed by a commentary on various snack foods and the new variations in packaging coming to Indian shelves. Tubes for chocolate plastic containers with in-mold labeling for margarine and butter and transparent plastic for dates.
Deb went on to show the huge opportunities in food and snack foods and to praise and some of the innovative packaging. His conclusions were that there are indeed great opportunities in these segments if looked at with some real thinking. Innovative and new products (a combination of new and traditional tastes and aspirations) with a rethink of the packaging are needed. The new requirements include premium appearance, easy to peel, reclosable, high barrier property, and stackable packaging. Deb also raised the issue of active and intelligent packaging.
