Nov 10, 20202 min read

Covid-19: Creating Opportunity For Packaged Food Industry In India

The coronavirus pandemic changed the way everything works, and the consequent unlock phases have observed a noticeable shift in the buying behaviour of consumers. Seeing this, the Government of India is coming up with beneficial policies to encourage recyclability and sustainability in the packaged good industry. There is an ongoing public campaign in India towards sustainability and people are actively participating in recycling technologies.

Demand for packaged food products such as bread, biscuits, cakes and other snacking options has seen a major rise. Due to work-from-home practices in many companies, the majority of the consumers are meeting their demands with these food items.

The classification of necessary food items has changed from basic food to snacking and munching items within a few months. Not just that, brands are introducing healthy snacking options as an alternative for the usual fried options for munching.

These packaged food products have come to our rescue for making several dishes at home as many restaurants are closed and people are still sceptical about ordering food from outside. In total, the typical purchase value per customer has risen in this quarter after witnessing a fall in the first three quarters.

With the change in our buying pattern, a key change in lifestyle has been seen towards hygienic living, be it through sanitization, personal hygiene practices, social distancing or buying hygiene conscious products. After observing the change, government and regulatory bodies internationally will also brace the requirements associated with food processing and packaging so as to provide safe food to consumers.

Why prefer packaged food when there is a health crisis?

Presently with barrier nano-coating technology in flexible packaging, the width of the packing material has considerably reduced, which results in utilizing the significantly lesser amount of plastics. Companies have been shifting from conventional rigid packaging such as containers, bottles or duplex cartons to contemporary eco-friendly flexible packaging.

Even the loose-selling items like salt, sugar, flour or other important staples are being shifted to adopt flexible packaging. In developed economies of the US and Europe, there isn’t anything that is sold loose. Hence, our country is in the need of more profound penetration of packaging and better acceptance of packed products.

Furthermore, it has been seen that flexible packaging could easily be recycled. Technologies are allowing the monolayer and multilayer plastics like a combination of polyester, polyethene, metallised layers, and polypropylene to enable recycling. After recycling, the multi-layer plastics could be utilized to make furniture, crates, dividers and even roads. The Indian government is in the course of designing strategies on bio-degradable plastics.

Source: Businessworld