Increased costs are major concerns for food and beverage packaging
“The greatest concerns today in food and beverage packaging is managing the increasing cost challenges across the supply chain due to packing material and involved processes” says Bimal Lakhotia (national head packaging development and commercialisation, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages).
“An effective collaboration between F&B manufacturer and service providers/vendors will definitely help in eliminating various ‘non-value add cost elements’ from the chain. The model is effectively followed by automobile major. Further same will also facilitate new advancements in technology, application of best practices for a bigger benefit.”
“The latest trends in flexibles and rigids would be in active and intelligent packaging with sustainability focus,” comments Prof CS Purushothaman (chair professor and director, SIES School of Packaging). “Some of them are in flexible edible films, life extending packs with imbedded nano materials, oxygen and ethylene oxide scavengers as packaging components. In rigids there may not be so much push as sustainability is the word of the day. Hence keeping the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) in mind, flexibles will be preferred.”
Both Mr Lakhotia and Prof Purushothaman will be sharing their views at the InnoPack F&B 2013 conference taking place from 27-28 February at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Gurgaon, India.
Eminent speakers at InnoPack F&B 2013 include Prabuddha Dasgupta (ex group leader packaging development-foods, Hindustan Unilever); Sameer Mehendale (associate vice president packaging development, Mondelez); Barun Banerjee (corporate packaging manager SAR, Nestle); Vaibhav Tandon (vice president packaging development, Pepsico); Vince Voron (associate vice president and head of design, Coca-Cola); Ainain Shahidi (general manager worker and corporate head-packaging strategy, Sahara Q Shop); BK Karna (deputy director and campus head, Indian Institute of Packaging Hyderabad); and further industry experts at the centre stage of development of innovative packaging solutions globally.
Issues being addressed at the conference cover the regulatory landscape, minimising migration in food, enhancing packaging shelf-life, cost reduction strategies and global innovations in flexibles and rigids.
Over 100 industry experts will be gathering from leading companies including Pepsico, Kraft Foods, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Sahara. Corporate partners include USP Packaging Solutions, SMI Coated Products, Ishida India, Bosch India and Karomi Technology.