Opportunities Galore In
Packaging
Industry

H
istory of packaging is as old as
trading of commodities. Earliest
packaging of products was done with
natural materials. However, with passage of
time and development of technologies
significant improvements were introduced in
packaging also. Some eatables such as chocolate which is a perishable commodity
specialized packaging is needed. At present packaging of chocolates is done with a
view not only to ensure preserving quality and ease of handling but also to create
customer preference and to boost business. Chocolate companies in the Indian
market have been found to be using similar packaging material and styles and
some differences exists in colour combinations only.

Packaging can be described as covering the product with one or more suitable
materials for ease in handling, transportation and marketing. Packaging not only
differentiates one brand from another but also, at times, gives a preview of the
product being sold.

In technical words, packaging is defined as ‘the science, art and technology of

enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use.’ Packaging
also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages.

Most of the time, packaging is accompanied with attractive and informative labelling.
A package label is any written, electronic or graphical message on the container of
the packaged product.

The role of packaging continues from the coordinated system of preparing goods to
the end use. Packaging contains, preserves, protects the product during its
 

transport, and informs the customers about the properties of the product during its
sales.

With the passage of time, packaging industry and packaging techniques have
undergone drastic changes. The stress has always been at reducing the after-use
waste, reusing the containers wherever possible and recycling the waste to a
maximum extent possible.

History of packaging

From the very earliest times, humans consumed food where it was found. Families
and villages made or caught what they used. They were also self-sufficient, so there
was little need for packaging of goods, either for storage or for transportation. When
containers were needed, nature provided gourds, shells, and leaves. Later,
containers were fashioned from natural materials, such as hollowed logs, woven
grasses and animal organs. As ores and chemical compounds were discovered,
metals and pottery were developed, leading to other packaging forms.

For each product's needs, there are good packaging solutions. Though packages
are often taken for granted, they are the result of many years of innovation- in some
cases accidental.

Once considered an appendage to the manufacturing value chain and not a core
activity, packaging increasingly is acknowledged as a crucial segment of any
economy in proportion to the growth -- in terms of both technological sophistication
and size -- achieved by that economy. In this respect, its history is similar to that of
sectors like climate control/air-conditioning or painting, whose immense value to any
economy is understood at the popular level only with the march of time.

Types of Packaging

From containers provided by nature to the use of complex materials and processes,
packaging has certainly changed. Various factors contributed to this growth: the
needs and concerns of people, competition in the marketplace, unusual events
(such as wars), shifting lifestyles, as well as discoveries and inventions. Just as no
single cause influenced past development, a variety of forces will be required to
create the packages of the future, but a very important factor will always be
consumer choice. Ultimately, only the packaging that our society demands is
produced. We choose by the products we purchase.

Flexible Packaging

Cloth or paper may be the oldest forms of flexible packaging. Flexible packaging is
the most ‘source-reduced’ form of packaging that means that a flexible package has
the least amount of material compared to other forms of packages that would hold
 

the product. This also means that flexible packaging adds very little weight to the
overall product, and there is very little to discard when the package is empty.

Paper packaging

During the following

centuries, the Chinese also
developed and refined the
techniques of paper-making.
Knowledge of how to make
paper gradually moved west
across Asia and into Europe.

Paper is, basically, a thin

sheet of cellulose. Cellulose
is a fibrous material derived
from plants. Early paper was
made from cellulose fibres
derived from flax, the plant
that also gives fibres for linen cloth. As demand for paper grew, old linen rags were
sought as a source of fibre.

Gradually the process for deriving useful cellulose fibre from wood pulp was
developed. Because wood was so cheap and plentiful, this fibre source rapidly
replaced cloth fibres as the primary source of paper fibre. Today, virtually all paper
has wood pulp as the source of cellulose fibre.

An important step for the use of paper in packaging came with the development of
paper bags. Commercial paper bags were first manufactured in Bristol, England.
Shortly thereafter, Francis Wolle invented the bag-making machine in the United
States.

Cardboard box and Cartons

Another important use of paper in packaging came with the development of

paperboard - the kind of paper that packages a box of cereal. The first paperboard
carton - often called a cardboard box - was produced in England. Another common
form of cardboard based on corrugated paper appeared. Basically, this form of
cardboard is made from thin sheets of paperboard that are moulded into a wavy
shape and then ‘faced’ or sandwiched between two flat sheets of paperboard. The
strength, lightness, and cheapness of this material make it very useful for shipping
and storing. Today, cardboard boxes - more accurately called ‘C-flute corrugated
paperboard cartons’ - are used almost universally for product shipping. The `semi-
flexible packaging’ in the form of folding cartons or ‘tubular cartons’ dominate the
dried, processed food market.
 

Paperboard cartons

The development of flaked cereals advanced the use of paperboard cartons. The
Kellogg brothers were first to use cereal cartons. The Kellogg’s™ operated a
sanatorium at Battle Creek, Michigan. They developed flaked cereals as a health
food for their patients, but soon began marketing this new food product on a mass
scale. Their original packaging was a waxed, heat-sealed bag of Waxtite wrapped
around the outside of a plain box. The outer wrapper was printed with the brand
name and advertising copy. Today, of course, a plastic liner protects cereals and
other products within the printed carton. Some cereal manufacturers have
attempted to sell cereal in flexible pouches, like snack foods. However, U.S.
consumers have only marginally accepted cereals in a pouch only, so we continue
to see a bag-in-box format for cereals.

Paper and paperboard packaging increased in popularity throughout. Then with the
advent of plastics as a significant player in packaging, paper and its related
products were replaced in many uses. Lately that trend has slowed as designers
have tried to respond to the perception that plastic is environmentally unfriendly.
The fact is that decreasing that amount of material in packaging is usually more
important than the composition of the package to get the most environmentally
friendly form of packaging.

Glass Packaging

Glass-making began as an offshoot of

pottery, it was first industrialized in Egypt.
Made from base materials (limestone, soda,
sand and silica), which were in plentiful
supply, all ingredients were simply melted
together and moulded while hot. Since that
early discovery, the mixing process and the
ingredients have changed very little, but the
moulding techniques have progressed
dramatically.

At first, ropes of molten glass were coiled into shapes and fused together. Later
glass was pressed into moulds to make cups and bowls. When the blowpipe was
invented by the Phoenicians, it not only speeded production but also allowed for
round containers. Colours were available from the beginning, but clear, transparent
glass was not discovered until the start of the Christian era.

The split mould further provided for irregular shapes and raised decorations. The
identification of the maker and the product name could then be moulded into the
glass container as it was manufactured. Owens invented the first automatic rotary
bottle-making machine, and patented. With it glass containers of all shapes and
sizes became economically attractive for consumer products, and glass containers
 

dominated the market for liquid products. A typical modern bottle-making machine
automatically produces 20,000 bottles per day.

While other packaging products, such as metals and plastics, were gaining
popularity, packaging in glass tended to be reserved for high value products. As a
type of ‘rigid packaging’, glass has many uses today. High weight, fragility and cost
have reduced the glass markets in favour of metal and plastic containers. Still, for
products that have a high quality image and a desire for high flavour or aroma
protection, glass is an effective packaging material.

Metal Packaging

Ancient boxes and cups, made from silver

and gold, were much too valuable for
common use. Metal did not become a
common packaging material until stronger
alloys, thinner gauges and coatings were
eventually developed.

One of the ‘new metals’ that allowed metal to

be used in packaging was tin. Tin is a
corrosion-resistant metal, and ounce-for-ounce, its value is comparable to silver.
However, tin can be ‘plated’ in very thin layers over cheaper metals, and this
process made it economical for containers.

Tin foil was also made long before aluminium foil. Today many still refer to metal
cans as 'tin cans' and aluminium foil as 'tin foil', a carryover from times well past.

The first cans produced were lead-soldered by hand, leaving a 1 1/2-inch hole in the
top to force in the food. A patch was then soldered in place but a small air hole
remained during the cooking process. Another small drop of solder then closed the
air hole. At this rate, only 60 cans per day could be manufactured.

The invention of cans also required the invention of the can opener. Initially, a
hammer and chisel was the only method of opening cans. Then the key wind metal
tear-strip was developed. Nine years later the can opener was invented. Further
developments modernized the mechanism and added electricity, but the can opener
has remained the most efficient method of retrieving the contents of a can, for more
than 100 years. The pop top/tear tab can lid appeared during the last century and
now tear tapes that open and reseal are popular.

Collapsible, soft metal tubes, known as "flexible packaging," were first used for
artist’s paints. Toothpaste was invented and started to appear in collapsible metal
tubes. Food products really did not make use of this packaging form until the
 

second half of the last century. Later, aluminium was changed to plastic for such
food items as sandwich pastes, cake icings and pudding toppings.

Plastic Packaging

Plastic is the newest packaging material in comparison with metal, glass, and
paper. Initially most plastics were reserved for military and wartime use. Plastics
have become very important material and a wide variety of plastics has been
developed over the past 170 years.

One of the most commonly used plastics is ‘polyethylene terephthalate’ (PET). This
material only became available for containers during the last two decades with its
use for beverages entering the market in 1977. By 1980, foods and other hot-fill
products such as jams could also be packaged in PET. Presently low density
polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are among the most
frequently used packaging materials for the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG).

Of late, packaging designs are beginning to incorporate recyclable and recycled

plastics but the search for reuse functions continues.

It now seems obvious that product containers will bear the identification of the
maker alongside pictures, nutritional information, ingredients, etc. However, this
seemingly obvious feature of packaging has its own history.

Categories of packaging

Human needs to consume a product are plentiful and so are the packaging types.
For example – there is transport package or distribution package which is the
package form used to ship, store, and handle the product or inner packages. There
is consumer package, which is directed towards a consumer or household. In
relation of the product type being packed, there is medical device packaging, bulk
chemical packaging, over-the-counter packaging, retail food packaging, military
materiel packaging, pharmaceutical packaging etc.

Those who handle the product along the way need different labelling and packaging
than the final user. For the ease of categorisation, packaging is now categorised on
the basis of layers, that is, primary, secondary and tertiary.

Primary packaging

Primary packaging contains the smallest quantity of a product for final sale or use. It
is the package, which is in direct contact with the contents. The primary packaging
that contains the product not only catches the customers’ attention, but also creates
a desire to buy the product and inspire the customers’ confidence to buy the product
 

repeatedly. The customer should feel a sense of satisfaction right from the feel of
packaging. Primary packaging aims mainly at marketing purposes.

The point to be taken special care of while designing the primary package is to use
descriptive titles for the product - not necessarily creative. Many people go into a
retail store looking for a product, but do not necessarily have a specific product in
mind. You need to communicate your function and benefits to them quickly and
effectively. Graphics and slogans on the package should reflect the functionality of
the product.

Secondary packaging

It is the packaging outside primary packaging – usually used to group primary

packages together. For example, the family packs of the chocolates available in
super markets, decorated carton or gift box are common examples. Secondary
packaging, sometimes, is also called intermediate packaging.

Since not all products use intermediate packaging, the following factors can be used
to determine when intermediate packaging is needed:
• how the product will be distributed,
• how the product will be merchandised,
• whether the finished products will be sold in kits.

Tertiary packaging

It is used for bulk handling, stockroom storage and transport shipping. It is the outer
most level of packaging. Generally, other packages are shipped\transported with
them, and they are designed to withstand normal transportation stresses. The
corrugated, brown carton is the most familiar example of tertiary packaging.
 

Aim/Purpose of packaging

Packaging of products is done for several purposes:

Physical protection

The objects enclosed in the package require protection from various damages they
may get, like shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc.

Barrier protection

A barrier from oxygen, water vapour, dust, etc. is often required. Permeation is a
critical factor in design of the packages. Some packages contain desiccants or
Oxygen absorbers to help extend shelf life. Modified atmospheres or controlled
atmospheres are also maintained in some food packages. Keeping the contents
clean, fresh and safe for the intended shelf life is the primary function.

Containment or agglomeration

Small objects are typically grouped together in one package for reasons of
efficiency. For example, a single box of 100 chocolates requires less physical
handling than 100 single chocolates.

Information transmission

Packages and labels communicate how to use, transport, recycle, or dispose of the
package or product. With pharmaceuticals, food, medical, and chemical products,
some types of information are required by governments.

Marketing

Packaging is used by marketers to encourage potential buyers to purchase the

product. Package design has been an important and constantly evolving
 

phenomenon for several decades. Marketing communications and graphic design

are applied to the surface of the package and (in many cases) the point of sale
display.

Security

Packaging plays an important role in reducing the security risks of shipment. Some
packages are made with improved tamper resistance to deter tampering and have
tamper-evident features to help indicate tampering. Packages are sometimes
engineered to help reduce the risks of package pilferage: Some package
constructions are more resistant to pilferage and some have pilfer indicating seals.
Packages may include authentication seals to help indicate that the package and
contents are not counterfeit. Packages, also, can include anti-theft devices, such as
dye-packs, RFID tags, or electronic article surveillance tags, that can be activated
or detected by devices at exit points and require specialized tools to deactivate.
Using packaging in this way is a means of preventing damage\tampering to the
products.

Convenience

Packages can have features, which add convenience in distribution, handling,

stacking, display, sale, opening, reclosing, use, and reuse.

Portion control

Single serving or single dosage packaging has a precise amount of contents to

control usage. Bulk commodities (such as salt) can be divided into packages that
are a more suitable size for individual households. It also aids the control of
inventory: selling sealed one-litre-bottles of milk, rather than having people bring
their own bottles to fill themselves.

General Packaging strategies

There are several aspects looked upon before developing a packaging strategy.
Basically, the traditional three R’s of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle are considered in
product and package development. A recent trend has had a great influence on the
way packaging is done. The emphasis is now on packaging methods, which not
only make the package entirely biodegradable but the left over product contents
biodegradable too.

With the widespread awareness of environmental management, development of

sustainable packaging has become an area of keen interest. Standards’
Organizations, Governments, Consumers, Packagers and Retailers all prefer
packaging which is handy and easy to ‘wrap off’.
 

Whhether it is primary,
p seccondary or te ertiary categ
gory, while developing
d a package,
the
e ‘waste hierrarchy’ is folllowed. The waste hiera archy focuse
es on six majjor aspects
– prevention, minimizatio on, re-use, recycling, energy
e reco
overy and disposal.
d It
meeans that packaging wasste must be prevented, and if not po ossible then
n it must be
min
nimized, ma ade re-useab ble, recycled
d, used for recovery off energy, annd finally if
the
ese steps aree also not ap pplicable, then it must bee disposed o
off.

evention
Pre
Waaste preventtion is a prim
mary goal. P
Packaging shhould be used only whe en needed.
Thee orientation
n is to deve
elop package es which lea
ave, after usse, as little residue as
posssible. Propper packaging can also help prevvent waste. Packaging g plays an
imp
portant part in preventinng loss or damage to thhe packaged d product. Usually,
U the
eneergy contentt and material usage of the product being packaaged are mu uch greater
tha
an that of the
e package.

Min nimization
It iss also knowwn as source e reduction. The mass and
a volume of packagin ng (per unit
of contents)
c ca
an be measu ured and useed as one off the criteria to minimize
e during the
pacckage design process. Usually
U ‘redu
uced’ packa
aging also he elps to minim
mize costs.
Reduced packa aging is a go
oal which paackaging enggineers are striving
s to ac
chieve.

e-use
Re
The
e re-use of a package or
o componen
nt for other purposes is encouraged
d. This sort

of packaging has long beenb useful (and econ nomically viable) for cllosed loop
gistics system
log ms. Inspectio
on, cleaning
g, repair and recoup rage
e are often needed.
n
 

Recycling
It is the reprocessing of materials (pre- and post-consumer) into new products.
Emphasis is focused on recycling the largest primary components of a package:
steel, aluminum, papers, plastics, etc. Small components can also be chosen which
are not difficult to separate and do not contaminate recycling operations.

Energy recovery
There are methods like ‘Waste-to-Energy’ and ‘Refuse-Derived Fuel which make it
possible to utilize the energy available from the packaging components in the form
of heat.

Disposal
Incineration and placement in a sanitary landfill are needed for some materials.
Material content should be checked for potential hazards to emissions and ash from
incineration and leachate from landfill. Packages should not be littered.
 

Packaging of Chocolates

There is a lot of potential in Indian chocolate packaging industry; in fact, packaging

plays a tremendous role in the success of a chocolate brand. Packaging not only
signifies the quality of brand, but is also used as an important and intelligent
marketing tool.

Moreover, a layman buying a chocolate from market will always tend to buy a
chocolate, which has eye-catching packaging and will be attracted towards a
chocolate brand, which has packaging suited to the special occasions. For example,
gift packages on festivals such as Diwali, Holi ‘Raksha-bandhan’ etc. Packaging has
had a hypnotising effect on customers.

Packaging is only one of the important components influencing the sale of chocolate
or any other product for that matter.

Materials and techniques of packaging chocolates

The material used for primary packaging of chocolate is HDPE. However, in some
chocolates of leading companies of the country, thin aluminium foil is also used as
primary packaging.

The material used for secondary packaging is thin paper cardboards. These
packages display the brand name, logo etc. and all the marketing information
necessary for the buyers.

The material used for the tertiary packaging is corrugated thick brown coloured
cardboard.

Automatic flow-wrapping line

 

(A horizontal flow-wrapping machine, fillers, product feeding and automatic

loading system)

With the availablity of computerized and mechanized robotic systems, the

incrediblity of food packaging techniques have reached to a point of automation.

The most widely used and the most accepted technique of packaging is the
horizontal flow wrapping machines, fillers, product feeding and automatic loading
systems. In this system, the product is provided to the machine as input from one
end and it is then recieved in packaged form as an output from the other end. This
system enables packaging of twelve hundred chocolate bars per minute.
 

This system ofo robotic machines pro ovides very high producctivity. Exammple is the
succcess of co ompanies ‘CCAMA grou up’ and ‘SP PS Italiana Pack Syste ems (PFM
grooup)’. Their turnovern has
h more than tripled in n just three yyears The use
u of such
tecchniques andd automatic robotic macchines has th
he following features:

• These machines
m arre automaticc, so there is
s no scope of
o faulty pack
kaging.
• There iss continuouss flow, which
h makes pacckaging veryy speedy.
• The thrroughput is very
v high.
• Packagging is uniforrm and attracctive/beautifful.
• There iss simultaneoous primary and second dary packaging.

Hoowever, sincce the syste em is a ressult of high-tech engin

neered proce
esses, the
insstallation cosst of such a system
s could
d be very hig
gh.

Thee concept off packaging started with h need to

maaintain the cleanliness
c of the prodduct and
easse of han ndling during transpo ort and
reta
ailing. During the course e of time, paackaging
hass evolved into a full-fledged scien nce and
art. Besides the e original utility purpose
es now, it
serrves the purposes of attracting
a cu
ustomers
andd fulfilling mandatory
m obbligations. Packages
are
e designed beautifully in multiple e colour
commbinations to t suit custom mer preferen nce; and
at the same e time info ormation re egarding
conntents, batch h
no.., dates of manufacturre and exp piry, and
MRRP (maximum m retail price
e) is provide
ed on the
pacckaging.
 

Companies are using their signature logo on their packaging in a uniform and
consistent manner. This stimulates a memory of the previous taste of the product in
the mind of the customer while choosing a particular brand of any of these
companies. The slot created by the company for itself through advertisements is
also reminded by the peculiar logo style of the respective company.

Dual primary packaging consisting of inner aluminium foil and outer paper cover
provides an extra sense of sanitation to the customer and preserves the aroma and
texture of the product chocolate better.

Unique kind of packaging like those used for certain brands of chocolate is used
specially to attraction children.

A survey of the packaging styles of the three major companies shows that invariably
packaging of all the products is thermally sealed which has to be torn off by teeth.
Although these products are targeted for children, none of the packaging has a
provision for safe, convenient and sanitary way of opening. It is surprising that such
provisions exist for opening cigarette packets but not for chocolates.

Packaging plays an important role in cultivating favourable customer response for

marketing various chocolate brands.

It was found that the chocolate manufacturing companies in Indian market use more
or less similar packaging material and style for their products. However, some
variations in colour combinations and patterns exist among the packages of
different companies. In the absence of marked differences in packaging material
and style of these companies, it may be inferred that the difference in sales of the
products of these companies is due to factors other than packaging.

Sale of chocolates can be further boosted with the following modifications in their
packaging:

• Attempt should be made to make chocolate packaging more user friendly.

• Attempt should be made to make chocolate packaging more environment

friendly.

• There must be an appropriate provision made for opening the seal of the
chocolate packages.
 

Conclusion

All major indus stries create wealth but iif there is on

ne industry th
hat plays a unique
u role
by way of both h creation off wealth thro
ough a wide e range of mmanufacturing activities
andd also by wayw of prese erving the wealth
w or vallue created by many, many
m other
ind
dustries, it is packaging.

Tod day, packag ging in Indiaa is estimated to acco ount for a tu urnover of Rs 15,000
croores, and its linkages are
e extensive and
a highly employment-
e -creating. Onn one side,
it in
nvolves man nufacture (an
nd sometime es import) of a wide ran nge of packin ng material
- paper,
p paperrboard, carddboard, a ra
ange of polyymer produccts including g rigid and
flexxible packagging materia
al, aluminium
m foil, tin andd good old wood
w and steel.
s Other
bacckward linka ages of pac ckaging inclu
uding printinng, labeling and binding/adhesive
tappes. Of course, mach hinery for making/proc
m cessing thesse productss and for
paccking/packag ging is anoth
her segmentt closely linkked to this industry.

For further deta

ails and guid ollowing institute can be contacted:
dance the fo

Ind
dian Institutte of Packag ging - Mumbai
E-2
2, MIDC Are ea, Andheri (E),
( Mumbai 93
Tell: 28219803, 28219469, 28216751.
Emmail: iip@iip-in.com
Weebsite: http:///www.iip-in.ccom

Zulfiquar Hadi,
Amity Schhool of Busin
ness,
Amity Univversity
Sector - 12
25, NOIDA
Uttar Prad
desh – 20130 01, India
E mail: zulfiquarhadi@homail.com

Note: The author has

h used various
s references in th
he preparation off this article. For further details pllease contact
him.