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PACK-IN-MAP SOFTWARE

The published information on MAP has been compiled,

and software called PACK-in-MAP (7) has been developed

to establish which commercially available polymeric ﬁlms

would be most suitable for a particular produce (1, 2). The

user-friendly software, PACK-in-MAP, has been developed

using the Matlab 6.0 program. It incorporates the data-

base for respiration rate, optimum temperature, and

optimum range of O

and CO

concentrations for different

fruits and vegetables and permeability of different packa-

ging materials, including micro-perforated ﬁlms. This

database is helpful in designing MAP for 38 fresh and

fresh-cut products using 27 polymeric ﬁlms and micro-

perforated packages. Some of the database is made ﬂexible

so that users can conﬁgure it to their requirements.

In the Pack-in-MAP software, the user deﬁnes the type

of product, storage conditions, amount of product to be

packed, and size and geometry of the package. The soft-

ware selects the optimum gas composition (O

and CO

)

and calculates the respiration rate for that product. The

software then selects the best possible ﬁlms in the given

range of permeability ratio and calculates the area of

each ﬁlm required to achieve the desired gas exchange.

Alternatively, the user may specify the area available

for gas exchange, and the software calculates the

amount of product that can be suitably packed. It avoids

time-consuming trial-and-error experiments to determine

the best packaging system for the given product (1, 2).

Finally, the software simulates how the package atmo-

sphere (O

and CO

) changes over storage time (Figure 4)

for the given time–temperature proﬁle for the particular

product. The simulated results have been successfully

validated for mushrooms and cheese by conducting packa-

ging experiments under known environmental conditions

for each product.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS OF PACK-IN-MAP SOFTWARE

Features

. Stand-alone user-friendly software for packaging

design

Oxygen

Carbon dioxide

0.05

0.1

0.15

Gas composition (atm)

0.2

0.25

50 100

Time (h)

Gas kinetics in MAP package

150 200

Figure 4. A graphical user interface of

PACK-in-MAP software and kinetics of

gas exchange in MAP.

868 PACKAGING DESIGN SYSTEM FOR FRESH PRODUCE

. Option for user-deﬁned conditions for respiration

and permeability

. Selects the optimal storage conditions for a given

product (O

and CO

)

. Calculates the speciﬁed product respiration rate at

given storage conditions

. Selects the package geometry and calculates product

volume

. Selects the suitable packaging ﬁlm(s) for a given

product

. Deﬁnes the amount of product to be packed

. Calculates the area of the ﬁlm that should be avail-

able for gas exchange

. Simulates the package atmopshere with time in a

graphical form

. Enlists other polymeric ﬁlm(s) suitable for the given

product

. Suggests different packaging options:

. Polymeric ﬁlms with micro-perforations,

. Polymeric ﬁlms with macro-perforation,

. Perforation-mediated packaging systems

. Deﬁnes the optimum size and number of perforations

for a given product

Beneﬁts

. Reduces the cost by minimising the number of trials

per optimal packaging design

. Suggests the best possible packaging ﬁlm to achieve

an optimal atmosphere for a given product

. Simulates the package atmosphere without knowl-

edge of mathematical models, package design, and

modiﬁed atmosphere packaging itself

. Capability of simulating the package at varying

temperature set according to the real-life distribu-

tion chain

. Evaluates the impact of product and package varia-

bility on internal package atmosphere

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. P. V. Mahajan, F. A. R. Oliveira, S. C. Fonseca, M. J. Sousa, and

L. M. Cunha, in Y. H. Hui, ed., Handbook of Food Science,

Technology and Engineering, Taylor & Francis CRC Press,

2006, pp. 1–16.

2. P. V. Mahajan, F. A. R. Oliveira, J. C. Montanez, and J. Frias,

Innovative Food Sci. Emerging Technol. 8(1), 84–92 (2007).

3. P. V. Mahajan, F. A. R. Oliveira, J. C. Montanez, and T. Iqbal,

New Food 1, 35–36 (2008).

4. D. S. Lee, Y. Song, and K. L. Yam, J. Food Eng. 27, 297–310

(1996).

5. T. Iqbal, F. A. R. Oliveira, P. V. Mahajan, J. P. Kerry, L. Gil,

M. C. Manso, and L. M. Cunha, Acta Horticulturae (ISHS) 674,

105–111 (2005).

6. S. C. Fonseca, F. A. R. Oliveira, and J. K. Brecht, J. Food Eng.

52(2), 99–119 (2002).

7. Pack-in-MAP Packaging design web information. Available at

http://www.packinmap.com, accessed October 31, 2008.

PACKAGING FUNCTIONS AND

ENVIRONMENTS

KIT L. YAM

Department of Food Science,

Rutgers University, New

Brunswick, New Jersey

When designing a package, it is useful consider that the

functions of the package and environments the package

will likely encounter during its manufacture, distribution,

and end use. The concept discussed below is applicable to

almost any products; however, food is used as an example

since the concept is very useful to this product.

PACKAGING FUNCTIONS

A food package must serve one or more functions to justify

its existence. Traditionally, food packaging has four basic

functions: protection, convenience, communication, and

containment. A package design may be evaluated based

on how well the package performs the required functions

in a cost-effective manner.

. Protection. Protecting the food from physical da-

mage, physiochemical deterioration, microbial spoi-

lage, and product tampering is probably the most

important function of packaging. Without proper

protection, the food may become unappetizing, less

nutritious, and unsafe to consume.

The required packaging protection depends on

the stability and fragility of the food, the desired

shelf life of the food package, and the distribution

environment. Good package integrity is also re-

quired to protect against loss of hermetic condition

and microbial penetration.

Generally, the protection function of packaging is

limited to foods whose shelf lives are controlled by

environmental factors relating to physical damages,

humidity, oxygen, light, and, to some extent, tem-

perature. Packaging is usually not effective for

protecting foods whose shelf lives are controlled by

internal factors. For example, consider a tuna sand-

wich in which moisture may migrate internally,

from the tuna to the bread, causing the bread to

become soggy and unacceptable to the consumer.

The internal moisture migration is driven by the

difference in water activities between the tuna and

the bread, not by the relative humidity outside the

sandwich. Thus enclosing the sandwich with a

package will not solve the problem; perhaps placing

an edible coating between the tuna and the bread

may provide an acceptable solution.

. Convenience. This is an important function to satisfy

the busy consumer lifestyle. Examples of convenient

food packages are ready-to-eat meals, heat-and-eat

meals, and self-heating packages. Examples of con-

venient features are easy opening, resealability, and

microwavability. Innovations are constantly sought

PACKAGING FUNCTIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS 869

to provide more convenience without sacriﬁcing

quality or increasing cost.

. Communication. The function of communicating is

important to create brand identity and inﬂuence

consumer buying decisions. The package communi-

cates with the consumer through written texts,

brand logo, and graphics. In many countries, nutri-

tional facts such as calories, fat, cholesterol, and

carbohydrate are required on all food packages.

The communication function is also important for

facilitating distribution and retail checkouts. The bar

code has virtually become an integral part of every

commercial food package. Besides the bar code, there

are other package devices, such as time-temperature

indicator and radio-frequency identiﬁcation (RFID),

which enable the package to communicate more

effectively for the purpose of ensuring food quality

and safety. For example, intelligent packaging (1) is a

new technology that pushes the communication func-

tion to a higher level.

. Containment. Containing the food product is the

most basic function of packaging. The requirement

for containment depends on the size, weight, form,

and shape of the enclosed food; for example, a solid

food has different requirements from a liquid food.

The containment function is also closely related to

the rigidity of the package.

PACKAGING ENVIRONMENTS

The package typically functions under three environ-

ments:

. Physical Environment. This environment is con-

cerned with the physical conditions that a package

may encounter during its life cycle. For example, the

package may have to withstand the harsh tempera-

ture/pressure conditions during retorting, as well as

shock and vibration, falls and bumps, crushing from

stacking, and attack from insects and rodents dur-

ing storage and distribution. To protect against

this environment, the package must have adequate

mechanical strength and thermal stability, as well

as other properties depending on the situation.

. Ambient Environment. This environment is con-

cerned with the oxygen, moisture, odors, molds,

bacteria, light, and heat which are ubiquitous dur-

ing storage and distribution. To protect against the

negative impact of the ambient environment, the

package must have an adequate level of barrier

properties depending on the requirements of the

food.

. Human Environment. This complex environment is

concerned with the human aspects of packaging,

such as the user-friendliness, liking/disliking, and

safety of a package to the consumer. Many socio-

economic issues such as the impact of packaging on

the environment, packaging related legislations and

regulations, and packaging related litigations are

largely inﬂuenced by humans. Human perception,

vision, dexterity, and language are also included in

this environment.

Understanding these three environments and the nat-

ure of the food product is important for specifying the

packaging requirements.

Based on the above discussion, Table 1 may be con-

structed to provide an overview of the relationship be-

tween packaging functions and packaging environments.

This table is particularly useful during the early stage

of the package development process for facilitating

brainstorming and identifying key areas for further

consideration.

FUNCTIONS/ENVIRONMENTS TABLE

In Table 1, packaging functions and environments are

arranged in columns and rows. This table is useful for

identifying certain packaging features, operations, de-

vices, or considerations that are important for the package

to function under certain environments.

For many food packaging systems, it is possible to

associate items to most of the cells in Table 1. Although

the selection and interpretation of the cell items involve

somewhat subjective choices, the functions/environments

table helps the product development team to consider all

aspects of the food packaging system in a systematic

manner. Shown below are examples of items that may be

associated with the cells. With some imagination, other

helpful items may also be associated.

. Containment/Physical. The size and type of package

determine how much and what kind of food can be

contained and how much physical abuses the pack-

age can withstand.

. Containment/Ambient. The size and type of package

determine how much and what kind of food can be

contained

and the ability

of the package to protect

Table 1. Functions/Environments Table

Packaging Functions

Containment Protection Convenience Communication

ENVIRONMENTS Physical

Ambient

Human

870 PACKAGING FUNCTIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS

against oxygen, moisture, or light from the ambient

environment.

. Containment/Human. The size and type of package

determine how much and what kind of food can be

contained and ease of use of the package to humans.

. Protection/Physical. Mechanical strength and seal

strength are important for protecting the product

from physical abuses.

. Protection/Ambient. Barrier properties and seal in-

tegrity are important for protecting the food product

from the adverse effects of oxygen, moisture, mi-

crobes, and light in the ambient environment.

. Protection/Human. Tamper-evident packaging is

useful to protect the consumer from product tamper-

ing. Regulations are necessary to protect from un-

safe packages harmful to the consumer.

. Convenience/Physical. Efﬁciently bundled packages

offer convenience to the manufacturer during sto-

rage and distribution.

. Convenience/Ambient. Aseptic packages offer the

convenience of storing food products at ambient

environment instead of refrigerated conditions.

. Convenience/Human. Microwavable packages and

easy-to-open packages offer convenience to the

consumer.

. Communication/Physical. Bar codes can facilitate

communication of information through the physical

distribution of the product in the supply chain.

. Communication/Ambient. Time-temperature indica-

tors and biosensors may be attached to the pack-

age to communicate the conditions of the ambient

environment.

. Communication/Human. Nutrition labels, instruc-

tions, and graphics on the package can provide

useful information to the consumer.

To take a step further, relative values (from 0 to

100) may be assigned to the cells in Figure 1 (2). A

three-dimensional chart may then be generated using the

functions, environments, and relative values as x, y, z

coordinates. The determination of these relative values is

a process that frequently requires subjective judgment. A

hypothetical example of this chart is shown in Figure 1.

The chart provides a bird’s-eye view of the functions–

environments relationships and is useful for prioritizing

the cells and identifying areas of strength and weakness of

the food packaging system.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. K. L. Yam, P. T. Takhistov, and J. Miltz, ‘‘Intelligent Packaging:

Concepts and Applications,’’ J. Food Sci. 70, R1–10, (2005).

2. HE Lockhart, ‘‘A Paradigm for Packaging,’’ Packag. Technol.

Sci. 10, 237–252 (1997).

PACKAGING IN CHINA

ZHI-WEI WANG

Packaging Engineering

Institute, Jinan University,

Zhuhai, People’s Republic of

China

PACKAGING INDUSTRY OF CHINA

The Chinese packaging industry is playing a more and

more important role in the world. It has now maintained a

good momentum of growth for the past 30 years due to the

progress of reform and opening up of trade, the establish-

ment of the socialist market economy system, and China

joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). From 1980

to the present, the total output value of the Chinese

packaging industry including packaging materials (paper,

plastic, glass, metal, bamboo and wood, and others),

packaging printing, and packaging machinery has

increased from RMB 7.2 billion (US$ 0.89 billion) to

RMB 500 billion (US$ 61.96 billion) at an average annual

growth rate of over 18%. It ranks 14th among 42 main

industries in China. In terms of packaging production,

China has become the third largest packaging country

after the United States and Japan.

The output of paper, plastic, metal, glass, and other

packaging materials has increased largely. Paper and

plastic packaging materials, which represent over 60% of

the Chinese packaging industry’s output, have become

the two pillars. The output of some packaging products in

China has taken the lead in the world, such as paper bags,

plastic weave bags, plastic bags, compound soft package,

and metal barrels. The packaging industry undertakes

annual packaging for hundreds of billion US dollars

domestic and overseas commodities, which has met the

need of national economic development.

Take year 2005, for example (1). The total output value

of the Chinese packaging industry has reached RMB

401.687 billion (US$ 49.774 billion), which is about 2.2%

Physical

Ambient

Human

Relative value

Containment

Protection

Communication

Convenience

Figure 1. Three-dimensional plot of functions versus

environments.

PACKAGING IN CHINA 871

of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the year. The total

output value and growth rate of each kind of packaging

are shown in Figures 1 and 2. The proportion of the

output value of each packaging in the total output value

of China’s packaging industry is shown in Figure 3. In

terms of packaging innovation, the new product output

value is RMB16.261 billion (US$ 2.015 billion), which is

about 4.05% of the total output value for the packaging

industry. Although the innovation capability of the

Chinese packaging industry is low, its development speed

has exceeded the growth rate of total industrial output

value. In each kind of packaging, the largest proportion of

new product output value in total industrial output value

is occupied by packaging machinery, which is about 11.4%.

The contribution of new product output value of each

kind of packaging to total new product output value of

packaging industry is shown in Figure 4.

The economic structure of packaging enterprises

changes with the sound development of the Chinese

packaging industry. The number of public enterprises is

decreasing, while that of stock enterprises and others

types is increasing relatively fast, especially foreign-

funded enterprises. On the other hand, there is a tendency

of group development in the Chinese packaging industry.

−30.00%

−20.00%

−10.00%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

Paper

packaging

Plastic

packaging

Glass

packaging

Metal

packaging

Bamboo &

wood

packaging

Printing Packaging

machinery

Other

packaging

Figure 2. The growth rate of each

kind of packaging. [Data source: In-

formation and Statistics Collections

on China’s Packaging Industry 2006

(1).]

100

120

140

160

Paper

packaging

Plastic

packaging

Glass

packaging

Metal

packaging

Bamboo &

wood

packa

Other

packaging

Printing

Packaging

machinery

Output value/billion yuan

Figure 1. The total output value of

each kind of packaging. [Data source:

Information and Statistics Collections

on China’s Packaging Industry 2006

(1).]

Paper packaging 37.13%

Plastic packaging 26.93%

Packaging printing 18.14%

Metal packaging 8.13%

Packaging machinery 4.79%

Glass packaging 2.68%

Others packaging 1.82%

Bamboo & wood packa

0.38%

Figure 3. The proportion of the output value of

each kind of packaging in the total output value

of China’s packaging industry. [Data source: In-

formation and Statistics Collections on China’s

Packaging Industry 2006 (1).]

Paper packaging 42.55%

Plastic packaging 22.72%

Packaging machinery 13.63%

Packaging printing 13.17%

Metal packaging 4.59%

Bamboo & wood packaging 0.18%

Others packa

0.04%

Glass packaging 3.12%

Figure 4. The contribution of new product out-

put value of each kind of packaging to total new

product output value of the packing industry.

[Data source: Information and Statistics Collec-

tions on China’s Packaging Industry 2006 (1).]

872 PACKAGING IN CHINA

Many large packaging groups have emerged in some

provinces and metropolitan regions of China, such as

Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shanghai.

The development of the Chinese packaging industry is

unbalanced due to the inconsistent development of the

local economy. The packaging industry in Eastern China

develops markedly faster than in Central and Western

China. In terms of economic structure, state-owned packa-

ging enterprises in Middle and West China surpass

foreign-funded enterprises and other types, while in

Eastern China the opposite situation is found. The further

economic development in China brings the need for

accelerating the development of the packaging industry

in Central and Western China.

The Chinese packaging industry has formed an ele-

mentary modern industry system with the main constitu-

tes of packaging materials and modern packaging

technology and equipments. China is developing from a

large packaging country to a powerful packaging country

in the world. By the year 2010, it is projected that the

Chinese packaging industry will be built into a modern

packaging industry with higher comprehensive innova-

tion ability, reasonable industry infrastructure, optimized

industry distribution, remarkable technical progress,

wholesome service system, perfect industry standard sys-

tem, prominent brand, and resources with multipurpose

use. The total output value of the Chinese packaging

industry should reach about RMB600 billion (US$ 74.3

billion) in the year 2015. With the remarkable develop-

ment of packaging technology, it is estimated that the

output of paper packaging materials will reach 36 million

tonnes, plastic packaging materials 9.46 million tonnes,

metal packaging materials 4.91 million tonnes, glass

packaging materials 15.5 million tonnes, and packaging

machinery 1.2 million sets, as shown in Figures 5–11 (2).

At same time, the high-quality packaging will strongly

support the further development of export trade of China,

particularly in those of higher-value products.

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010(p) 2015(p)

Year

Total paper packaging materials output

Output/million ton

Figure 6. Output of paper packaging materials of

China from 1990 to 2015. [Data source: China

Packaging Annual 2006 (2).]

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010(p) 2015(p)

Year

Total plastic packaging materials output

Output/million ton

Figure 7. Output of plastic packaging materials of

China from 1990 to 2015. [Data source: China

Packaging Annual 2006 (2).]

Total packaging output value

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010(p) 2015(p)

Year

Output value/billion yuan

Figure 5. Total output value of China packaging

from 1990 to 2015. [Data source: China Packaging

Annual 2006 (2). Note: ‘‘p’’ means ‘‘plan’’.]

PACKAGING IN CHINA 873

CHINESE PACKAGING STANDARDS

Since Packaging Standards are beneﬁcial to national

interest and world economic prosperity, it is very impor-

tant to establish standards that meet international cri-

teria and ﬁt the national situation within China as well.

Up to now, China has set up more than 500 national

packaging standards, which can be divided into three

levels: (1) fundamental packaging standards, such as

packaging glossary, packaging label, packaging series

dimension, fundamental test method of transport pack-

age, packaging technology, and packaging management

standards; (2) specialized packaging standards, such as

packaging material, packaging container, and packaging

machine standards; and (3) product packaging standards,

which specify the requirements for packaging of every

product. On the whole, China has built a system of

packaging standards which meets the needs of packaging

industry. The existing problems are: (1) Some standards

are unreasonable and imperfect; (2) the different packa-

ging standards are unsystematic and not well-coordi-

nated; and (3) some standards prefer form to content

and have poor operability.

In order to solve the problem of time efﬁciency and low-

level packaging standards, China has adopted many ISO

standards (IDT, MOD, NEQ). The Standardization Ad-

ministration of the People’s Republic of China has made a

vast revision to the packaging standards. In the food

contact materials, the standards of materials and contain-

ers including paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, steel, pot-

tery, plant ﬁber, and wood have been put into effect in

recent years; these focus on the restrictions on the harm-

ful substances in packaging materials and containers, but

no one considers the overall and speciﬁc migration limits

(OMLs & SMLs) compared with those of the EU and the

United States. At present, the revised standard systems

include: import and export food packaging, imported

timber packaging adopting international quarantine stan-

dards, exported timber packaging adopting international

standards, toy packaging keeping to the international

standards, food packaging acceptance standards, pre-

packaging food marking standards, classiﬁcation and

quality standards for pharmaceutical packaging materials

and container, and so on. These standards systems will

regulate and boost the development of commodity packa-

ging forcefully. For the need of resources economizing, the

national standard ‘‘Requirements of Restricting Excessive

Package for Foods and Cosmetics’’ is in discussion and will

go into effect in 2008.

PACKAGING HIGHER EDUCATION IN CHINA (3)

Higher education in packaging within China has devel-

oped at a high speed in keeping with the development of

the packaging industry. The courses for packaging tech-

nology were set up in 1960s, and the undergraduates of

‘‘Packaging Machinery’’ (as a subdiscipline of ‘‘Mechanical

Engineering’’) were enrolled in Jiangnan University in the

1970s. The National Ministry of Education approved the

establishment of ‘‘Packaging Engineering’’ as an academic

discipline for undergraduates in the year 1984. Since

Total metal packaging materials output

Output/million ton

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010(p) 2015(p)

Year

Figure 8. Output of metal packaging materials in

China from 1990 to 2015. [Data source: China

Packaging Annual 2006 (2).]

Total glass packaging materials output

Output/million ton

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010(p) 2015(p)

Year

Figure 9. Output of glass packaging materials of

China from 1990 to 2015. [Data source: China

Packaging Annual 2006 (2).]

874 PACKAGING IN CHINA

then, the number of universities with a ‘‘Packaging En-

gineering’’ program has increased to about 60. Annually

about 3000 students graduate in ‘‘Packaging Engineering’’

from the universities, and about 70% graduates are em-

ployed within the Chinese packaging industry. Some

universities have set up Master’s programs in ‘‘Packaging

Engineering,’’ ‘‘Packaging Materials,’’ and ‘‘Packaging Me-

chanics and Engineering’’; Jinan University and Jiang-

nan University were the ﬁrst to enroll Ph.D. students in

‘‘Packaging Engineering.’’ China has now established an

integrated talents cultivation system for the ‘‘Packaging

Engineering’’ discipline, which contains graduate educa-

tion (M.S and Ph.D), undergraduate education and voca-

tional education. The year 2007 has witnessed the

successful graduation of the ﬁrst four Ph.D students in

‘‘Packaging Engineering’’ in China (supervised by profes-

sor Zhi-Wei Wang of Jinan University and Jiangnan

University). Compared with the higher education of

packaging in some advanced countries, such as the United

States, it could be argued that China has the following

weak points: (1) The curriculum is not systematic; the

coverage of the specialized subjects is narrow, and the core

courses are not clear; (2) ‘‘Packaging Engineering’’ is an

applied discipline, but the domestic universities usually

pay more attention to theory than to practice; and (3) the

domestic universities stress engineering but neglect the

important disciplines of graphic art, economy, and

management.

To solve these problems in packaging education in

China, a reform has been conducted in the higher educa-

tion of packaging undertaken by professor Zhi-Wei Wang

(Program of 21st Century National Higher Education

Reform (1282B12111): ‘‘Train and Practice of Modern

Packaging Talents’’ supported by the Ministry of Educa-

tion of China and World Bank Organization). Through

reform, China has established a new platform for the

‘‘Packaging Engineering’’ discipline and has made new

teaching plans and goals. The new teaching plan includes

six core courses: ‘‘Packaging Materials,’’ ‘‘Packaging Tech-

nology and Process,’’ ‘‘Packaging Machinery,’’ ‘‘Packaging

Structure Design,’’ ‘‘Packaging Decoration and Modelling

Design,’’ and ‘‘Transport Packaging.’’ These courses have

been acknowledged by domestic packaging universities.

Until now, the Packaging Education Committee of the

People’s Republic of China has published two series of

widely accepted textbooks and is publishing the third

series. Meanwhile, the packaging universities in China

are conducting an active academic exchange and coopera-

tion with international packaging universities and insti-

tutes. The development of higher education in packaging

in China supports and accelerates the development of the

national packaging industry.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. China Packaging Federation, Information and Statistics Col-

lections on China’s Packaging Industry 2006, Beijing, 2006 (in

Chinese).

2. China Packaging Federation, China Packaging Annual 2006,

Beijing, 2007 (in Chinese).

3. Z.-W. Wang, ‘‘Development of Packaging Higher Education in

China,’’ in Proceedings of 14th IAPRI World Conference on

Packaging. IAPRI, Stockholm, 2004.

Total printing output

200

400

600

800

1000

Output/billion P

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010(p) 2015(p)

Year

Figure 10. Output of printing of China from

1990 to 2015. [Data source: China Packaging

Annual 2006 (2).]

Total packaging machinery output

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.4

Output/million sets

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010(p) 2015(p)

Year

Figure 11. Output of packaging machinery in

China from 1990 to 2015. [Data source: China

Packaging Annual 2006 (2).]

PACKAGING IN CHINA 875

PACKAGING IN INDIA

P. V. N ARAYANAN

Indian Institute of Packaging,

India

INTRODUCTION

The growth, expansion, and diversiﬁcation witnessed in

the packaging and the consumer sectors over the last ﬁve

decades have compelled the industry in India to review

and revamp its strategies. It is no longer a domestic issue.

The opportunities supported by the technology capabil-

ities and infrastructural facilities have caused the outlook

for the packaging industry in India to be global and

customer-oriented. The reach is aimed at new markets,

state-of-the-art packaging, accessibility, and optimization

of manufacturing with focus on logistics. The managerial

acumen achieved has provided the leadership quality to

enable economical production by adopting best practices,

provided under one roof and brand, with the aim of

becoming a category champion. Specialization is the key

for development that drives innovation and closer custo-

mer relationship, with the goal of becoming a total and

optimum packaging solution provider. The industry

has indeed a daunting task to meet demands from an

estimated 300 million consumers to at least 600 million

consumers by 2010. The fact that 2010 is not that far away

intensiﬁes the demands.

The packaging industry with a consolidated average

growth annually at 12% on a normal path should aim to

produce over 20 million tons of packaging by 2010. This

estimate could be higher if the growth estimate of the

retail sector is any indication. This is not an exaggeration

if one considers the many shopping malls being con-

structed in many locations. In simple mathematical terms,

the industry sources of supply of converted packages are

set to double, if not more. Interestingly, it is not the

number, but instead new concepts and newer materials,

that suits the changing taste of the dynamic market

display and the product-package buyer. Industrialization

can only grow with little chance of decline in demand.

Industry will have to improve and specialize in niche

areas. With the per capita consumption valued at only

USD 10 as against the global average of USD 75, the rise

in demand is a clear indication of what the packaging

industry is heading toward.

The economic environment showing (a) a sustained

growth, (b) demographics and skill base, and (c) a positive

trend aided by liberalization and deregulation indicates a

conducive development of the business environment. It is

not ‘‘how you grow’’ but ‘‘how much will you grow.’’ The

country also has a positive advantage of a cross section of

demographic population with 50% below the age of 20

years and 64% below the age of 34 years. In essence, the

market movers and takers are a high percentage majority

and will set the trend of packaging. India is also moving to

attain the enviable position of the second strongest econ-

omy in the world, overtaking the United States. The per

capita income is set to quadruple by the year 2020,

thereby swelling the pocket of the consumers with higher

personal disposable income and higher purchasing capa-

city. It seems that the moment is right for progress. Four

key forces inﬂuence the shaping of the Indian economy:

rapid sustained growth; demographics and skill base;

liberalization and deregulation; and conducive atmo-

sphere for business development. The key goals are ex-

ploring nontraditional partnerships earmarking global

technology, markets, and the supply chain. Trade in goods

and services now account for over 35% of the GDP (gross

domestic product). The capital market is the most devel-

oped in emerging economies, and the liberal foreign

investment policy has enabled rapid growth in foreign

direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investor

(FII). India enjoys the beneﬁt of having the largest

English-speaking graduate population with the third lar-

gest number of science and engineering graduates and

will emerge to have the largest work force by the year

2020. All these have a direct positive impact toward

obtaining technologically developed resources worldwide.

The national GDP is estimated to reach one trillion USD

in 2011 and is expected to be three trillion USD by 2025

and 27 trillion USD by 2050. With productivity set to grow

at a minimum of 8% by 2050, India is set become the

second largest economy in the world. Productivity in

industry and services will engage 60% of the labor services

and will grow four times that of agriculture. Also the India

GDP per capita between 2007 and 2020 in U.S. terms will

quadruple. During the period, crude oil consumption is set

to increase threefold and car purchases will multiply

ﬁvefold.

India has 10 of the 30 fastest-growing cities in the

world and is urbanizing at a rapid rate.

Development of infrastructural facilities—that is, road,

rail, housing, townships, and dedicated freight corridors—

is considered a priority. The unprecedented demand and

actual purchase of high-end consumers goods such as two-

wheelers, four-wheelers, cell phones, and color televisions,

along with the use of credit cards, are clear indications of

the upgraded lifestyle of the common masses and the

increased availability of personal disposal income. More

and more families are becoming smaller and their eco-

nomic situation is becoming stronger with double incomes;

also a clear shift is seen for consumer-value-added pro-

ducts and convenience features. Hence, there is a growing

demand for brand name products packaged in various

sizes and styles.

GLOBAL PERCEPTION

The extent to which packaging has reached the common

public is indeed a matter of concern, particularly when one

talks of the growing consumer awareness on one hand

while mentioning the contribution of packaging to health

and hygiene on the other hand. The concept seemingly

gains ground in the context of the observation that 80% of

the world population gets the beneﬁt of only 20% of the

global package production and availability. The essence

probably

lies herein as

much the 80% of the population

belongs to the developing third world. Most of these

876 PACKAGING IN INDIA

countries have a very low per capita with respect to

packaged product consumption and hence the emerging

markets. All these countries, no doubt India too, have a

long way to go to reach the global average in terms of

package consumption. What is more signiﬁcant is that the

trend has been set and is unlikely to reverse. The overall

population is younger, and the lifestyle is now catalyzed by

economic considerations and an independent nature. The

new buyers are willing to experiment and spend. They are

articulate and seek solutions to satisfy their needs even by

paying the price. Quality and reliability are the buzz-

words, yet costs would remain an important factor. The

package conversion industry will ﬁnd consumer demands

for development of new concepts and systems. The chal-

lenge will be to evolve packages that would provide the

optimum shelf life rather than long shelf life, considered

uneconomical and costlier, while at the same time moving

toward mechanization and semi- and fullautomation. The

product manufacturers will shift their choice for packa-

ging materials and packages that would suit such opera-

tions with minimal waste and the amenability to quicker

changeover. The packages would need to be modular to

facilitate distribution. The purpose of the package is to

increase value, widen the marketplace, achieve desired

performance and ensure compatibility, improve shelf life,

and make a favorable impression.

RETAIL SECTOR

The retail market in India presently estimated at 350

billion USD is expected to grow at about 12% consolidated

annual growth. The modern and sophisticated format

stores (supermarkets and department stores) are envi-

saged to grow over 40% annually and will account for 12%

of retail trade by value of 60 billion USD by 2012. The total

of retail sales is estimated at USD 500 billion by 2012.

This has been primarily facilitated by the increasing

willingness of the Indian consumer to accept the modern

system of shopping. The growing younger generation is

found to be experimental and can think differently on how

to spend their higher disposable personal income. Inter-

estingly, this phenomenon is not restricted to the urban

areas, but occurs equally in the rural areas as well. The

urban consumer is fundamentally different from the con-

servative budget shopper of earlier decades. This is aug-

mented equally by the increasing exposure to Western

lifestyles and habits. The consumer demographics are

evolving in smaller towns and rural areas where a shift

in shopping patterns and buying habits is motivated by

consumers’ desire to emulate an urban lifestyle.

This adds to the spread of the markets and penetration

of consumer-value-added packages and product range in

width and depth of the markets. The product and package

producers will have to rethink their package sizes in the

context of the retail sectors with more emphasis on family-

size and multidose packs. Product mix range and brands

will have to be increased since this will be demanded by

the growing cross section of interested buyers who will

look for wider choices. Physical parameters and graphic

design will have a greater role to play in display

arrangements and will have to create a favorable impres-

sion for the impulse buyer. The physical design, display

features, and graphics will have a hidden role to play—

that is, to convert an onlooker into a buyer and uncon-

sciously create a brand change. The retail market seems to

be dominated by textiles and apparel at 36%, followed by

jewelry and watches at 17%, food and grocery at 14%, and

footwear at 13%. Other markets will be mainly durables,

entertainment, health care, and home care. Besides dis-

play and graphics, a signiﬁcant need in the physical

design feature will be ‘‘carry home’’ facilities. With the

retail sector being offered for foreign direct investment

and all world leaders set to enter the Indian retail trade,

the growth will be exponential. There will also be bulk

movement of farm products to supermarkets, and packa-

ging for consumer packs of fresh produce, poultry, meats,

eggs, and so on, will be needed. The retail and distribution

segments will have to address to two principal inventory

management tools: bar coding and RFID. These both

demand creators of labels and labelers, aided by auto-

mated produce handling, tighter tolerances, and quality

standards for speed and efﬁciency of larger volume pro-

cessing and packaging lines.

SHIFTS/TRENDS

The packaging industry began in India in the 1950s and

became noticeable in the 1960s. The industry grew in

dimensions in the 1970s with a larger cross section of

packaging materials and packages produced domestically.

In the early 1970s the machinery manufacturers for the

packaging industry seized the opportunity and made a

very successful impact. The industry assumed greater

signiﬁcance in the 1980s, probably getting excellent sup-

port and recognition due to the industrial and ﬁscal

support extended to the food processing industry. The

1990s are considered the golden and growth years when

the industry grew in leaps and bounds due to the liberal-

ization policies adopted in the early 1990s and continued

thereafter. From the CAG (consolidated average growth

annually) of percent growth in the mid-1980s the industry

recorded a CAG of 18% by the mid-1990s and stabilized

thereafter at around 12%. The estimated packaging ma-

terials/package consumption in the mid-1990s was on the

order of 5 million tons and rose to over 10 million tons by

2005 and is expected to be more than double by 2010. This

takes into account the normal average growth with 5% of

agriculture and 10% of horticultural produce that is to be

processed and packed. An upward trend in this and the

fast-growing retail market will have tremendous impact

and probably will double the demand estimates. This also

reﬂects the need to increase the basic material production

and conversion industries. In simple terms, there is

potential for a yet another packaging industry. The output

value of the industry is over 2% of the GDP of the country.

A large number of factors attributed to the growth, and

principally they include: the shift from bulk distribution

and

packaging to more

and more consumer packages;

adopting newer systems in place of conventional packa-

ging; optimizing the packaging needs instead of long-life

PACKAGING IN INDIA 877