How Flexible Packaging Helps Manufacturers of Consumer Goods

In today’s age consumer goods manufacturers face tough competition as they all struggle to find methods to lure the consumer towards their products. Money is spent on marketing, advertising, publicity etc. New methods are devised to make the consumer use/try their product.  It’s not an easy task, since no matter what you manufacture there is already an existing competitor present in the market.

In this time of cut throat competition, a number of manufacturers are turning to flexible packaging of their products. This form of packaging offers a variety of exciting marketing opportunities to the producer without increasing the cost of production. The packaging can be tailored to suit the merchandising requirements.

The 3D / 4D stand up pouches are a popular style of packaging. It is made by blending several layers of plastic with aluminum. This combination allows for a new and sophisticated printing and designing techniques to be used on the packet. This fact alone gives the manufacturers to design attractive logos, designs, graphics etc on their package which can catch the eye of the consumer.

Flexible style of packaging can be customized into practically any shape or size. They can also incorporate a variety of colors and styles. A different looking packet is bound to attract the eye of the consumer.
Flexible packaging allows the usage of same style of pouches to store different items. For instance the basic pouch can be used to store food, beverage and non-food items. With the addition of a special feature the pouch can be even more customized. For e.g., if a spout is added to the basic pouch it can be used to store liquids. The addition of a zipper and diaphragm will make the pouch more convenient to store and restore dry items.

Flexible packaging helps businesses and brands gain recognizition. The process is cheap so even the most cost conscious business can afford it. It can be customized to suit a brand so that businesses don’t have to end up choosing between short term gains and long term recognizition.

Uflex believes that the greatest improvement in the packaging industry is the flexible packaging. Many of the innovations that have become a part of the FMCG industry are products of the flexible packaging industry.

Uflex pushes for new innovations and trends thanks to the breakthroughs in plastic research and raw material enhancements.

Importance of Design in Packaging

The world renowned marketing guru Mr. Philip Kotler said that failure rate of new consumer products is as high as 80%. That means that on an average of 100 new consumer brands hitting the Indian stores only 20 of them survive. So what does it take for a product or stay on the shelf, or better still get picked up by the end consumer?

When a consumer visits a supermarket or a grocery store he searches for the item which are known to him or looks at items which he finds visually appealing. Visuals are the mainstay of promoting a product. The more attractive the package, better are the chances of it flying off the shelf into the shopping basket.

If there is a new product, a spiffy package may tempt the customer to try the product. Packaging is often the consumer’s first point of contact. Even in cases of known brands, a re-launch will require attractive packaging. Without that the re launch will be a guaranteed failure. But there are points to consider when designing the package:

•          The design should be functional. That is to say that it should be easy to use and convenient
•          It should protect the content it holds
•          Allow for easy storage, transportation and distribution
•          Provide the product information to the consumer
•          Draw attention to itself amongst competition

No matter how good a product is, poor or drab packaging can keep it from selling. A good design should reflect the brand and personality of the company. Apart from a good looking package the manufacturer should also ensure that the shape and materials are equally appealing. Customers also look for honesty in the brands they choose to use. Simply said, they want to know whether the contents listed on the package are exactly what they are to find inside it. For this purpose, see through option in the package, if possible, could be provided in the package design and ensure that their packages look trustworthy. This can happen if the packages are made from the highest quality of materials and should be in tandem with the image of the company. For eg, a company promoting clean and green should also be recycling and innovative.

Uflex Ltd. ensures the production of highest quality of plastics, which are top of the order. Our in-depth R&D of the market and the needs of the consumers ensure that we manufacture and deliver only the finest quality to our customers. Top of the line designs and recyclable plastics have been our mainstay for last many years. Use of creative graphics and shapes has ensured that our packages hold the end consumer interest for a sustainable period of time.

UFLEX LTD Q1 FY 2014 CONSOLIDATED NET REVENUE AT RS. 1398 CRORE AND NET PROFIT AT RS. 43 CRORE

New Delhi: August 6, 2013 – Uflex Ltd, the Bombay Stock Exchange (UFLEX: 500148) and NSE listed, India’s largest flexible packaging company, has registered the consolidated net revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 at Rs. 1398 crore as against Rs. 1376 crore for the same period last year.

The firm’s consolidated net profit for the June quarter of FY 2014 stood at Rs. 43 crore as against Rs. 56 crore for the same quarter last year. However, sequentially, the revenue and net profit for quarter ended June, 2013 viz – a – viz quarter ended March, 2013 has grown by 13 % and 5 % to Rs. 1398 crore (Revenue) and Rs. 43 crore (Net Profit), respectively.

The higher revenue growth is attributed to new capacity expansion globally and increased uptake of innovative flexible packaging solutions offered by the company across sectors. Uflex had added capacities from the newly commissioned manufacturing facilities as part of its expansion in Poland and Kentucky during the previous financial year. Collectively the two facilities involved investments of about $150 million.

The polyester films plant in Kentucky, in the US has annual production capacity of 30,000 metric tonnes, and similar capacity is available in Wrzesnia, in Poland. With the new manufacturing facilities and other expansions in place, UFLEX is all set to achieve the next milestone of $2 billion revenue mark over the next couple of years.

According to Mr. Ashok Chaturvedi, Chairman and M.D. of UFLEX Ltd, “The higher revenue growth has come on the back of increasing manufacturing capacities across our facilities in Egypt, Mexico, Dubai and India, in addition to the new facilities in Kentucky and Poland to cater to the increasing demand trends. Innovation, expansion and harnessing growth opportunities at the right time has been the key to our strong foothold in the flexible packaging market globally.”

For the full financial year ended March 31, 2013, UFlex had recorded a strong growth of 14% in consolidated net revenues at Rs. 5161 crore as against Rs. 4516 crore during a year ago, on the back of favourable demand trends globally.

Uflex’s strong manufacturing base in India, Mexico, Dubai, Egypt, Poland and Kentucky caters to global markets spanning USA, Canada, South America, UK, Europe, Russia, CIS countries, South Africa and other African countries, the Middle East and the South Asian Countries.

Expansion Plans

UFLEX’s agenda of global expansion and consolidation of its position as a truly Indian MNC (Multinational Corporation) is reinforced with its strategy of capacity expansion and adding manufacturing lines for various product categories across existing and newer locations to increase proximity to the markets, but also to bring broad portfolio of value added products to its clients at competitive price points.

The company offers its flexible packaging products and solutions globally to clients including Unilever, Pepsi, Wrigley, Procter & Gamble, Colgate, Palmolive, Nestle, Gillette, Ranbaxy, Perfetti, Joyco, Monsanto, ITC, Godrej Pillsbury, Tata Tea, Hindustan Petroleum, Indian Oil, Britannia, Dabur, Haldiram, Wockhardt, HUL, Parle Biscuit, Birla 3M, among others.