The Middle East packaging materials industry posted a demand gain of about 10 percent last year, fuelled by the pandemic-induced large-scale switch in consumption patterns and a steep rise in e-commerce sales, an industry insider said.
The surge in demand for sustained packaging in the region also drove companies back to their research and development centres to process new, safer packaging materials.
“The shift in consumption patterns towards packaged products and considerable rise in e-commerce demand (in the Middle East region) for packaged food, beverages, healthcare, and hygiene products has led to increased and varied requirements for packaging,” Apoorvashree Chaturvedi, Group Director of UFlex Ltd, told Arabian Business.
UFlex’s subsidiary FlexFilm Middle East is a leading player in the packaging material sector in the region and has a major manufacturing facility in Dubai.
“We witnessed an upside of average 8-10 percent in demand from January through September 2020, as against the usual demand that was seen pre-pandemic,” Chaturvedi said.
Chaturvedi said post-September, the industry regained normalcy, with the demand growth pattern falling back to the pre-pandemic levels.
The UFlex senior executive who oversees the Indian major’s Middle East and European operations, said the demand for sustained packaging in the region has also led to development of newer materials by the industry.
“Film specification varies based upon package design and the eventual environmental impact of the consumption cycle. This surge has necessitated new packaging requirements from architects like us,” Chaturvedi said.
“There are packaging films that we have created that ensure that integrity of the product is not lost, and quality of the packed product is retained even during heterogeneous handling and transportation.
Apoorvashree Chaturvedi, Group Director of UFlex Ltd
“This [newly developed packaging films] plays an important role in facilitating safe delivery of the product to the consumers, which really goes on to benefit the e-commerce industry,” he said.
Chaturvedi, however, declined to disclose the segment-wise growth rate for his company.
Online shopping in the Gulf region posted massive growth last year, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia witnessing an annual growth of 38 percent and 28 percent respectively, according to latest research reports.
The e-commerce players saw their sales soar – even double annual growth rates – during the lockdown period in the region.
Talking about new product development in line with the changing consumer demand, Chaturvedi said commodity films would be very important to the future of packaging and sustainability.
“At the end, brands want newer food, beverages and pharmaceutical trends to reach the biggest audience. Controlled packaging costs through stable suppliers of commodities films is of high importance for all brand groups and their converters. So, we will be focused on growing in volume in the commodity space.”
Chaturvedi also said the rise of premium products in the categories such as food, beverages, personal care and healthcare meant growth of value-added films and the mixing of materials to boost brand recall, distinction and enjoyment.
“We think this story is now reaching a steady state against sustainability. Value addition will have to yield a better package performance on sustainability standards or yield higher performance in barrier, strength or optical clarity.
“With technology, a brand’s past can be brought to life and consumers are clear in their loyalties to the world they want to live in. So, our efforts on value addition are aligned with where food, beverages, pharma and personal care are headed,” he said.
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