With the increase in pharmaceutical products, manufacturers in India are experimenting more with new packaging, such as multi-layered drink bottles, plastic bottles with tamper-resistant caps, formats like tubes, roll-ons
Graziela Medina Shepnick
LOS ANGELES
,
March 7, 2012
(Industry Intelligence)
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The increase in retail trade and a wider variety of pharmaceutical products in India is pushing manufacturers there to experiment more with new packaging, reported the Financial Chronicle on March 7.
In recent years, the packaging has been revamped for such over-the-counter (OTC) products in India as pain relief solutions, cough syrups, health supplements and traditional ayurvedic medicines.
Pain balms have since the 1990s moved to plastic bottles with plastic caps from metal-capped bottles. Not only has this made tamper-resistance caps possible, but it has impeded duplication due to the larger investment required for the upgraded packaging, the Financial Chronicle reported.
A multi-layered bottle has been introduced by U.S.-based H.J. Heinz Co. for its flavored energy drink Glucon-D, said Vimal Kedia, managing director for Bangalore, India-based plastic packaging company Manjushree Technopack Ltd.
Currently, Manjushree is working with more than 10 OTC product manufacturers and is talking to at least another five, reported the Financial Chronicle.
In an attempt to make its products appeal to younger people, Amrutanjan Health Care Ltd. last year spent 100 million rupees (US$2.0 million) on product design and packaging, said Sambhu Prasad, managing director of the Chennai, India-based pharmaceutical manufacturer.
This resulted in the launch of pain balms in roll-on, tubes, gel-pad and spray formats, he said, noting that the company had a 25% increase in sales revenues this year. “Packaging helps enhance functionality, convenience, look, feel and image of the product,” said Prasad, the Financial Chronicle reported.
When traditional ayurvedic companies such as Arya Vaidya Pharmacy and Kottackal Arya Vaidya Sala switched their packaging to plastic bottles from glass bottles a few years ago, there was “a huge growth in sales,” said Kedia.
Plastic bottles of 400 to 500 milliliters (13.5 to 16.9 ounces) that now are used for these medicines have solved such problems with glass bottles as the risk of handling them and leakage from the metal caps, Kedia said, reported the Financial Chronicle.
The primary source of this article is the Financial Chronicle, Secunderabad, India, on March 7, 2012.
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