Dr. R. B.
Modi
Assistant Professor
College of Food Processing Technology and Bio Energy
Anand Agricultural University, Anand
Changes in packaging to meet society’s needs:
◦ Packaging is not a recent phenomenon.
◦ Packaging is an activity closely associated with the
evolution of society and, can be traced back to
human beginnings.
◦ The nature, degree, and amount of packaging at any
stage of a society’s growth reflect the needs,
cultural patterns, material availability and
technology of that society.
A study of changing roles of packaging and
forms over the centuries is a study of the
growth of civilization.
Social changes are inevitably reflected in the
way we package, deliver and consume goods.
❑ We don’t know what the first package was,
but we can certainly speculate.
❑ Primitive humans: nomadic hunter/ gatherers
lived off the land.
❑ They would have been subject to the
geographical migrations of animals and the
seasonal availability of plant food.
Primitive people needed containment and
carrying devices and out of this need came the
First “package” which might be:
a) A wrap of leaves
b) An animal skin
c) The shell of a nut or gourd
d) A naturally hollow piece of wood
Early packaging materials were fabricated
sacks, baskets and bags, made from materials
of plant or animal origin; wood boxes
replaced hollow logs; a clay bowl, the fire-
dried clay pots (pottery and ceramic trade).
The discovery of glass: About 1500 B.C., the
earliest hollow glass objects appeared in
Mesopotamia and Egypt.
In China, Ts’ai Lun is credited with making the
first true paper from the inner bark of
mulberry trees. The name “paper” given to the
Chinese invention made of matted plant fibers.
Paperboard cartons and corrugated fiberboard
boxes were first introduced in the late 19th
century.
In 768, the oldest existing printed
objects (Japanese Buddhist charms);
in 868, the oldest existing book
(the Diamond Sutra) printed,
found in Turkistan.
Iron and tin plated steel were used to make
cans in the early 19th century.
Packaging advancements in the early 20th
century included Bakelite closures on bottles,
transparent cellophane overwraps and panels
on cartons, increased processing efficiency
and improved food safety.
As additional materials such as aluminum and
several types of plastic were developed, they
were incorporated into packages to improve
performance and functionality.
The Industrial Revolution started in England in
about 1700 and spread rapidly.
It is the change that transformed people with
peasant occupations and local markets into an
industrial society with world-wide connections.
This new type of society made great use of
machinery and manufactured goods on a large
scale for general consumption.
Packaging is described / defined in various
ways:
Packaging is best described as a coordinated
system of preparing goods for transport,
distribution, storage, retailing, and use of the
goods.
Packaging is a complex, dynamic, scientific,
artistic, and controversial business function.
Packaging is 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.
Packaging is an act of providing outer
covering to an object or an act of putting the
product in container or enclosing the object.
Packaging is a technique of using appropriate
forms of container and components so as to
protect, carry, identify and merchandize the
content.
Packaging may be defined as the protection
of materials of all/any kind by means of
container so designed as to prevent damage
to the contents by outside influences.
Packaging is a means of ensuring safe delivery
of the product to the ultimate consumer in
sound condition at minimum cost.
Packaging is a techno-economic function aimed
at minimizing costs of delivery while
maximizing sales (and hence profits).
Dictionary meaning: To package i.e. to put (a
commodity) into protective wrapper or
container for shipment / transport or storage.
Package means a covering wrapper or
container which attracts the eye of the
customer and at the same time protects the
merchandize.
It is certainly dynamic and constantly
changing.
New materials need new methods, a new
methods demand new machinery, new
machinery results in better quality and better
quality opens up new markets which require
changes in packaging.
Packaging is an all-embracing term and covers
the operation of cleaning, giving protective
coating, weighing and filling, closing, labeling,
surface designing, printing, cartooning and
bracing, containerizing, marketing and may
also include material handling.
Packaging is defined as “the enclosure of
products, items, or packages in a wrapped
pouch, bag, box, cup, tray, can, tube, bottle,
or other container to perform the following
functions: containment; protection or
preservation; communication; and utility or
performance.”
If the device or container performs one or
more of these functions, it is considered a
package.
This definition implies that packaging serves
more than one function; i.e., it is
multifunctional.
All historical changes have had an impact on the
way products are bought, consumed and
packaged.
Packaging is important to food supply because
food is organic in nature (an animal or plant
source) and one characteristic of such organic
matter is that it has a limited natural biological
life.
Most food is geographically and seasonally
specific.
In a world without packaging, we would need to
live at the point of harvest to enjoy these
products, and our enjoyment of them would be
restricted to the natural biological life span of
each.
It is by proper storage, packaging and transport
techniques that we are able to deliver fresh
potatoes and apples, throughout the year and
throughout the world.
We are free of the natural cycles of feast and
famine that are typical of societies dependent on
natural regional food-producing cycles.
Central processing and pre-packaged food has the
advantage that it allows value recovery from what
would normally be wasted and the By-products of
the processed-food industry form the basis of other
sub-industries
The economical manufacture of durable goods
also depends on sound packaging.
A product‘s cost is directly related to
production volume, distribution and
packaging.
Humankind‘s global progress is such that
virtually every stage in the development of
society, packaging is present somewhere in
the world today.
The less-developed countries do not have
adequate land to raise enough food.
Food goes beyond its natural biological life,
spoils, is lost, is infested with insects or eaten
by rodents, gets wet in the rain, leaks away or
goes uneaten for numerous reasons, and is
lost all of which can be prevented by sound
packaging principles.
No industry can recover secondary value from
food by-products and a poor economy can not
afford wastages.
Packaging is perceived to be a weapon against
world hunger.
Early 1950‘s showed slow pace but 1980-
85 onwards greater change was witnessed.
The market volume of the Indian packaging
industry amounts to about Rs. 77,570 crore
and has constantly grown by approximately
15 % per year.
It is expected that the pace of growth will
accelerate to between 20-25 % per year.
The highest demand for packaging and the
associated equipment come from the food
processing industry at 50 % and from the
pharmaceutical industry at 25 %.
The Indian packaging industry contributes
nearly 2 % to the country‘s overall GDP.
Food and beverages which will apply mainly
packaging are using some 60-65 % of all
packaging materials
Rapid urbanization increased spending power
of large growing middle class, growing
number of working women, changing life
style/standard of living, liberalization and
organized retail sector are the catalysts to the
growth of packaging.
According to the India Food Report 2008‘
published by Research and Markets.
The Indian food market is estimated to total
about Rs. 8,82,350 crore
Food retail turnover is expected to grow from
the current Rs 3,39,365 crore mark to
7,27,212 crore by 2025.
There are about 600-700 packaging
machinery manufacturers, 95 % of
which are in the small and medium sector
located all over India.
Indian packaging machinery imports are
around Rs 606 crore (20-25 %) while the
Indian packaging machinery exports are
rapidly growing.
Germany and Italy are the largest suppliers of
packaging machinery to India but focus is
now shifting to Taiwan and China.
Indian companies are now placing increasing
emphasis on attractive and hygienic
packaging.
This promises enormous potential for the
future
Today consumer is showing greater
awareness towards food packaging for
assurance on quality, quantity and hygiene of
foods.
Potential benefits offered by unit packaging
in retailing are also well realized.
Self service groceries, super markets
(especially in urban sector) increased the
demand for retail packs.
Changes in purchasing power, family sizes,
frequency of shopping, inflation, changed food
habits lead to changes in packaging material
and pack sizes.
Every sector of user industry has become
package conscious and the need for scientific,
functional and aesthetic packaging is being
realized.
Nationwide marketing becoming common
trend for processed foods.
Expanding electronic media unprecedented
audience reach (Paper, radio, TV) widen
market of packaged food.
Thus dramatic change is observed bringing
overall revolution in packaging concept, style
and forms.
New concepts like aseptic packaging, system
packaging, thermoforming, in pack
sterilization of foods have taken industrial
footing in Indian market.
“Converters”: to take various raw materials
and convert them into useful packaging
materials or physical packages (cans, bottles,
wraps).
To this point, packaging becomes a materials
application science.
The company forming the physical package
will also print or decorate the package.
Package “users”: the firms that package
products are also regarded as part of the
packaging industry and are divided into a
number of categories and each of these can
be further subdivided.
The “supplier”: manufacturers of machines for
the user sector and the suppliers of ancillary
services, such as marketing, consumer
testing and graphic design, are also
important sectors of the packaging industry
The End…..!!!
