Amid a market lull and rising inflation, ‘packaging’ is used as a significant marketing tool to draw the attention of customers.

Attractive packaging of products seems to create superior mind share amongst the target audience and hence is regarded as an integral part of the business.

Currently, majority of the companies outsource their packaging requirements. But according to industry experts this will not be the case in future.

According to them, there are many companies which at present have dedicated department for the same and are also taking assistance of qualified professionals to help them cater their target groups.

Usha Shriram Enterprises and Elvy Lifestyle are among the frontrunners that have an in-house design team to work on different aspects of packaging including the design part.

Usha Lexus, part of Usha Shriram Group, one of the leading players in consumer durable companies has, in fact, in-house packaging department where they have hired graduates from National Institute of Design (NID) to stay in the competition.

“With modern retail, these finer nuances would ultimately differentiate your product from your competitor,” Subodh Varma, vice-chairman, Usha Shriram Enterprises told Business Standard.

Packaging refers to all materials and products used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods from the producer to the end-user.

According to Lovy Khosla, Managing Director, Elvy Lifestyle, companies and retailers are working more closely than ever to create products designed for contemporary lifestyles, based on the latest technology.

This has resulted in an explosion in the market, a market in which packaging is playing an increasingly important role.

In Lucknow alone, there are over a dozen stand-alone retailers like Mukesh Departmental Store, Saraswati kirana store and Sachan departmental store to name a few, who market various food products like pulses, eatables, etc under their name. These retailers also use the best practices in the trade for packaging of their product.

“We wish to be in line with the demands of our customers. The presentation of our products should not look inferior in comparison to the branded ones,” said Vinod Sachan, owner of Sachan departmental store in Lucknow.

Technological advancements and customer outlook have been the driving force behind the change in packaging style of products in the recent past.

“It is the change in consumer outlook towards the product and the impact of packaging on his decision that has largely driven the change,” Varma said.

Speaking in agreement Khosla informed that apart from the market demand that plays the major role, environment friendly organisations have also started demanding environment friendly packaging materials.