ANALYSIS: Container glass
Ready for a close-up cosmetic packaging growth continues Rohan Gunasekera looks at how the cosmetic and personal care markets of the sub-continent are doing their best to absorb some of the excess container glass capacity in the region and provide a new market for innovation going forward…
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ndia may no longer be the world’s fastest-growing major economy, but the sheer size of the country, young population and rising incomes indicate high growth prospects for cosmetics and perfumery, and with it glass packaging. Given the rate at which the cosmetics and perfumery market has been growing recently, there seems to be plenty of business for container glass manufacturers. Recent investments by container glass majors, both foreign and domestic, indicate the potential. Nevertheless, an immediate increase in cosmetic and perfumery glass packaging capacity is unlikely as excess capacity built up from previous bouts of expansion and market slow downs need to get absorbed. Indian glass major Piramal Glass has announced plans for a big investment to expand production at its plant in Kosamba, western India, and also decoration facilities to supply premium perfume markets, which are growing fast. It is adding three more production lines to meet growing demand. Germany’s Heinz Glas has set up a joint venture with India’s Haldyn Glass called Haldyn-Heinz Fine Glass which is expanding capacity. And Hindusthan National Glass & Industries Limited is relining its furnace for making cosmetic glass. There are many market studies and forecasts that say the cosmetics and personal care industry is one of the fastest growing consumer products sectors in India. The Indian beauty and personal care industry is estimated to be worth USD 8 billion and India’s per capita spend on beauty and personal care is growing in line with India’s GDP growth. Overall, the market is seen moving towards premiumization, with premium segment growing faster than the mass market. Indian brands (both regional and national) have a sizeable presence in the mass category, while premium markets are largely dominated by the international brands. Factors expected to drive the market for beauty products include the trend of growing consciousness about grooming, with half of the rural population aged below 25 years. With increased awareness, the rural lifestyle and habits have started mirroring urban aspirations and lifestyle and this has brought about a shift from homemade solutions to branded products. ASSOCHAM, the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India, noted in a market study that in current times, innovative packaging is playing an
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important role in driving sales of cosmetics, with multinationals preferring to use environment friendly packaging material. In case of men’s fragrances, it notes, innovative bottle designs hugely influence purchase. Further, pressure to manage costs, enclose products in a way that increases shelf-life, reducing tampering, confirmation that the items are not counterfeit, and showcase products in an appealing manner continue to drive demand for innovatively packaged organic cosmetics across the country. With cosmetic glass containers highly challenged by alternatives in plastics and metals, the market is seen moving towards highly innovative products including lightweight, breakage resistant and intricately decorated alternatives. Cosmetic glass container market is dominated by premium perfume segment, which is the main driver of increasing demand. Smaller pack sizes are gaining preference over the conventional large size bottles owing to the increasing trend towards easy to carry pocket-sized bottles, for reasons like affordability and as they can be consumed before the expiration date. Small size bottles relatively have a better shelf appeal compare to large size bottles particularly in personal care and premium cosmetics segments where aesthetics plays a vital role. For glass bottles and jars, one of the major trends has noticeably been within decoration techniques, in particular the use of coloured glass.
Major growth
Indian container glass major Piramal Glass Ltd. is expanding capacity in a big way, aiming to grow very fast in the next 3-5 years and be one of the top three players globally, said Prasanta Mohanty, the company’s Global Chief Marketing Head ( C&P ). “Today, we have glass capacity of 700 tonnes per day dedicated to cosmetics and perfumery. We are investing about 30 million US dollars in expanding our decoration facility and glass production capacity dedicated to cosmetics and perfumery,” he told Asian Glass in an interview. “We doubled our capacity in decoration, with the new capacity already operational while the new glass production capacity will be available by mid-May 2020.” Total capacity of glass dedicated to Cosmetics and perfumery will be increased
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