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India generates almost four million metric tons of plastic waste every year, most of which isn’t recycled. But companies across the country – no longer willing to accept waterways filled with plastic bottles, vast open landfill sites and garbage-strewn streets – are driving for change.
Although there are many obstacles on India’s path to reducing plastic pollution, with growing will, the outlook is improving. It’s a transition that Parksons Packaging Director Siddharth Kejriwal wants to get heavily involved in.
“When I now look at the next three-to-five years, very clearly one of the biggest opportunities and changes we are seeing in our industry is the commitment of brand owners to eliminate or reduce the use of plastic,” he tells The CEO Magazine. “And we, being in the business of paper-based packaging, will be one of the biggest beneficiaries.”
The packaging company Kejriwal founded in 1996, with the backing of the printing business that had been in his family for many years, has long prioritized innovation. In 2010, it became one of the first companies in India to create its own design and innovation center. Called DesignPARK, it is creating the next generation of packaging solutions for a variety of industries.
Now, its team consists of creative design professionals, packaging technologists, research analysts and production experts all with profound expertise. Drawing on this, they are looking to bring about sustainable innovation in terms of design, product and branding. By exploring how Parksons Packaging can innovate its paper-based packaging offering, Kejriwal hopes to provide companies with viable alternatives to plastic.
“One of the biggest opportunities we are seeing in our industry is the commitment of brand owners to eliminate or reduce the use of plastic.”
“We are looking at ways to create functional barriers and opportunities for us in this space as part of this strategy to reduce or eliminate plastic. Overall, we are seeing a big opportunity on the sustainability side,” he expands.
“We have what we call a category of gable top packaging which we can use to pack food, non-food, and liquid products, and so on – the majority of which are being packed in plastic bottles and containers.”
Innovation is also present in the way Parksons Packaging is tackling its own digital transformation. It is growing its business via its ecommerce platform – a transition that was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic – and looking deep within its own structure to find areas for improvement.
“There is a huge disruption happening in the entire space of information and we are now hearing so much about AI,” Kejriwal says.
“We’re really going to focus on digital transformation within our organization, whether it is towards decision-making, managing more acquisitions or scaling up our operations and revenue.”
This leveling up of its own capabilities has a flow-on effect, helping Parksons Packaging better cater to the demands of India’s startups.
“There has been a plethora of new innovative startup companies who’ve entered India so we’re asking, ‘How do we enhance our capability to service them better?’”Kejriwal says.
“One of the initiatives which we have taken is we have invested in digital printing so we can offer short runs, customized printing and quick responses to some of these markets. These are small markets which will have large growth in the future.”
He predicts this project will yield results over the next few years.
Kejriwal also explains that the company is working closely with Esko Graphics India, ITC Limited, Siegwerk India, Koenig & Bauer and JK Paper to cater to these growing needs.
The above strategy looks set to place Parksons Packaging in a prime position as interest in manufacturing in India from international companies continues to grow. Companies ranging from Apple to Amazon are eyeing increased local production.
“We have invested in digital printing so we can offer short runs, customized printing and quick responses.”
“We hear some of the global companies are now looking at India as not only a manufacturing hub for the growing consumers in India, but also for world markets,” Kejriwal says.
“And for us, we believe our pan-India presence and the infrastructure to be able to scale up our operations is going to be a great opportunity to grow our business.”
He refers to the mobile phone industry as an example. Historically, the industry carried out very limited levels of manufacturing in India. But this is quickly changing, as companies scale up their India operations.
“This is just one example of what’s happening in India,” he continues. “Our focus, as the manufacturing footprint increases in India, is finding out how we capitalize on that.”
Kejriwal’s ambitions for Parksons Packaging have grown in line with India’s own economic standing. Where it was once seen as an emerging market, it is now the fifth largest economy in the world.
The past 10 years have seen him build the company into a “pan-India business” with 13 plants spread across the country. Indeed, his bold approach to the world of business is now seeing him look to other emerging markets as potential investments.
“One of the initiatives we have taken is we are putting up our first manufacturing plant in East Africa, which will be up and running by the end of this calendar year,” he reveals. It represents Parksons Packaging’s first foray into global markets, a milestone Kejriwal is incredibly excited about.
“In the last two years, we have acquired three companies and we’ve been able to successfully integrate them into our infrastructure.”
“We believe that we can bring in innovation and a lot of new ideas to this market,” he says.
Expanding its own operation is another item on Kejriwal’s agenda.
“India has always been a very fragmented market run by small families,” he notes.
He plans to buck this trend by building Parksons Packaging into a force to be reckoned with, and has already made significant headway.
“In the last two years, we have acquired three companies and we’ve been able to successfully integrate them into our infrastructure,” Kejriwal says.
“We will look at many such opportunities in years to come, but it’s about which companies will bring incremental value for us. This value may be in terms of a market segment, geography, or innovation.
“If we do not find anything, we might not acquire anything for the next many years. What we’ve done in the past may not play out similarly in the future. But if there are opportunities, this could be not only a growth driver, but could also help to make the company stronger from a customer perspective.”
Kejriwal also plans to make Parksons Packaging’s entire IT system “stronger and better”, one of the many necessary preparations for growth. These preparations mean it will be ready to pounce on any opportunities that arise, enabling it to scale up its operations as it grows.
Behind all the advances and big plans are the company’s people, a reality that Kejriwal deeply understands.
“I think an organization is made by its people,” he stresses.
“We continuously focus on bringing new talent, and use the existing talent to align their goals with the company’s goals. We have a very clear key performance matrix for all the employees of the company. So, human capital, which I think is sometimes undervalued, will be a very strong focus area.”
Instilling them with the company’s vision and its values is crucial to its future success.
“We must make sure everyone is aligned with the ethos and the value system of the company,” he adds.
“We believe that nothing is constant, and we have to continuously adapt to the changing environment.”
With a strong professional team to “drive scale and growth” and deliver a stand-out customer experience, Parksons Packaging is ready for any eventuality.
“But the biggest factor which differentiates us from the competition is that we are an innovator,” he says.
It’s an agility that Kejriwal believes makes it the perfect partner.
“We believe we are an extension of a brand. If we continuously create differentiation as a solution provider and innovator for their packaging needs, that will keep us ahead of our competition,” he says.
“One of the biggest differentiators is that we’re constantly evolving in the packaging space. The innovation comes through many factors: investment in technology, operational excellence, having the right professional team and the vision and the value system of the company.
“We believe that nothing is constant, and we have to continuously adapt to the changing environment.”
Packaging has an important role to play for companies seeking to make an impact, and Parksons Packaging has the solutions to make their story a reality.
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