India Blister Packaging Market - Forecasts from 2021 to 2026

The India blister packaging market is projected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 9.24% to reach US$793.675 million by 2026, from US$427.534 million in 2019. The healthy growth of the country's blister packaging market is attributable to the rise and growth in the pharmaceutical sector, food processing industry, consumer goods industry, and others, during the forecast period. According to the Indian Government, India is the largest producer and provider of generic drugs globally. India's generic medicine sector contributes to approximately 40% of the United States generic drugs demand. Indian companies received over 304 Abbreviated Novel Drug application approval from the USFDA, in the year 2017. Moreover, the growth in the fast consumer goods industry in India is expected to have a positive effect on the blister packaging market. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, the packaged food market in the country is expected to reach US$70 billion, by the year 2025. The industry or the sector had received US$16.28 billion between April 2000 and March 2020. Major companies have been investing a significant sum of capital into the country's blister packaging market, in recent years.

Impact of COVID-19

COVID-19 pandemic did not have a major effect on India's blister packaging market. The pandemic did expose some major gaps in the pharmaceutical and other industry's supply chain and pointed out the need to de-risk those supply chains. According to Dr. Reddy Laboratories, one of the major pharmaceutical players in the country, companies will be looking for short or mid-term contingency plans, to focus on mitigating their supply chain vulnerabilities. Due to the lockdown imposed by the Indian government, companies started looking towards local packaging suppliers to reduce the burden on their supply chain. The pandemic led to a surge in demand for packaging with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Consumer safety and hygiene had become a major issue for the blister packaging industry.

Growth in the pharmaceutical industry

The market is expected to surge in the coming years owing to the continuous growth in the pharmaceutical industry across India. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, the country's pharmaceutical sector supplies over 50% of the worldwide generic drugs demand. Currently, over 80% of the antiviral medicines and drugs, by the Indian forms, have been used to combat AIDS. There are over 10,000 pharmaceutical companies in the country, which makes the industry highly fragmented and competitive. There are over 2,000 World Health Organization GMP-approved plants in the country. Blister packaging is one of the most common packaging sources used in the packaging of drugs and medicines in the country. The major reason is due to its lightweight and lesser volume occupancy rate, which makes it an attractive proposition for the pharmaceutical industry. The country's per capita packaging consumption rate had been less than US$15, with an average global rate of US$100. Currently, there are more than 600 small and medium packaging machinery manufacturers in the country, and the numbers are expected to surge in the coming years because of the major government push for a self-reliant India and enhancing domestic manufacturing and packaging capabilities. Major companies have been launching medicines, which had been packaged in blister packs. In August 2020, Camber Pharmaceuticals announced the launch of Mesalamine suppositories, which had been used to treat mild ulcerative colitis. The product had been available in Camber 1000 mg, 30 ct blister pack.

Increasing usage of PVC

The market growth is mainly driven by the pharmaceutical industry for primary blister packaging materials in India. PVC is the third most used synthetic plastic polymer because of its characteristic, that it does not hamper the packed item in it. Indian plastic industry has been producing PVC from the raw material without relying on imports and exporting a wide range of PVC and other plastic-based products. The main hindrance of the use of PVC in blister packaging is that it leaves the carbon print which also leads to government regulations and hence, restraint the growth of PVC blister packaging in India. This creates an opportunity for technological advancements in the packaging industry. In 2019, Uflex's alu-alu packaging has been awarded at the 4th Annual India Packaging Awards for the sustainable innovations in the packaging industry (Source: Print Week). India has a huge potential in the packaging industry as technological advancement is not going at the same pace as the demand and growth is expected.

The pandemic has further boosted the demand of the pharmaceutical industry as the people have become more health-conscious which led to an increase in the demand for over-the-counter drugs, which further boosts the demand for the PVC blister packaging market in India. Though, environmental sustainability and technological advancement are what create a hindrance and opportunity for the firms to enter and grow in the Indian market.

Market Segmentation:

By Type

• Compartment
• Slide
• Wallet

By Material

• PVC
• PVDC
• PP
• Others

By Technology

• Cold-Form
• Thermoformed

By End-User

• Consumer Goods
• Food
• Pharmaceutical