SIG announces market entry and first customer: new growth opportunities for food and beverage manufacturers in India

SIG, a leading systems and solutions provider for aseptic packaging, announces its entry into the Indian market, with Kandhari Beverage being the first SIG customer on the economically rapidly growing subcontinent.

Kandhari Beverage will offer their popular mango drink brand ‘Maaza Refresh’ in combiblocXSlim carton packs (125 and 150 ml). SIG's solutions offer manufacturers a high degree of flexibility and the opportunity to bring new and exciting products to the Indian market.

Rolf Stangl, CEO of SIG: "We work in partnership with our customers to bring food products to consumers around the world in a safe, sustainable and affordable way – now also in India. We are convinced that with our portfolio of solutions, we can now help food and beverage manufacturers in India to offer consumers the perfect product and packaging solution, while boosting sales and company growth".

With almost 1.3 billion people, India is the most populous country on earth. According to OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2018-2027, India is the largest milk producer in the world with around 20 percent of global production. At the same time, consumption of non-carbonated soft drinks is rising fast.

Commenting on the market entry into India, Vandana Tandan, Country Manager India at SIG India says: "Young, middle-class urban consumers are shaping the demand for modern products in India and are thus changing the requirements of the food and beverage industry. Healthy, nutritious, and high quality beverages, that are conveniently packaged to be enjoyed on the go, are increasingly in demand. With SIG's product and packaging solutions, manufacturers have significantly more flexibility and scope to meet these requirements. In particular, our drinksplus solution and the volume flexibility of SIG’s filling machines make it possible for food and beverage manufacturers to create completely new product segments. There will be products on the market that have never been seen before in India."

Kandhari Beverage Ltd., a bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company India, is the first company to provide innovation and product differentiation in the Indian market using SIG's solutions. Kandhari Beverage has opted for a SIG high-performance filling machine CFA 1224-36 with drinksplus option, suitable for aseptically filling combiblocXSlim in up to nine different volumes ranging from 80 to 200 ml. The first product in India now available in carton packs from SIG is Maaza Refresh 125 and 150 ml.

SIG’s flexible packaging solution allows brands the ability to produce different pack sizes on the same filling machine to cater to different audiences. This also allows brands to introduce basic products for consumers with lower incomes and premium products for people with higher incomes, using the same manufacturing set-up. On a single filling machine, the package size can be flexibly adapted to consumers’ volatile purchasing power, allowing brands to operate at crucial price points. With SIG’s drinksplus option, the manufacturer can include value-adding extras such as real fruit or vegetable pieces, nuts or cereal grains to beverages in carton packs, with no preservatives.

Angela Huang, Head of New Markets for Asia Pacific, says: "Beverages with real fruit bits, dry fruits, nuts or cereals will be new experience for the Indian market. SIG’s convenient and innovative drinksplus solution enables our customers to expand their existing product portfolio and attract new consumer groups. That's a good basis for growth."

SIG is constantly innovating and introducing relevant new products such as microwaveable aseptic carton packs or the first paper straw solution in the beverage carton industry.

In the area of Product Innovation & Differentiation, SIG is a strong partner for beverage and food manufacturers. Alongside Smart Factory and Connected Pack, it is one of the pillars of value creation in the SIG Value Proposition.

More information about SIG's solutions can be found here: https://www.sig.biz/en/solutions/overview

About SIG

SIG is a leading systems and solutions provider for aseptic carton packaging. We work in partnership with our customers to bring food and beverage products to consumers around the world in a safe, sustainable and affordable way. Our unique technology and outstanding innovation capacity enable us to provide our customers with end-to-end solutions for differentiated products, smarter factories and connected packs, all to address the ever-changing needs of consumers. Founded 1853, SIG is headquartered in Neuhausen, Switzerland. The skills and experience of our approximately 5,000 employees worldwide enable us to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of our customers in over 60 countries. In 2018, SIG produced more than 35 billion carton packs and generated €1.7 billion in revenue. For more information, visit www.sig.biz.