Cosmo Films, a business unit of Cosmo First, recently commissioned its first BOPET line for making specialty PET films for shrink labels, window films and other specialty applications. The company has also announced a new CPP and a BOPP line to be commissioned in FY 24 and FY 25 respectively. In an interview with The Packman, Kulbhushan Malik, global business head, Cosmo Films, speaks about Cosmo Films’ latest developments in the direction of plastic recyclability and how it has been responding to the increasing demand for sustainable and innovative technology.
Manash Das: Please tell us about your two latest developments in the direction of plastic recyclability. What kind of response are you getting from the market for these products?
Kulbhushan Malik: Cosmo Films is a pioneer of BOPP films in India and a prominent global player. Cosmo Films has a diversified portfolio of films available for packaging, lamination, label, and industrial applications. There are several types of films used in laminate structures for packaging like BOPP, BOPET, CPP, PE, aluminum foil, etc. A heterogeneous structure made of different types of films along with metallization, use of adhesives, inks and barrier material makes recyclability difficult and, in many cases, impossible. BOPP, CPP and PE belong to the same polyolefin family and laminates made with these films are gaining prominence.
Cosmo has many success stories wherein it has replaced PET, aluminum foil and PE with BOPP and CPP making a mono-material laminate structure. Cosmo developed sustainable films like White BOPP Film designed to withstand envelope sealing for soap wrapping applications replacing PET and paper structures with a complete BOPP structure. Other developments of recyclable OPP laminate for noodles packaging and heat resistant BOPP films and ultra-high barrier film for tea and coffee packaging have also been extremely successful in making the laminate recyclable and is being used by various global brands. We are working to enhance the usage of plastic recycled material in flexible packaging as a responsible industry leader. Cosmo continues to invest in research and development to create a future line of sustainable packaging films.
Manash Das: In the last one and a half years, several film lines have been installed in India and several more are going to be installed in less than a year. Are we heading towards over capacity?
Kulbhushan Malik: Demand for flexible packaging will continue to grow as there is still a lot of unorganized sectors which is converting into organized sector in India. Moreover, end use of BOPP films is across a variety of sectors like FMCG, textiles, eCommerce, digital printing, etc. From a sustainability point of view, BOPP demand is only going to grow as there is a global trend to move towards a complete monolayer structure. BOPP consumes less energy for film production, printing and sealing.
Moreover, the moisture barrier, appearance properties and availability in various types (transparent, metalized, white opaque cavitated, silky matte and pearlized) make it the most preferred choice for Packaging. The flexible packaging market was estimated to be worth USD 68.5 billion in 2021 and is anticipated to increase to USD 102.8 billion by 2031, rising at a CAGR of 4.2% between 2022 and 2031, according to Flexible Packaging Market and Industry Forecast Report 2022 – 2031.
While there might be some overcapacity in the short term, demand for flexible packaging will only grow as a result of the sizable population base, expanding packaged food consumption, growing organized retail sector, flourishing eCommerce, and rising per capita income in the country.
Cosmo is also investing and increasing its capacity. We have recently commissioned our first BOPET line for making specialty PET films for shrink labels, window films and other specialty applications. We have also announced a new CPP and a BOPP line to be commissioned in FY 24 and FY 25 respectively.
Manash Das: If the wider packaging industry could be transformed in some way, what kind of change would you like to see?
Kulbhushan Malik: The use of plastic in the packaging industry today is widespread globally and is the most preferred choice for packaging. It is important to create a circular economy that promotes reduction, recycling, and reuse of materials. This will remove several misconceptions about the use and recyclability of plastics. To this end, all players should work together and play their part in a sustainable way. Manufacturers should produce material that is easy to recycle and reuse. Producers, importers, and brand owners everyone should work together toward standardization of pack sizes and packaging. This itself will reduce the significant complexity involved in recycling the packaging.
Moreover, initiatives should be taken towards effective waste management, creation of recycling hubs, product reuse, and buying back materials that can truly help change the industry. Brands, government and other key players should create awareness on recycling of packaging. Within the flexible packaging industry, the focus is being seen on creating monolayer laminate structures and downgauging to reduce the use of plastic content. Equipment companies should work towards creating hybrid lines. There should be work done towards better segregation of waste, increasing availability, and reducing the cost of recycled resins and making equipment that can reprocess waste.
Manash Das: How do you envisage your company changing the industry in the coming years?
Kulbhushan Malik: Cosmo being a pioneer in BOPP films in India and a prominent global player has been investing in research and development over last many years. We are working towards developing and offering a variety of sustainable films. We are closely working with global and local brands to convert the laminate structure into fully recyclable mono-material structure. We will work on developing mono-layer packaging films, heat-resistant BOPP films and barrier films without EVOH and BOPE film in the future. The focus will be to increase our specialty sales further and take it to beyond 80% from 65% levels achieved last year. We will work towards increasing the recycled content into flexible and rigid packaging.
