India’s flexible packaging industry is moving into a phase where scale, product differentiation and sustainability can no longer be treated as separate priorities. According to Prashant Mehra, president and CEO, SRF, the companies that will remain competitive in the global market will be those that bring all three together.

Speaking at the 13th Specialty Films & Flexible Packaging Global Summit in Mumbai, Mehra said the industry had traditionally viewed scale, specialty and sustainability as distinct choices. “In today’s context, I believe there is no option of making these choices. The future in the industry belongs to those who will exclusively deliver all these three together,” he said.

India’s position in the global flexible packaging industry is strengthening as domestic demand expands across FMCG, eCommerce, quick commerce and pharmaceuticals. Mehra noted that while the global flexible packaging market is growing at a steady pace, India’s growth is significantly faster, making the country increasingly relevant to global supply chains.

The manufacturing base is expanding alongside demand. Mehra pointed to India’s flexible packaging production of around 5.2 million tonnes in 2025 and the growing ability of Indian suppliers to serve international markets. “India is moving from a high-growth packaging market to a very globally relevant packaging ecosystem,” he said.

Mehra described the evolution of the industry through three phases. The initial focus was on scale and building manufacturing capacity. The next phase brought specialty, with packaging expected to deliver longer shelf life, convenience and improved performance. Sustainability has now become an integral part of packaging development, driven by regulation, brand commitments, consumer expectations and resource efficiency.

However, scale itself is changing. It is no longer simply about having greater capacity. High-speed production, wider product portfolios, resilient supply chains and manufacturing presence across geographies are becoming part of what Mehra described as “multi-dimensional” scale.

specialty, meanwhile, is increasingly about material science translating into measurable value for brands and converters. Better barrier properties, sealability, runability, strength and performance can improve packaging functionality and production efficiency. “The next decades’ winners will grow by delivering more functionality, performance and value and not volume alone,” Mehra said.

He also cautioned against expecting a single substrate to meet every packaging requirement. Different applications demand different combinations of properties, from barrier protection and strength to recyclability and cost efficiency. “One size is not likely to fit all,” he said, arguing that the future will depend on selecting the right combination of substrates for specific end-use requirements.

Sustainability, in Mehra’s view, has moved from being an additional product feature to a design input. Lightweighting, downgauging, fewer layers, mono-material structures, design for recycling and the increased use of post-consumer recycled materials will all play a role.

But sustainable packaging must also work commercially. “Unless it makes economic sense, the sustainability will not be able to survive on its own,” he said. Achieving this will require coordinated action across resin and film producers, converters, brands and recyclers.

For Mehra, the three priorities reinforce one another. Scale provides the economics and supply-chain capability to support innovation; specialty creates differentiated value; and sustainability increasingly determines long-term market relevance. He added a fourth consideration – speed – as another factor that could separate future leaders from the rest.

For India’s flexible packaging industry, the opportunity is therefore not simply to grow volumes, but to build globally competitive capabilities around scale, specialty and sustainability.