The Label Manufacturers Association of India (LMAI) organized the third edition of brand owners’ meet under the title ‘Future-Next: Brand Owners’ Perspective of Label’ at The Park in New Delhi on 29 June 2019. The speakers at the event included Pavankumar Chougule, associate director of Dr. Reddy’s; Santanu Chowdhury, senior general manager, packaging development, Sun Pharma Global; Naveen Stuart, packaging development manager of Reckitt Benckiser; Tamal Ghosh, deputy general manager, Dabur; Soumyanath Mishra, global head – packaging and development at Mankind Research Centre; Somnath Chatterjee, general manager – procurement at Pernod Ricard; and Barun Banerjee, head packaging at Nestle. Curated by Harveer Sahni, chairman at Weldon Celloplast, the event was well attended by label converters, labelstock suppliers, machine manufacturers and suppliers.
Santanu Chowdhary, associate director, Sun Pharma, explained how creating an embedded code on labels or any printed packaging materials can open up a digital interaction eco-system. “The code is invisible to plain human eyes thus making it difficult to copy. A simple device like a smart phone can detect the code through an app. Embedding the code is a normal printing process – a simple artwork with the code goes to a printer, which can be printed on a single or multi color press with no requirement for any special color. It is just about an artwork coupled with digital technology.”
The technology, known as Interactive Verus Mark (IVM), is patented and can be generated by MagnaVersum and partners. Post scanning of the code, it is possible to modify the screens as per brands’ need. Single app can recognize multiple codes across brands. Chowdhary said that IVM is not only an ideal anti-counterfeiting solution, but also a solution which can make our day to day problems simple and life so smooth.
Chowdhary also discussed about the possibility of dual use of QR codes and Interactive Verus Mark. However, he cautioned about the use of QR code as an anti-counterfeiting solution as QR code does not have a unique model and is not an anti-counterfeiting solution. He said, “QR code is a very good example if you have to talk about dispensing solution and if you want to talk about your product. Beyond that there are limitations with QR codes. A QR code can be created in 10 seconds. Any QR code that you see on a brand can be duplicated in just 5 seconds. But IVM is an invincible technology and hence very difficult to duplicate.”
Tamal Ghosh, deputy general manager at Dabur, said that thinner labels without affecting the label performance are the need of the hour in the FMCG sector. He also asked the label converters if they could come up with a PET-based label on PET material for in-mold labels similar to an HDPE label on HDPE bottles, a solution that has recently come to India. Ghosh said that in-mold labels provide better graphics with no liner wastage.
Another speaker, Naveen Stuart, packaging development manager at Reckitt Benckiser said that product customization has become extremely important while packaging also needs to tell the story of a brand and the product.
The event concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Harveer Sahni of Weldon Celloplast. Manish Desai of Mudrika Labels, chairman of LMAI, highlighted the continuous growth of LMAI over the years. Desai said this year 156 companies have registered to attend the event, along with 35 sponsors and 514 delegates. The LMAI conference this year will take place in Kochi from 25 to 28 July 2019.
