UFlex, India’s largest multinational flexible packaging and solutions company, has launched its latest innovation from its chemical portfolio – Flexcoat Soft Touch Coating, an environmentally friendly, water-based soft-touch coating – at Plastindia 2026. Developed to address the growing demand for premium, luxurious, and aesthetically appealing packaging, the coating is designed to enhance both tactile comfort and visual elegance across flexible packaging films as well as paper and paperboard substrates, making it a versatile solution for modern packaging applications.
Soft touch coatings are increasingly being adopted across various packaging formats to create distinctive sensory experiences, offering velvety, silky, or rubbery textures while protecting the durability of the underlying substrate. UFlex’s water-based soft touch coating delivers a matte finish with a uniform, consistent surface, combining a superior soft touch effect with excellent levelling, wetting, and laydown properties. The coating is 100% aqueous and environmentally friendly, aligning with global sustainability trends, low-VOC requirements, and regulatory expectations, while also offering practical benefits, such as good scratch resistance and antiblocking performance.
The solution is suitable for application through conventional offline coating processes, including rotogravure, anilox, roller coating, and Mayer bar, enabling seamless integration into existing converting operations. Designed to balance sensory appeal with functional performance, the coating addresses the industry’s need for materials that provide a premium look and feel without compromising on durability, process efficiency, or environmental responsibility. It is particularly relevant for high-value packaging segments, such as luxury cosmetics and skincare, premium wine and spirits, high-end consumer electronics, jewellery and gift boxes, fashion and lifestyle brands, cigarette packaging, and premium print applications like visiting cards and invitations
Desh Deepak Misra, joint president, chemicals business, UFlex, said, “As part of our continuous innovation pipeline, we are introducing this solution to address evolving performance and sustainability needs in packaging. The advantage for customers working with us is that they benefit from our integrated approach to packaging solutions, offering comprehensive capabilities across inks, adhesives and coatings, unlike many global players who provide only limited solutions. We have an extensive global footprint, serving over 200 customers across domestic and international markets. Our biggest strength lies in being a technology-driven and fully integrated company with deep backward integration across the packaging value chain – from films and chemicals to converting and machinery. This gives us a unique understanding of customer pain points and enables us to deliver nimble, responsive and tailor-made solutions that address real industry needs.”
Alongside the launch of its soft touch coating, UFlex Chemicals is showcasing its latest range of high-performance adhesives, white adhesives, water-based inks, and PU inks at the tradeshow, highlighting its comprehensive portfolio of solutions for the packaging and printing industry. A global leader in flexible packaging inks, adhesives, and specialty UV and LED coatings, the company continues to drive innovation across sheetfed, offset, letterpress, and narrow web applications, supported by its NABL-accredited (ISO/IEC 17025:2017) R&D center recognized by the Government of India.