Sahil Shah, director of Letra Graphix, spoke to PrintWeek during CMPL 2026, setting out the company's ambitions for NFC, variable data printing and the growing appetite for premium packaging across the Indian market.
"We really want to pitch it to the Indian market," said Shah. "We want to move out of QR codes completely and then make it a seamless experience for a lot of customers." The company has already completed several successful pilot projects using AES NFC labels, and Shah was quick to note their durability. "We are using some of these labels from three years now and they are still running fine."
The case for NFC rests substantially on its security credentials. Unlike a QR code, which is essentially a printed image that can be copied, reprinted or replicated by counterfeiters, an NFC chip contains encrypted and unique digital identifiers that are significantly harder to clone. Brands can authenticate products in real time, track engagement, update information remotely and deliver a one-tap digital experience without relying on visible printed codes. For premium, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and high-value consumer products, Shah argues, this distinction is critical.
The consumer experience is also transformed. Where QR codes require a user to open a camera, scan correctly and wait for focus before a link opens, NFC removes those steps entirely. A single tap triggers the interaction instantly. Beyond authentication, NFC can unlock personalised content, loyalty programmes, product education, warranty registration or social engagement in one movement. "We believe this kind of frictionless interaction is where packaging is headed globally," Shah said.
Brands remain the bottleneck
Despite the technology's promise, Shah is candid about the gap between capability and commercial adoption. Pricing pressures, foreign exchange considerations and supply chain constraints all play a role, but he identifies a more fundamental obstacle. "The hunger for brands to do it is the major challenge. It is not something that brands cannot digest. But it is just the hunger that has been lacking from the industry." Even as counterfeiting continues to rise, many brands remain reluctant to invest in the additional protection NFC labels can provide. "Counterfeiting is on the rise, and yet they are not going ahead with this," he acknowledged.
The operational implications of embedding NFC chips at scale add further friction. Coding time, chip availability and the upfront investment required from brands all present what Shah characterises as teething problems rather than insurmountable barriers. "Now everybody wants their products yesterday," he said, but he remains optimistic that once commercial volumes are reached, workflows will become more streamlined. On cost, he noted that NFC-enabled labels are currently more expensive than conventional QR-based labels owing to the embedded chip and encoding process, though he expects costs to reduce substantially as adoption scales. For premium products where counterfeiting or customer engagement is a concern, he said, many brands already see value that extends well beyond the additional label cost.
Shah is also careful not to overstate the shift. "I would not say QR codes will disappear completely, because they still remain highly useful and cost-effective for many applications. The intention is more about encouraging the market to start exploring more secure and seamless technologies where required." He characterises NFC as the next evolution for brands focused on premiumisation, anti-counterfeiting and connected packaging, rather than a wholesale replacement of what already exists.
Accessible embellishments and variable data
Away from NFC, Letra Graphix is presenting variable data printing as a direct answer to inventory challenges facing smaller and newer brands. The approach allows multiple label variants to be printed on a single sheet, enabling customers to apply different information to monocartons without maintaining separate label stocks. "The MOQ goes down, the prices go down for the customer and there is a lot of material saving also," Shah explained.
Hot foiling, cold foiling and a broad range of embellishments were also on display, again with minimum order quantities lower than the market has traditionally expected. "We want to give the new entrant a sweet spot to enter the industry," Shah said. "They should not be fearing what the MOQs are. They should be happy to start their business."
Premium appetite grows
On design trends, Shah offers a measured picture. Minimalism is gaining ground at the premium end of the market, particularly for products priced upwards of INR 2,000, where brands are increasingly choosing restrained palettes, reduced text and high-quality materials over elaborate visual treatments. "They want it premium, niche, less text matter, less line work, less colour, no images," he said. Yet he is equally quick to point out that no single trend dominates. "It's all over the place right now. It really depends on the product and the target audience."
What is consistent, he said, is the growing willingness among premium brands to invest meaningfully in packaging, a shift that has accelerated over the past five years. "The premium ones want to keep their product differently, and that is why they are spending much more on packaging compared to what they used to spend five years before."
On the show floor, the early responses was encouraging. "The interest has clearly been on embellishments and how different they want their product to be," Shah reported. Notably, he has encountered little of the cost-saving conversation that can dominate trade events. "I have not seen much of cost saving interest. The interest has been that they want to enhance their packaging." For a company making the case for premium, future-facing technology in a price-sensitive market, that is precisely the audience Letra Graphix came to find.