When the pack carries the brand — The Noel D'Cunha Sunday Column

On a screen, every brand looks sharp. Resolution is high, colours are controlled, and the environment is frictionless. A digital storefront rarely smells of humidity, never suffers a scuffed corner, and does not have to survive a truck ride across states. Yet brands do not live on screens alone. They arrive in homes as boxes, bottles, sachets and labels. They are cut open with kitchen knives, stacked in cupboards, squeezed, poured, shaken and sometimes dropped.

It is in these unscripted moments that packaging stops being a marketing afterthought and becomes a brand’s physical reality.

That reality sits at the centre of two closely watched panels at Heidelberg’s Networking Summit in Mumbai on 29 January 2026. The conversations bring together FMCG leaders, pharmaceutical executives, eCommerce specialists and print and packaging service providers. Their shared concern is simple to state but complex to solve. When attention is digital but experience is physical, what exactly is the role of print packaging?

Noel D’Cunha of PrintWeek and WhatPackaging? opened one of the panels with a line that frames the day. A pack, he says, is “the last advertisement before purchase and the first experience after purchase.” It is a reminder that the brand journey does not end at checkout. In many cases it only begins there.

In a parallel session, Jitesh Mehta of Avery Dennison South Asia makes a related observation. For a growing share of consumers, he says, “the first physical interaction with a brand now happens at home, not on a store shelf.” The shelf is increasingly virtual. The pack is the store.

The scale of the opportunity explains the urgency. India’s packaging industry is not merely growing; it is expanding at a pace that few adjacent sectors can match. In 2023, the sector is estimated at USD 71.9-billion, and projections suggest it could reach USD 130.14-billion by 2028, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of around 12.6%. Within this, label printing alone accounts for roughly USD 2.3-billion today, with forecasts pointing to USD 3.6-billion by 2025. Per capita label consumption has climbed from about 0.25 square metres in 2008 to nearly one square metre in 2023, a fourfold rise that mirrors the shift toward organised retail, branded goods and SKU proliferation.

Across both discussions, a pattern emerges. Packaging is no longer a downstream execution of a brand decision. It is part of the decision itself. It must carry identity, satisfy regulation, survive logistics, deter counterfeiting, justify price, support sustainability claims and still look desirable on a phone camera.

The pack, in other words, is doing more jobs than ever.

Identity on the outside

Chinmaya Dandekar of Godrej Consumer Products reaches for a metaphor that draws a quick reaction from the audience. “A brand without packaging is like a person without clothes in public,” he says. The comparison is vivid but the logic is commercial. Packaging is what makes a brand recognisable, socially present and contextually appropriate.

For legacy FMCG companies, this is not theoretical. Decades of brand building are encoded in colours, shapes and layout systems. A certain shade of green, a specific logo placement, a familiar typeface all act as shortcuts for memory. Consumers do not read every pack. They recognise it.

Dandekar points to categories such as household care and personal protection. A mosquito repellent, at its core, is a chemical solution. The printed pack reassures the buyer that the formulation is safe, tested and backed by a known company. Strip away the design and the same liquid in a plain container inspires far less confidence.

The impact shows up directly in pricing power. When a product looks generic, it competes like a commodity. When it looks branded, it can command a premium. Packaging, therefore, is not a wrapper. It is a value signal.

This link between packaging and value is increasingly visible in fast growing digital first brands. Sridhar J of Plum describes how beauty and personal care brands now operate in a world where every product is potential content. “The pack has to look right on the shelf and on the screen,” he says.

A lipstick or serum is rarely seen only in a store. It is unboxed on video, photographed for reviews and displayed on social feeds. If the packaging does not translate well visually, the brand loses free amplification. Design is now partly a media strategy.

Plum’s own experience illustrates the stakes. The company has doubled revenues in recent years while staying profitable. Sridhar credits a deliberate upgrade in packaging, including attention to tactile elements. Matte finishes, soft touch coatings and considered colour palettes influence how consumers perceive quality even before use.

He notes that influencer endorsements can trigger visible sales spikes. When that happens, the first physical confirmation of the hype is the pack that lands in the customer’s hand. If it feels underwhelming, the halo fades quickly.

What emerges is a broader truth. Identity today must travel across physical and digital touchpoints without distortion. Packaging is the bridge that carries brand codes between those worlds.

Recognition and repurchase

If identity attracts, recognition retains. Sharad Chandak of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals explains why packaging in pharma carries unusual weight. Medicines are not impulse buys. They are tied to health, routines and trust. “A plain pack creates doubt,” he says.

Patients often remember medicines by visual cues rather than chemical names. A particular colour band, strip design or brand mark becomes a memory anchor. When those cues change or disappear, continuity suffers. In therapies that require long term adherence, that continuity matters.

Chandak argues that if branding and printing were removed, the first casualty would be repurchase. Loyalty in pharma is partly visual. Price sensitivity appears later. The initial barrier is trust.

Pharmaceutical packs also operate under technical constraints that outsiders may misread. Extra layers, special foils or thicker boards can look excessive. In reality they may be protecting against moisture, light or temperature variation. Stability data, not marketing enthusiasm, often drives these decisions.

The pharmaceutical example highlights a larger point. Not all packaging choices are aesthetic. Many are functional responses to risk.

In eCommerce, the risk looks different but the logic is similar. Sandeep Sangwan of Flipkart explains that the buying decision online is shaped by catalogue images, ratings and prior experience. By the time the product arrives, expectations are already formed.

The delivered pack must validate what the screen promised. If the colour looks off, the structure feels flimsy or the print appears dull, the brand pays a penalty in reviews and repeat purchase. Digital discovery still ends in physical judgement.

ECommerce also introduces a new role for packaging. Transit packs double as communication surfaces. Millions of parcels entering homes each day create moments of brand contact that did not exist in traditional retail. A box can carry campaign messaging, instructions, cross promotions or personalised notes.

Sangwan notes that younger consumers increasingly prefer minimal and honest design. Easy opening, fewer layers and clear disposal paths influence satisfaction. Convenience becomes part of brand equity. “Recognition, therefore, is not only about graphics. It is also about predictability. Consumers want to know what they will get and how easily they can access it.”

Regulation and real estate

Few categories illustrate constraint like alcobev. Heemanshu Ashar of John Distilleries explains that large parts of a label are legally prescribed. Statutory warnings, declarations and state specific information claim valuable space. “Branding must work around these blocks.”

This does not eliminate creativity. It redirects it. Secondary packs, mono cartons and structural elements become storytelling platforms. Ashar describes bottles where hidden artwork becomes visible as the liquid level drops, allowing a narrative to unfold over time.

Such ideas show how packaging can extend brand experience beyond purchase. The consumer keeps discovering.

The alcobev market also spans wide volume ranges. Mass brands ship in millions of cases, sometimes in unconventional formats. At the other extreme are single cask editions with limited bottles. Both rely on print to signal authenticity and positioning, but their cost structures and design languages differ.

Cost pressure remains a constant undercurrent. High duties and limited credits squeeze margins. Secondary packaging is often examined first for savings. Sustainability arguments may support these moves, but the trigger is frequently financial.

When the conversation turns to packaging as real estate, speakers show caution. Dandekar warns that “overloading the pack with claims can dilute the message.” More copy does not mean more persuasion. Clarity wins.

In pharma, large portions of the surface are non-negotiable because of warnings and instructions. Quick identification from a distance is critical. In alcohol, designers fight for every permissible millimetre. Hierarchy becomes a discipline.

The shared conclusion is that packaging space is finite. Discipline in communication is becoming a competitive skill.

Surviving the journey

If branding defines the intent, logistics tests the outcome. Sandeep Bhargava of Kumar Printers brings attention to India’s handling realities. Rough loading, variable warehousing and climate swings place stress on packaging.

“A pack may travel from a humid coastal plant to a dry inland city, then to an air-conditioned retail environment. Each shift affects board behaviour, adhesives and print surfaces. Designing for these variables requires technical foresight,” says Bhargava.

Bhargava stresses that functionality often overrides decoration. A beautifully finished pack that fails in transit damages both product and reputation. Survival is a design parameter.

On print consistency, the industry has made progress. Colour management tools and process controls allow standardisation. Yet tactile consistency remains harder to measure. Feel depends on coatings, substrates and finishing interactions.

Vivek Kapoor of Creative Labels notes that even with modern presses, variables such as dust or adhesive behaviour can affect output. Branding at scale requires constant calibration. “Quality is a process, not a one-time achievement,” he says.

Quick commerce introduces another expectation layer. A ten-minute delivery feels like a store visit. The outer bag or pack carries emotional weight. A crushed or dull bag can reduce the delight of immediacy.

Consumers also associate simplicity with respect. Easy opening and reduced layers signal consideration. Packaging design is quietly absorbing lessons from user experience design in digital products.

From supplier to co-creator

As packaging complexity rises, so does the expectation from packaging service providers. Parul Goel of Reckitt argues that cost and compliance are now entry tickets. “We look for partners who act as brand custodians,” she says.

That custodianship includes questioning briefs, advising on shelf visibility and flagging regulatory issues. Packaging service providers who understand global standards and ethical sourcing expectations become strategic partners.

Digital integration is part of this shift. Brands value suppliers who can align systems, support forecasting and scale smoothly from pilot to mass production. As portfolios multiply, reliability matters.

Naveen Stuart of Marico brings nuance to premiumisation. Not every brand needs the same treatment. For mass products, expensive finishes may not translate into perceived value. For premium or digital first brands, tactile and visual cues can support positioning. “Value perception is the core,” he says.

Sustainability adds another filter. Recyclability and material reduction are shaped by both regulation and consumer awareness. Decorative effects are being reconsidered in that context. The challenge is to balance aesthetics with system compatibility.

Nirav Shah of Letra Graphix points to connected packaging as the next frontier. QR codes, colour QR, NFC and interactive print can link the physical pack to digital content. A scan can deliver traceability, usage guidance or authentication.

Anti-counterfeiting sits close to this discussion. In pharma, it is a serious safety issue. Variable data, covert features and consumer education form part of the defence. In FMCG, holograms and codes help protect revenue and trust.

A final provocation from Gautam Agarwal of Ansa Pack from the audience, captures the converter’s dilemma. Innovation is often followed by price pressure. The consensus response is that if innovation adds consumer value and can scale, it earns its place. Not every idea must pay back immediately.

Both panels converge on a shared closing thought. Sustainability, cost and innovation now move together. Brands cannot treat them as separate phases. Responsibility and competitiveness must align.

In a media environment full of noise, print packaging rarely shouts. It does something more demanding. It performs. It survives. It reassures. It proves that the brand promise is not just a line on a screen. Quietly, in the consumer’s hand or at their doorstep, the pack carries the weight of the brand.