Food & Beverage Asia December/January 2024

PROCESSING AND PACKAGING
43
SIG’s range of pack volumes and flexible
filling machines enable manufacturers to
achieve this agility in their production lines
as they can fill up to nine pack volumes
on a single machine, taking only a few
minutes to switch between volumes.
both basic and premium products on the same
manufacturing set-up – flexibly adapting pack
sizes to match different price points. And with
solutions like SIG Drinksplus, manufacturers
can include value-adding extras like real pieces
of fruit, vegetables, nuts or cereal grains.
rise of inflation, affordable one-litre packs
have become the norm in these categories.
Consumers are opting for even bigger
sizes in some regions to ensure availability
in times of interrupted supply chains.
Even in regions where 500ml was a
popular size for milk, there has been a shift
towards bigger packs – showcasing the
importance of dairy in diets. Plant-based dairy
alternatives also continued to be popular
in one-litre packs, especially in Europe.
It is evident that price and convenience both
play a vital role in small sizing, and while
this is likely to prevail, it remains to be seen
if the upsizing trends will also continue.
FLEXIBILITY FOR RIGHTSIZING
With fluctuating consumption trends,
flexibility and agility have become the
key to capturing and retaining consumer
segments, sometimes even in the same
product category. Anticipating and meeting
the changing needs of consumers by
offering them the right options can be a
differentiator that earns brand loyalty.
A CASE OF MARKET-CENTRIC
PRODUCTION IN INDIA
India is experiencing its youngest-ever
consumer market, according to Technopak,
with 33% of the population under 15 years
old and 50% under 24. With this growing
population of young, educated and timepressed
consumers, convenience food
and beverages are becoming ever-more
popular. And with a more globalised outlook,
Indian consumers are also seeking new
ingredients, flavours, and experiences.
With SIG, brands and manufacturers can bring
new products to consumers while enhancing
their filling line flexibility and efficiency. In India,
dairy products in packaging as small as 80ml
are hugely popular driven by their affordable
price point and ease of mobility. While in
South East Asia, new packaging sizes such as
150ml are introduced to target the affordable
premium market, giving consumers the option
of consuming premium products in smaller
packaging and at affordable prices. Some of
our customers have chosen high-performance
SIG filling machines with a SIG Drinksplus
option that is suitable for aseptically filling SIG
XSlimBloc in up to nine different volumes.
By filling different pack sizes on the same
filling machine, SIG enables producers to fill
NOT FORGETTING SUSTAINABILITY
It goes without saying that sustainable
packaging is among the top asks today. With
SIG, clients can extend flexible production
to even the choice of packaging materials,
choosing from a wide range of even more
sustainable packaging solutions to meet the
varied sustainability demands across the globe.
As regulatory bodies and businesses
worldwide transforming operations, SIG has
transitioned to 100% renewable electricity
at all its aseptic carton production plants.
The company also surpassed its target
to halve operational emissions by 2025
and accelerated the timeline for climate
action with greenhouse gas reduction
targets and its path to net zero approval
by the Science-Based Targets Initiative.
SIG has also announced that it will raise
the proportion of fibre in its aseptic carton
structure. The company plans to develop
a full-barrier aluminium-free aseptic
packaging structure with at least 90% fibre
content by 2030, with an interim target of
at least 85% by 2025. This supports SIG’s
ambition to enable carton packs to be
recycled anywhere in the world, which is
especially true for markets that have little
established infrastructure for recycling. FBA
With multiple pack sizes, brands do not
need to underfill bigger packs to ensure
affordability. Instead, they can target different
consumer segments based on volume. Take
market requirements in the MEA region,
where children’s beverages tend to come
in 125ml packs, with the same products
available in 200ml packs for teenagers.
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA DECEMBER 2023 / JANUARY 2024