Smart packaging: Moving from functional to interactive

India sits at a unique intersection of rising consumer awareness and digital infrastructure growth. The session, titled Smart packaging technologies: Consumer interaction, supply chain visibility, safety and more, was moderated by Mayur Mhapankar, senior manager at Aranca. The panel featured Abhishek Arora, general manager of procurement at LT Foods; Yashasvi Mishra, associate director at Licious; and Avijit Das, R&D director for product delivery and maintenance at Reckitt Benckiser.

Defining the smart packaging spectrum

To understand the trajectory of the industry, Das established a framework for classifying smart packaging into three distinct facets. The first is active or functional packaging, where the package performs a specific role to enhance the product, such as extending shelf life through oxygen scavengers or moisture barriers. The second is inclusive packaging, which senses information and relays it to the relevant stakeholders. The third and most aspirational category is interactive packaging, which creates a two-way dialogue with the consumer.

Das noted that while the market for functional packaging is established, the transition to inclusive and interactive formats is still in its nascent stages. He highlighted a critical gap in growth projections, noting that while the smart packaging sector is predicted to grow between 7% and 12%, this lags behind the broader Indian economic growth trajectory. For the sector to truly thrive, Das argued that the industry must aim for growth rates upwards of 30%, which can only be achieved by moving beyond basic functionality toward truly interactive solutions that solve genuine consumer problems.

Innovations in material science

The discussion moved toward the technological backbone enabling this shift. Arora elaborated on the innovations in material science and embedded electronics that are poised to make smart packaging mainstream. He highlighted the emergence of conductive inks, which allow manufacturers to print antennas, sensors, and circuits directly onto the packaging material. This innovation solves the issue of detachment associated with ancillary tags and offers capabilities like moisture barrier detection.

Arora also addressed the critical challenge of sustainability. One of the primary hurdles in smart packaging is the recyclability of packs embedded with electronics. To combat this, the industry is seeing the rise of biodegradable circuits made from cellulose and starch-based materials. Additionally, natural antimicrobial coatings derived from seaweed and potato starch are being developed to enhance shelf life without compromising environmental standards. However, Arora cautioned that cost and scalability remain significant barriers, particularly regarding the manufacturing of chips and the fragmented nature of India's supply chains.

Value-add versus competitive necessity

A key theme of the discussion was whether smart packaging remains a premium value-add or has become a competitive necessity. The panel agreed that in India, it largely remains a value-add, though this is shifting rapidly in specific sectors. In the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, where counterfeiting is a major concern, track-and-trace technologies are becoming essential due to regulatory pressure and the need for authentication. Similarly, in the dairy and fresh produce sectors, time-temperature indicators are moving from novelties to necessities to guarantee freshness.

Mhapankar queried the panel on the consumer's willingness to pay for these features. Drawing a parallel to the evolution of the smartphone market, Das suggested that consumers are always willing to pay if the perceived value is clear. He illustrated this with an analogy of a ring lost in the sand; if the value is high (gold or diamond) and the effort to find it is reasonable, people will engage. Similarly, smart packaging must offer tangible benefits, whether through loyalty points, safety assurance, or critical information, rather than just interaction for the sake of novelty.

The consumer interaction challenge

Mishra emphasised the importance of design in bridging the gap between technology and the consumer. He noted that in the fast-paced retail environment, brands have a five-second rule to engage a shopper. For smart packaging, this window is even shorter, often just two seconds. If a QR code takes too long to load or leads to a non-responsive page, the consumer interaction is lost.

Mishra and Arora also touched upon the diversity of the Indian demographic. While urban consumers might scan a code to check carbon emissions or sourcing details, rural consumers face different challenges, including literacy barriers. Arora proposed a futuristic approach involving voice-enabled QR codes that could read out cooking instructions or nutritional information in regional languages, thereby transforming the packaging from a static container into an accessible media tool.

The road ahead

The panel concluded that while cost, infrastructure, and data privacy remain hurdles, the opportunity for smart packaging in India is immense. The adoption of QR codes, currently driven by payments, is paving the way for broader usage in product interaction. The key takeaway for the industry is to shift from a strategy of pushing technology onto the market to pulling consumers in by creating safe, meaningful, and wow experiences. As the digital and physical worlds converge, smart packaging will likely evolve from a protective shell into a dynamic, interactive platform that bridges the brand and the consumer.