Will Tikki Packs Save The Day For Biscuit Manufacturers?

 Indian Biscuit Manufacturers  are under tremendous pressure for  profit margin  against ever rising inflation  which had made  raw material costlier to them .  The options  are limited for the biscuit manufactures  either  they increase price for their product  or  increase the volumes of their sales . Increasing price  is  a difficult option thanks for the cut throat competition and  Indian consumers  change of  loyalty over price . Now manufacturers are trying to place products on every price point  as low  as Rs1/- , Rs2/- , Rs3/-   for these small packs   they have coined a term called Tikki Packs ( small packs ) . So  you   find all major manufacturers  marketing their products on Tikki Packs  with 4- 5 biscuits per pack  wts around  25 - 35gms  for Rs2/-.

This Tikki Pack  concept   was first initiated by  Cavin Kare for its "Chic"  shampoo giving shampoo in sachets for Rs2/- , the idea was well accepted by consumers and it became  mega hit  overnight . Others too  followed the idea and we had all fmcg giving their products in Tikki Packs . Britannia started the Tikki Pack  concept in early 2000s  for  Tiger , then parle  joined and offered its Parle G in Tikki Packs and now Sunfeast(ITC) has joined the competition with its Tikki Packs for its glucose biscuits.   With  economic slowdown  and spiraling prices still looming  large  manufacturers are finding small  packs as best strategy  to   increase their sales, as consumers would  not mind spending such a low amount on biscuits .This also helps people under BPL to be able to buy branded biscuits for themselves.


Interesting use of Tikki packs  of biscuits  has been observed   in  this   region  . People use Tikki packs for

1  Giving it to poor people as alms" daan"  during festive / religious ceremonies .
2. Pets
3. Return Gifts at Birth day s
4. Retail shop owners exchanging for  change s.
5. Kiosk owners put it along with other sachets 



Even new entrants have  gone for  Rs5/(  $0.11)-  a pack  eg- Oreo , Mcvities .Competing for consumers  every rupee in biscuit market .

Unilever To Procure Paper And Board Packaging From Sustainable Managed Forest

Paper and Board Packaging makes most of the secondary packaging in food  and bakery industry . Raw pulp   which is used as raw material for all paper products are sourced from  trees  thus  contributing to deforestation and in turn  impacting climate change . Addressing this concern Unilever has taken a bold initiative to source all its paper products from  sustainable managed forest or recycled  material. Hope all other major food  manufacturers  would  follow  example of Unilever in protecting environment through  sustainable  sourcing .


Unilever Policy towards sustainable paper and board sourcing

Press release .
The policy outlines the company’s ambitious goal to work with its suppliers to source 75 per cent of its paper and board packaging from sustainably managed forests or from recycled material by 2015, rising to 100 per cent by 2020.
The commitment makes Unilever the first global FMCG company to commit to sourcing all of its paper and board packaging from sustainably managed forests or recycled material within a clearly defined timeframe.

For the company’s requirements for paper from virgin sources, preference will be given to supplies delivered through the Forest Stewardship Council certification scheme. Unilever will also accept other national schemes under the framework of international Forest Management Certification standards, provided they comply with the Policy’s Implementation Guidelines.
The move means the logos of the acceptable forest management certification schemes will begin to appear on the packaging of Unilever’s portfolio of brands as progress is made towards reaching the target, and in order to increase consumer awareness and promote the expansion of certified forests in the world.
Marc Engel, Unilever’s Chief Procurement Officer, said: “As a leading consumer goods company, we buy considerable quantities of paper and board for packaging to ensure our products are protected and transported safely. As such it is important that we promote sustainable forestry practices and help combat deforestation and climate change through the responsible sourcing of these materials.
We are committed to working in partnership with all of our suppliers to progressively increase the proportion of paper and board packaging which comes from recycled materials, or sustainably managed forests, in order to achieve this ambitious target.

Source
www.Unilever.com

Oxy -Bio Degradable Packaging For Bakery Products - An Alternative Packaging

Bakery Manufacturers have started using Oxy -Bio Degradable  plastic packaging for breads , frozen bakery products  and in shrink wrapping /Pallet wrapping .

World major bakery product manufacturers have switched to oxy -biodegradable  packaging . Mexico s  Bimbo group  and South Africa s Tiger brands  has already implemented for their products.

In  recent judgement by South African  Ad monitoring agency  have cleared  Tiger brand "Albany" bread bags  from using bio degradable word with Oxy -Biodegradable plastic packaging .

Plastic s have  created  environmental issues  in the world because of its non biodegradability . Governments have tried to dissuade people for using plastic bags and encouraged them to use alternatives such as paper bags or products packed in Oxy -Bio degradable packaging

Few Facts on Oxy - Bio Degradable Plastic Packaging

Standards available for plastic bio degradation

American Standard ASTM D6954-04
British Standard 8472 for Compostability
European Rule s EN 13432

• Oxy degradation  in plastic happens from the time its manufactured . This process is initiated by a pro degradant additive which is added to speed up degradation process when plastic material is exposed to heat , light and stress.It reduces the polymers to level where micro organism like bacteria and fungi act upon it hence its  bio degradable .  This additive is by product of  oil refining .

• They will degrade in any outdoor or indoor environment, even in the absence of water. This is a very important factor in relation to litter, because a large amount of plastic waste cannot be collected. Most of the hydro-biodegradable plastics need to be in a highly microbial environment such as a compost heap before they will degrade.


• Oxo-biodegradable plastic can be programmed at manufacture to degrade within a timescale to suit the user's requirements. The rate of degradation of hydro-biodegradable plastics cannot be controlled.

• Oxo-biodegradable plastics are stronger and more versatile.

• They are much cheaper

• They are thinner, and use less space to store and transport, and less material to produce

• They can be transparent, so that the food or other contents within can be clearly seen.

• They can be recycled and can be made from recyclate. Hydro-biodegradable plastic cannot be made from recyclate, and cannot be recycled unless extracted from the plastic waste stream and treated separately.

• They can both be composted, but because the carbon is released more slowly from oxo-biodegradable plastic, the carbon becomes a food resource for growing plants.

• Bags made from them do not leak

• Less energy is required to produce and transport them.

• No genetically-modified ingredients

• They do not emit methane

• No residual plastic particles

• No organo-chlorine

• Safe for direct food contact

• Ideal for frozen food because they can be kept for long periods in sub-zero temperatures and will not start to degrade rapidly until the frozen food has been used and the wrapper has become waste.

• They can be used in high-speed machinery (such as for bread packaging) but the performance of hydro- biodegradable plastics in these machines is not acceptable.

• They can be incinerated with much higher energy-recovery than hydro-biodegradable plastic

• They can be made with the same workforce and machinery as conventional plastic products, but hydro-biodegradable products are made by a quite different process.

Source: http://www.plastemart.com/

We would like Indian Big 3 ( Britannia , Parle  and  ITC ) bakery manufacturers to take such intiatives  to reduce plastic waste by bakery product packaging


Oxo–biodegradable plastic made mainly from polyolefin polymeric material is now very widely accepted all over the World. It is manufactured by Symphony Polymers of UK.


It is available in India by its agent called Priti Plastics Pvt Ltd., Phone: +91-22-28614929 / 28637432, Email: contact@pritigroup.com