Market Trends of India Pharmaceutical Packaging Industry
Plastic Segment to Witness Major Market Growth
- The healthcare industry in India is witnessing a notable surge in the demand for flexible single-use plastic packaging, driven by a heightened emphasis on hygiene, safety, and convenience. While many industries are moving away from single-use plastics due to environmental concerns, healthcare is an exception, primarily due to safety and hygiene. This signifies the industry’s reliance on single-use plastic packaging and drives the demand for plastic packaging. Plastic is a highly versatile material, including HDPE, PET, and PP, and is used in the pharmaceutical industry due to its flexibility, mechanical strength, and stability characteristics.
- The Indian government has implemented extensive and ongoing reforms to bolster the pharmaceutical industry. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the Indian government spent 2.6% of the country's GDP on healthcare in the financial year 2023. Government healthcare spending is anticipated to be 2.5% of the GDP in the financial year 2025.
- Among product types, the bottle segment is anticipated to contribute significantly to the market's growth in line with the growth of HDPE and PET bottle production in the country and the emergence of HDPE (high-density polyethylene) bottles as the industry standard in the pharmaceutical industry due to their strength, resilience, and chemical resistance. These qualities make them perfect for safeguarding and storing a variety of medical supplies, supporting the growth of plastic bottle usage in the market.
- The material's intrinsic properties can be further improved through additives, improving performance and properties to act against oxygen, moisture, and UV radiation to the finished product, making plastic packaging a highly preferable type of packaging in the Indian pharmaceutical industry.
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Bottles to be the Fastest-growing Product Segment in the Indian Market
- The demand for bottles for liquid pharmaceutical product packaging fuels the demand for glass, plastic, and other material-based bottle packaging. These bottles can be used for more than liquid medicines, solid pills, and gel tablets. They come in various sizes tailored to the specific dosage or product. Available in both glass and plastic, they maintain quality even after opening, provided they are stored as directed.
- The push for accessible, high-quality healthcare, especially for chronic diseases, at affordable rates is fueling the need for sustainable bottle pharmaceutical packaging solutions in India. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), individuals aged between 15 and 64 constituted 68.9% of India's population in 2023. This demographic is projected to account for a share of 67.0% by 2050.
- The production and availability of HDPE-based bottles can support the growth of the bottles segment in the market because bottles ensure that medications remain safe and effective throughout their shelf life, shielding them from contamination and degradation. The demand for safe pharmaceutical packaging continues to grow in India. HDPE bottles are increasingly recognized for their ability to meet the rigorous standards required for storing and protecting medicinal products.
- PET plastic bottles have become the favored choice for pharmaceutical packaging owing to their applications and advantages in offering product protection, visibility, and customization. PET bottles can be environmentally sustainable due to their recyclability, reduced carbon footprint, and resource conservation. These factors are expected to support their increasing usage for packaging in the Indian pharmaceutical industry during the forecast period.
