New Delhi: SIG CEO Samuel Sigrist has described India as the company’s growth engine for the coming years. SIG is a leading provider of systems and solutions for aseptic carton packaging. Speaking to the media during his recent visit to India, Sigrist said that the company has built an excellent platform over the past few years and has collaborated with several leading dairy and beverage companies in the market, strengthening its presence in the country.

Sigrist said that SIG’s annual revenue in India was between 10% and 13% in 2023. As the market grows sustainably at over 10%, SIG looks forward to growing faster than the market and expects its growth to continue.

SIG’s Growth Since Re-Entry

On the SIG’s growth since the company returned to the Indian market in 2018, Samuel said, “We look at India as our growth engine for the next coming years, because we have established, over the past four to five years since market entry, an excellent platform. We are now present in all the big players in the dairy as well on the beverage side, and that is an excellent starting point for the growth.”

Strong Partnerships With Leading Brands

Working with leading Indian beverage manufacturers such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Amul, Parle Agro, Milky Mist and Hamdard, SIG has built strong partnerships in a short period of time with its technology and business solutions. With this, the company has extended its presence in the packaging sector.

“I have not seen any other market where we were able to establish ourselves as fast as this has happened in India. That also is thanks to Parle and Amul, they have, very early, signed up to our technology because we compete in a differentiated technology,” Sigrist was quoted as saying by PTI.

The Future Of Business In India

Furthermore, Sigrist said that the ease of doing business in India will improve as the country continues to modernise. However, it is important to embrace what is happening today because the opportunity is there and it has been a very positive experience for SIG so far.

The CEO of the Swiss packaging giant visited the world’s 10th aseptic packaging plant currently under construction in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He said that the plant is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025 with the proposed investment of 100 million Euros. It is expected to ramp up in the first quarter of the following year. He said that the company plans to source raw materials locally in the second phase of the project. This is in line with the company’s commitment to promote sustainability in the supply chain.

Commitment To Sustainability

He reiterated SIG’s vision of moving forward in sustainability and added that when it comes to product packaging, three dimensions define the sustainability of a product – carbon footprint, design for recycling and biodiversity conservation.

“We have the lowest carbon footprint versus all the alternatives that can be used to pack the products. At SIG, we take the aluminum foil out, which is a good contribution to reducing the carbon footprint by 30 to 40%. Also, 100% of our beverage cartons are designed for recycling,” he said.

Preserving Biodiversity

He further highlighted the importance of preserving biodiversity and added: “Already today, 75% of our materials come from the forest. 100% of what we source is certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), which is the highest standard for sustainable forestry management. So, our industry is decades beyond deforestation.” Samuel revealed that SIG’s priority in the coming years is to make its products even more sustainable and efficient to meet the changing needs of customers and consumers.

Future Innovations and Flexibility

Explaining SIG’s future plans, Vandana Tandan, Market Director for India and Bangladesh at SIG, noted that the company is focused on adapting to changing market needs by introducing global innovations to India tailored to meet the needs of local customers. SIG is on the right path to increase the fibre content of its packaging in the near future and aims to improve sustainability by launching the Al-free Terra range in India to further reduce the carbon footprint of packaging.

“Our technology allows customers to fill packages of various volumes on a single filling line, with the ability to switch between sizes in under five minutes. This flexibility supports product launches at multiple price points.’ Additionally, SIG is working on introducing premium formats like SIG DomeMini, while simultaneously boosting machine speeds to enhance productivity while offering flexibility,” she said.

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