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Plastic packaging vital component of F&B industry
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Wednesday, 23 September, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Kimberley Almeida, Mumbai
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The Indian packaging industry is a dynamic and rapidly growing sector, reflecting the country's growing consumer market and industrial advancements. It spans a broad range of materials, formats, and applications across various industries, with the food and beverage (F&B), sector dominating the plastic packaging market.
The Indian F&B packaging market size in 2026 is estimated at $40.73 billion, growing from 2025 value of $38.27 billion with 2031 projections showing $55.67 billion, growing at 6.44 percent CAGR over 2026-2031.
At the same time plastic packaging has become a vital component of the F&B industry, offering a range of benefits such as design flexibility, cost-effectiveness, lightweight manufacturing, and longer shelf life. The industry has seen a significant transformation in terms of applications and technology, with plastic injection moulding and high-end solutions like co-injection moulding becoming integral to the production process.
Rise in recycled-content use
Swaroop K V R, head – waste management, sustainability and EPR, Srichakra Polyplast, said, “Plastic packaging has traditionally relied heavily on virgin resin, while the use of recycled material was largely driven by voluntary sustainability commitments. That is now changing. Under India’s EPR framework, brands using plastic packaging are required to progressively incorporate a prescribed percentage of recycled plastic into their packaging. For Category I rigid plastic packaging, the recycled-content obligation has increased from 30 per cent in FY 2025–26 to 40 per cent in FY 2026–27.”
“For the F&B industry, this means recycled content is moving from a sustainability initiative to a core regulatory, procurement and packaging requirement. The immediate challenge for brands will be securing sufficient quantities of consistent, compliant and, where required, food-grade recycled material. This will require stronger supplier relationships, better demand forecasting and longer-term planning around recycled-polymer availability. The conversation will therefore move beyond simply meeting a percentage target. Quality, traceability, documentation and continuity of supply will become equally important. Packaging specifications and procurement strategies may also need to evolve as recycled-content requirements increase. Circularity is becoming part of how packaging is designed and sourced, rather than remaining a standalone ESG initiative,” he added
Plastic packaging applications
Plastic packaging is widely used for various applications within the sector, including Polyolefin or POF films, flexible packaging technologies and food product packaging. Polyolefin or POF films are durable and versatile wrap films that have replaced PVC in the food sector. They are FDA approved, safe, and hygienic for use in food packaging. Flexible packaging technologies are used to produce Polyolefin, PET Shrink label, BOPP heat sealable films, and laminate bags, these technologies are widely needed for various applications within the sector.
As far as food product packaging is concerned the use of plastics for packaging in the F&B industry is widespread, with various packaging techniques used to produce products that find a wide range of applications in the food industry. Rising processed-food penetration, mandatory recycled-content rules, and e-commerce expansion are reinforcing steady demand for packaging that stretches shelf life and meets safety norms. Government incentives such as the Production Linked Incentive Scheme, worth Rs 10,900 crore, are stimulating capital investment in automated lines and cold-chain infrastructure.
Flexible formats still dominate volumes, yet rigid options are gaining traction because premium beverages and export-oriented ready meals need stronger protection. Input price volatility compressed converter margins to a decade-low eight per cent in 2024, but recycled supply bottlenecks and capacity additions in rigid formats point to widening opportunities for vertically integrated firms.
Processed-food consumption is surging as urbanisation and disposable income climb. Snack producers want portion-controlled packs that keep flavour intact during last-mile delivery. Ready-to-eat meals need pouches that survive steam sterilisation and preserve nutrients. Bureau of Indian Standards specifications ensure direct-contact materials comply with food-grade requirements, pushing converters to adopt certified inks and adhesives.
D2C labels rely on packaging to create memorable unboxing moments. The rule requiring 30 percent recycled PET in beverage bottles has become a major catalyst for supply-chain redesign.
Impact of FDA regulations
Plastic packaging is significantly affected by FDA regulations, which are designed to ensure the safety and integrity of materials that come into contact with food and pharmaceuticals. The FDA sets strict standards for the materials used in food-contact applications, including plastics, to prevent harmful substances from migrating into food or pharmaceuticals.
Key aspects of FDA regulations for plastic packaging include material purity, low migration and condition.
Material purity: The base polymer resin and any additives must be listed as safe under FDA regulations or hold an active Food Contact Notification (FCN).
Low migration: The plastic must not transfer chemicals, odours, or toxic substances into the product under intended conditions of use.
Condition-specific stability: The plastic must maintain its structural and chemical integrity when exposed to expected environments, such as freezing, microwaving, or chemical sterilisation.
The FDA also emphasises the use of biodegradable and recyclable materials, and has introduced stricter material safety standards, including the banning of certain PFAS chemicals in food contact materials. These regulations are crucial for maintaining consumer trust and ensuring the safety of products that are directly or indirectly in contact with food and pharmaceuticals.
Plastic packaging regulations
The plastic packaging regulations in India for 2026 include several key changes: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), for packaging became effective on April 1, 2026, requiring brand owners, importers, and e-commerce entities to register on the CPCB portal and meet recycling or composting targets.
It was mandated that all plastic packaging should carry traceable identifiers, including QR codes or barcodes, starting from January 2025. Rigid plastic packaging should contain 40 per cent recycled content by FY 2026-27.
The single-use plastic ban continues in full force, prohibiting items like plastic plates, cups, and cutlery. Compliance with these regulations will involve penalties ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15 lakh per violation, with potential daily penalties and confiscation of non-compliant materials. These changes aim to enhance sustainability and reduce plastic waste in India.
“Food-contact packaging has a much higher threshold than many other applications because recycled plastic is coming back into direct contact with products meant for consumption. Increasing recycled content therefore cannot come at the expense of food safety or packaging performance,” Swaroop said.
“The process starts with feedstock. Not every collected PET bottle or piece of plastic is suitable for food-contact recycling. Material needs to be properly segregated to remove unwanted polymers, colours, labels, metals, dirt and other contaminants before it enters the recycling process. It then undergoes multiple stages of washing, shredding, decontamination, extrusion and testing,” he stated.
“Food-grade recycling systems must maintain tight process controls and validate parameters such as intrinsic viscosity, colour, contamination and migration performance to ensure that the resulting recycled resin meets the required standards. Traceability is equally important. The industry needs greater visibility across the chain, from where material is collected and sorted to how it is processed, tested and eventually supplied to packaging manufacturers. Better source segregation, formalised collection systems, digital records, supplier audits and standardised quality protocols can help the industry increase recycled content while ensuring that food-contact applications continue to meet applicable safety and performance requirements,” added Swaroop.
EPR, most significant operational change
EPR is the most significant operational change. It shifts end-of-life packaging management from municipalities to the businesses that put packaging into the market. (Paper converters and packaging suppliers have their own registration track under the same framework – covered in our EPR guide for paper packaging converters).
Who is covered: Brand owners, importers, and e-commerce entities (including delivery aggregators). If you sell products in packaging or use packaging to deliver food, you are likely covered.
What is required: Register on the CPCB portal before the effective date; Declare the quantity and type of packaging used, by material category; Meet recycling or composting targets for the declared quantities; File half-yearly and annual returns with supporting documentation; Maintain records for audit by SPCB/CPCB.
What it means in practice: For a restaurant chain using 10,000 bagasse containers and 5,000 paper bags per month, the EPR obligation requires declaring those quantities and demonstrating that equivalent volumes are composted or recycled. Compostable packaging (IS 17088 certified) enters organic waste management systems. Non-compostable packaging requires proof of recycling, which depends on recycling infrastructure that may not be available for all material types.
Penalties for non-compliance: Rs 10,000 to Rs 15 lakh per violation, daily penalties for continued non-compliance, and potential suspension of operating permits.
New standards require 40 per cent recycled content in rigid plastic packaging for FY 2026-27. Reuse targets for rigid containers (bottles, jars, drums) are also specified, with increasing targets in subsequent years.
This affects food and beverage brands using rigid plastic containers: PET bottles, HDPE jars, PP containers. Meeting the recycled content target requires sourcing recycled resin at specified quality standards.
Operational implications: Work with plastic suppliers to confirm recycled content percentages; Request certification or test reports proving recycled content claims; Budget for potential cost increases, as food-grade recycled resin typically costs more than virgin resin; For brands considering switching from rigid plastic to paper or bagasse alternatives, the recycled content mandate adds another incentive.
Expanding recycling capacity
“India has significant quantities of post-consumer plastic and recycling capacity is expanding. However, having plastic waste available and having enough material suitable for producing food-grade recycled resin are two very different things, Swaroop said and added “The biggest constraint is the quality of feedstock entering recycling facilities. Mixed polymers, colours, contamination and poor segregation reduce recovery rates and make it more difficult to consistently produce high-quality food-grade material. It is also important to understand that one tonne of collected plastic does not translate into one tonne of usable recycled resin. Material is lost during sorting, washing, decontamination and other processing stages, particularly when incoming waste is highly contaminated.”
“As recycled-content requirements increase, India will therefore need to expand capacity alongside investments in food-grade recycling technology, testing infrastructure and stronger collection and segregation systems. A significant part of the solution has to happen before the plastic reaches the recycling plant. Better segregation at source, more organised collection networks, pre-segregation infrastructure and stronger traceability can improve both recovery and the consistency of recycled output. India has the potential to build sufficient capacity for this transition, but the industry needs to think beyond tonnes of installed recycling capacity. The real measure will be how much consistent, traceable and application-ready recycled material that capacity can produce,” Swaroop pointed out.
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