The Hindu Business Line : Putting lustre back to tinplate packaging

With easy-to-open cans and peel-offs increasingly becoming fashionable in developing economies, cans today could be leveraged upon to enhance the aesthetic value of any product offering.

HAVING taken several initiatives to facilitate the growth of the domestic market for tinplate, The Tinplate Company of India Ltd (TCIL), a Tata Group company, is all set to put in place a "Solutions Centre" in Jamshedpur by the end of the current year.

The initiative, the first phase of which would be engaged in printing and lacquering, would facilitate the manufacture of world-class, printed tinplate sheets that would help brand owners leverage the brand equity of their products.

Earlier, TCIL had taken on the onus of providing cost-effective packaging solutions to end-user industries with focus on innovation and manufacture of containers with enhanced shelf appeal.

"Tinplate manufactured in India is basically used to package edibles. The contents inside cannot be seen or felt by the consumer. The contents inside must be kept in hygienic conditions and be protected from ultraviolet rays. As such, the packaging material must help brand owners market products that cannot be seen from the outside. Hence, its shelf appeal is very important from the perspective of the consumer," says Mr Bushen Raina, Managing Director of TCIL.

Towards this end, TCIL is networking with agencies that are involved in building companies' brands. "In our endeavour to enhance the marketability of our clients' products, we are trying to drive the entire value chain," Mr Raina told Business Line.

According to him, the time had come to obliterate the perception among consumers that cans were "not fashionable". With easy-to-open cans and peel-offs increasingly becoming fashionable in developing economies, cans today could be leveraged upon to enhance the aesthetic value of any product offering.

In this regard, consultants have been engaged to work on "enhancing consumer mindshare". Feedback is being generated to help the company formulate a strategy and work towards addressing adverse consumer perception towards the use of tinplate in general and cans in particular.

"Next year, we propose to roll out a communications strategy that would be aimed at addressing perception issues," Mr Raina said, adding that tinplate as a commodity was endowed with "sound fundamentals" as a material for packaging food products. "It is eco-friendly, provides for ultra-violet protection and helps retain aroma and hygiene for three years. As such, it is a proven packaging medium the world over," he said.

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