The COVID-19 Pandemic brought about a paradigm shift in almost all walks of life. Almost all sectors were touched, and most were impacted negatively. The Hospitality sector was amongst the worst hit, but it was as quick to adapt too with exponential growth in Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and a proportionate increase in packaging requirements that are expected to grow for years to come. This poses an increasing challenge to the environment with limited sustainable solutions that also meet the product’s packaging requirement.
At ITC, we have always been a society-first organization. We have been working extensively in the QSR segment for a while now. With our people-first approach, we have focussed on not just providing innovative packaging solutions but also ensuring that the demands of the consumers are met. While developing a new solution for a leading F&B brand to solve their packaging problems, we realized that while the product packaging itself primarily needed heat retention properties and compactness of the design, the end consumers also valued anti-microbial properties and the overall sturdiness and reusability of pack. We came up with two solutions.
First solution is Bioseal, our proprietaryoil and grease-resistant (OGR) coating. By working closely with our R&D team at our Life Sciences and Technology Center (ITC-LSTC), we developed a coating solution that can completely replace the PE layer of the packaging. This coating is entirely compostable and sealable and has OGR properties essential for food packaging.
The second innovation that we have introduced is the Anti-microbial coating. This innovation came in handy during the pandemic when people worried about the virus transmission through the surface. The coating has 99% efficacy in killing microbes to ensure a safe end-user experience. With this assurance, many of our client partners could safely deliver to their customers throughout the pandemic. The types of packaging covered under the Anti-microbial coating included clamshells, snack boxes, boodle boxes, fries' boxes, and donut boxes.
We are also working on a unique coating that can sustainably replace PE coated paper cups. In addition to these, we also offer creative interactive packaging solutions (using Augmented Reality) so that the brands can interact with their customers, thus converting them from just buyers to someone with a strong affinity and loyalty towards the brand.
These solutions have been successfully implemented across several major F&B brands, including some prominent names in the burgers, desserts (donuts), ice creams, pizzas, biryani, and fast-food categories. However, this is just the start. We at ITC-PPB want to serve the requirements of every QSR brand by solving their packaging problems through our manufacturing and design expertise and deep consumer insights.