LABELS FRATERNITY LAUDS LMAI’S PANEL DISCUSSION

 LABELS FRATERNITY LAUDS LMAI’S PANEL DISCUSSION

 LMAI, the labels Manufacturers association of India organised a panel discussion titled, “Label buyers’ challenges with quality, Sustainability & Innovation” on the 2nd of May 2025 Hotel Radisson Blu, New Delhi. The event was attended by a “house full” of leading label printers and suppliers as sponsors. The distinguished panel consisted of leading brands Nestle, Diageo, Reckitt Benckiser, Amway, Dabur and Sun Pharma. The panel moderated by the author Harveer Sahni, Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited and member of Board of Director LMAI. The panel on stage consisted of Arijit Mondal(Nestle), Sanjay Ghoshal( Diageo), Naveen Stuart (Reckitt Benckiser), Swati Gupta(Amway), Sidharth Sharma(Dabur) and Mohit Mittal (Sun Pharma). The delivery of responses by panelists to questions by the moderator, left the audience spellbound. Ruma Ghatak head Packaging at Nestle was a special invitee. The program was initiated by the hard-working LMAI secretary Jaideep Singh who had made untiring efforts to organize this amazing event, this was followed by the welcome speech by the LMAI President Rajesh Chadha. 

Pradeep Saroha director label expo updated the audience on the next edition of Labelexpo Europe in Barcelona Spain. Jaideep Singh shared a presentation of the upcoming LMAI biennial conference at Udaipur from 3-6 July 2025. Organising committee member Sandhya Shetty conducted the agenda efficiently. Dinesh Mahajan Vice President LMAI gave the vote of thanks. This was followed by an interactive question and answer session.

Audience

The congregation was highly appreciative of the knowledge delivering panel discussions and their responses to LMAI team and the moderator are as follows. The responses are reproduced here unedited and as received.

Mrs. Kusum Dunglay Director Redunn Labels Gurgaon: A truly impressive and well-executed event. Congratulations to LMAI and the brand owners for putting together such a memorable event.

Manish Hansoti, Founder and Managing Director S.Kumar Group Ahmedabad: Thank you for putting together such an incredible event. Your careful attention to details, from the label printer’s perspectives created an atmosphere that perfectly matched with unanswered questions from label printers to Brand owners. I especially appreciate how you handle without any boring topics. The event's success is a testament to your planning abilities and dedication. I am truly grateful for all your hard work in making this event so special.

Anuj Bhargava, Founder Kumar Labels NOIDA: Well organised event by LMAI. Intriguing questions by Label Pitamah Harveer Ji. Brand owners shared valuable insights. Always good to connect with fellow industry colleagues. Many thanks to LMAI for organising this cosy event.

Rakesh Mahajan, Director Prakash Labels Noida: It is refreshing to see buyers and sellers coming together to address common challenges. This exchange can drive innovation and growth in the label printing sector.

Yoshita Goel from Any Graphics Noida: The LMAI panel discussion held on 2nd May 2025 was a remarkable success and quite knowledgeable. The interactive session among the panelists was intellectual and brainstorming towards the printing and packaging industry.

Yogesh Agarwal Print Pack New Delhi: The event was very well-organized, and the panel discussion was insightful and engaging. Sincere thanks to Harveer Sahni Ji for moderating and conducting such a meaningful and well-curated session.

K M Manoj Director Avery Dennison: It was great to see some of the prominent packaging professionals share their views about pressure sensitive labels. The conversations  around emerging regulations, how labels can be more sustainable and actions to tackle the common challenges were insightful.

Ranesh Bajaj Managing Director Vinsak: Well organised and very informative panel discussion. It was great to hear brand owners sharing details which are critical to the growth of label convertors as they align their future plans.

Bhaumik Mehta Director Flueron Inks: It was a pleasure for us to have sponsored this event for our friends and colleagues in the label industry. The panelist, the moderator and the audience were all in sync on the topic of discussion. It was insightful to see how the brands perceive procurement, supply chain partners and their own responsibility towards sustainable solutions. What struck out was the Q and A which the panelists took their time and put the answers in perspective on the business.

Innovation and Sustainability not just in products and services but in growth and prosperity is as much essential for all partners involved and this to me was a fantastic outlook. Cheers to LMAI for hosting this and giving us an opportunity to be a part of this amazing initiative for the industry.

Inderjit Singh Toyo Inks: We are thrilled to have attended the panel discussion on Label buyers’ challenges with focus on quality, sustainability and innovation organized by LMAI (Label Manufacturers Association of India). The discussions reinforced the importance of collaborative efforts to drive sustainability, ensuring regulatory alignment while adopting innovative and sustainable approaches.

The event was an incredible experience, filled with inspiring discussions and I had the pleasure of meeting and connecting with some amazing brand owners and partners. Looking forward to applying these new learnings and continuing the conversations to fulfill the brand owner’s requirements.

Gautam Kothari Managing Director Worldpack: LMAI Event Sheds Light on Label Buyers’ Pressing Challenges. The LMAI event held last evening proved to be a timely and insightful gathering for stakeholders across the label manufacturing ecosystem. With a sharp focus on the challenges faced by label buyers, the panel brought together key voices from FMCG, pharma, and logistics sectors who shared first-hand accounts of the evolving demands and operational bottlenecks in label procurement and usage. Overall, the LMAI event succeeded in bringing buyer concerns to the forefront, sparking necessary dialogue around innovation, transparency, and strategic partnerships in the label industry.

Ashwani Kumar RSM Kurz: The recent LMAI event fostered a productive dialogue between brand owners and industry leaders regarding key challenges and potential solutions in the label manufacturing sector. Discussions highlighted the detrimental impact of price pressures and reverse auction practices on innovation, alongside the complexities of liner recycling. Brand owners underscored their requirements for superior quality, competitive pricing, and dependable partnerships, with Swati emphasizing the role of partners in brand protection. Mr. Naveen (Reckitt) articulated that effective anti-counterfeiting necessitates products being both easily recognizable and difficult to replicate. The increasing significance of track and trace technologies for ensuring product authenticity and enhancing supply chain transparency, as demonstrated by Dabur's application, was also a key takeaway.

Pradeep Saroha Director Labelexpo India: "The LMAI's 'Amazing Brand Owner Evening' was a resounding success! The interactive event brought together numerous brand owners and printers to discuss innovation and sustainability. It was a fantastic platform for networking and exploring new ideas."

The panelists also commented.

L-R: Mohit Mittal, Arijit Mondal, Sanjay Ghoshal, Harveer Sahni, Swati Gupta, Naveen Stuart, Sidharth Sharma

Arijit Mondal Global Packaging Development Lead Nestle: Thank you Harveer ji and panelists for super engaging discussion. It has been a super enriching experience to meet all of u in person and our super capable label fraternity. I am looking forward to another time together in the near future too.

Swati Gupta Senior Manager Open Innovation and Packaging Development Amway: Thank you, Harveer ji and all fellow panelists. Great perspectives and learning!

Sidharth Shankar Sharma DGM-Purchase Dabur: Thanks Everyone for being such a wonderful fellow panelist. Special thanks to Harveer ji for bringing us to such a platform.

Sanjay Ghoshal Head of Packaging Diageo: Thank you very much Harveer ji and the LMAI. It is my honour and privilege to be part of such an elite panel and such an august audience. It is truly a great platform for the exchange of thoughts and wisdom between the demand and Supply side of label/labelling industry.

Naveen Stuart Cluster Packaging manager - Health - SoA Reckitt Benckiser: Thankyou sir and everyone at LMAI. It was a perfectly organised event and an excellent platform to share views.

Mohit Mittal Senior Manager Packaging Development Sun Pharma: The LMAI panel discussion event was a well-organized and insightful event, bringing together key industry stakeholders, innovative technologies, and valuable networking opportunities. The sessions were informative and addressed current challenges and future trends in the label manufacturing sector. Looking forward to more such impactful gatherings in the future.

Jaideep Singh Director Zodiac Reprographics Hyderabad: Thank you each one of you to add immense value to the panel discussion event with your insights on the perspective of labels in each of your industries .We  as label printers feel reassured labels will play an important part of your brand perception and create an impact  and value perception which is important to grow your industry through the value our labels will be able to provide.

Deepanshu Goel, Founder & Managing Director Creative Graphics Noida: This was an ensemble of renowned packaging development specialists. Great learning!

Amol Naval, National Manager, Maxcess India: We had a wonderful experience at the LMAI event. It was both interactive and informative for all attendees, offering a valuable platform for close engagement and networking with existing and potential customers. Thanks to the LMAI team for organizing such an insightful gathering that brought together end users, label manufacturers, and solution providers under one roof.

Raman Anandchahl Neovation Graphics Private Limited Gurgaon: It was a pleasure to attend such a well-conducted event. The entire session was highly informative, especially for someone like me who is always eager to learn. This event was also particularly special for me, as my elder daughter, Nitya Anandchahl, who joined our business just last month, was introduced to the industry for the first time here. She interacted with the panelists and many other industry stalwarts throughout the day. I was truly happy to see how warmly everyone welcomed her and wished her success in the future. Seeing the next generation step in with such enthusiasm makes me feel assured that the future of our beautiful label industry is in safe hands.

 More Images from the event:

Harveer Sahni, Pardeep-Avery Dennison, Gautam Kothari, Chenga Reddy

Registration

Rajesh Chadha President LMAI

Ranesh Bajaj Vinsak

KD Sahni wit Rajesh Nema

Jaideep Singh

Sandhya Shetty

Pradeep Saroha-Labelexpo

Aditya Chadha -Questions time

Chenga Reddy- Hyderabad at Q&A

Bhaumik Mehta Flueron Inks at Q&A

Raman Anandchahl felicitating Manoy-Avery Dennison

Jaideep Sing felicitating Ruma Ghatak Head Pkg Nestle

Dinesh Mahajan felicitating Pinkesh Kothari-Pulisi

Vote of thanks by Dinesh Mahajan

Labelexpo Americas 2022: Joy in togetherness after a hiatus

It is a famous saying, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”! The last labelexpo held as a globally attended event was “Labelexpo Europe 2019” in Brussels, and while writing about the event on this blog, I titled it as Labelexpo Europe 2019, the best ever! I had started that article with the words; “From the word go, Labelexpo Europe 2019 was a vibrant and happening show!” and so it was. Each year a multitude of visitors from various segments of label industry  which include printers, suppliers, consultants, media and label users make a beeline for this august show, wishing it to be bigger and better than before . Little did anyone know or visualized that the humanity will go through a traumatic time of life termed as a “pandemic.” If all goes well, it will be four long years before the next Labelexpo Europe may be held in Brussels in 2023, a show that is referred to as the Mecca for the international labels community. The past three years have witnessed immense human suffering, many lost their lives and there were a vast number of businesses that suffered. Post a gigantic global drive to vaccinate the world population against the terrible virus Covid-19, normalcy started surfacing and businesses started limping back to life. The announcement of Labelexpo Americas was welcome news but there was still an air of caution about getting infected because the virus had not been completely eradicated. Labelexpo Americas is a much smaller event as compared to the European event. The yearning by the labels industry to venture out again to witness the new developments and network with global peers in the widespread labels industry surfaced and finally the American event turned out to be a remarkable success. At the Labelexpo Americas 2022, the joy in togetherness after a hiatus of three years was evident!

Label Industry Global Awards 2022

https://youtu.be/_7DLJvRYkUI 

In the evening of the first day of Labelexpo Americas 2022 The Global Label Reunion Party 2022 was organized and the Label industry Global Awards were announced. The winners were chosen by a judging panel consisting of Lori Campbell, chairman of TLMI, Linnea Keen, president of TLMI, Philippe Voet, president of FINAT, Greg Hrinya, editor of Label & Narrow Web, James Quirk, then group editor of Labels & Labeling, and Jean Poncet, editor-in-chief at Etiq+Pack. The chair of the judging panel was Andy Thomas-Emans, strategic director Tarsus Labels & Packaging Group.

As previously announced, the winner of the 2022 R. Stanton Avery Global Achievement Award is Harveer Sahni, the author of this blog. The judging panel felt Harveer meets all the criteria for excellence demanded by the industry’s most prestigious award for an individual’s contribution to the growth and development of the global labels industry. His history in building a company to manufacture self-adhesive labels in India, through to his central role in building the Indian label association and then acting as an influential ambassador on the world stage, all helped the judging panel to come to their decision. He was introduced by the TLMI President Linnea Keen who conferred the award to him. Speaking on the occasion Harveer Sahni spoke of his journey in labels and the lessons he learnt. His speech can be head on the following link;

https://youtu.be/ySJ_9JhSHFg

Other winners announced are as follows:

The Rising Star Award went to Stijn Billiet, Global Sustainability Director, MCC Label. Stijn joined MCC in 2020 and made an immediate impact bringing sustainability onto the agenda of the business. Early 2021 he presented a roadmap for all global production sites to reduce their carbon footprint, guiding the Belgian facility to carbon neutral production. Stijn represents MCC in its collaboration with organizations such as Holy Grail, RecyClass, APR, and CELAB. The judging panel felt Stijn has demonstrated clear potential to be a future leader and is already a strong voice within the labels industry.

The Environmental Sustainability Award was won by Flint Group Narrow Web, for a new line of products designed to enable more sustainable packaging. The first product in the series, Evolution Deinking Primer, when used with Flint Group EkoCure XS inks, enables deinking of crystallisable shrink sleeves, allowing the clean sleeve label material to be recovered and recycled into PET packaging. The judging panel felt that the Evolution Deinking Primer makes a major contribution to developing a circular lifecycle for label materials.

The Innovation Award for companies with over 300 employees went to Actega for its Signite decoration technology. Utilizing the latest in UV-curable chemistry, Signite decorations are created entirely on press, eliminating the need for the laminated constructions used in traditional pressure-sensitive label production. Signite decorations are built in register with the graphics and label content, so there is no die cutting and no matrix to dispose of. Signite decorations are applied with a specialist inline applicator developed by Actega, initially for glass straight-walled containers. The judging panel felt this to be a step change in the way label decorations are produced and a major contribution to industry sustainability.

The Innovation Award for companies with under 300 employees was awarded to S-OneLP for its ReEarth compostable flexible packaging films. ReEarth films have achieved ASTM D6400 commercial compostability standards and are both BPI and USDA Biopreferred certified. A compostable print film, adhesive, and sealant layer make up this laminated structure that can be surface printed with digital or flexographic technologies. The judging panel felt that with more label converters diversifying into flexible packaging products, a fully compostable solution is a great aid to future packaging industry sustainability.

The Rising Star award is sponsored by Avery Dennison; the Environmental Sustainability award is sponsored by Labels & Labeling; the Innovation Award for companies up to 300 employees is sponsored by Flint Group Narrow Web; and the Innovation Award for companies over 300 is sponsored by Xeikon.

Labelexpo Americas 2022

Defying the caution and scare of Covid-19 visitors travelled across continents to witness the ample display of technologies and solutions at the event. There were a lot of live equipment running and there was a sense of fulfillment amongst the visitors. The show was vibrant and a wonderful precursor to the biggest of them all, “Labelexpo Europe 2023 at Brussels”. I reproduce pictures of my walk through the show.

Lisa Milburn MD Tarsus Labels group

Dougles Emslie Group CEO Trasus

Linnea Keen President TLMI

Omet team with Paolo Grasso (Actega) 

Geoffery Martin Global CEO CCL Label

Christian Menegon Business Dev, Mgr HP

Marco Calcagni Sales Director Omet

Ramon Lee MD Brotech, Keren Bec and Leaf Zhang

Natalia Tsamorina at the Cartes Stand

Mark Andy/Rotoflex Stand

Written and compiled by Harveer Sahni Chairman, Weldon Celloplast Limited New Delhi and recipient of R. Stanton Avery Global Achievement Award 2022 September 2022

Creating Innovations in labels

In a largely populated country India, the normal of growth of population itself, translates into large volume growth in demand. For label industry growth in India estimates have been made at 7-15%. Even if we assume a 10% growth, market will probably grow by 100 million square meters adding a whopping 2500 million Rupees or about 38 million US Dollars to the existing market size. One is left wondering that with demand growth in double digits, why is then the label industry, facing intense competition and stressed margins? One simple conclusion can be that in a growing economy with government encouraging new industrial investments and banks ready to finance, people start looking for areas that have stable growth over the years, labels do move into their focus. Packaging industry in an effort to offer a complete bouquet of packaging products, keeps on adding labels in their manufacturing program. The capacity seems to be growing a little faster than demand. This leads to a situation whereby to service their debt and stay afloat, printers flock toward leading brand owners who pitch sellers against one another to get lower prices. There are other reasons like increasing raw material prices, reverse auctions and short runs which bring further pressure on margins. In such a situation it becomes imperative, that to achieve a better bottom line, there is need for “creating innovations in labels”. Many label companies in India have already moved into this direction by investing to enhance capabilities to create products that do not fall into the commodity or simple label range. Even brand owners who are in a race to catch the consumer’s eye while shopping, are on the lookout for such labels that make their premium products on the shop shelves being picked up faster.  They are willing to pay higher if the label has unique features escalating their brand image. Some of the printers who have moved in this direction are listed below with details of their moves to create labels that are different.

Gautham Pai

Gautham Pai lead Manipal Technologies, is a multi product and multi location company that has made substantial investments in label manufacturing. Though they have units located in India and abroad, a tour of their facilities in Manipal leaves one in awe of what they have achieved. The company has integrated backward and forward with investment in extremely diverse technologies enhancing capabilities to innovate. As for labels, they produce their own holograms, security labels, security envelopes, etc. They also produce their own self adhesive labelstocks on a Nordson hotmelt coater. 

Recent developments include; Electroluminescence Label: This is an eye-catching and low power consuming optical lighting system developed in-house with strong competency on printed electronics. It works best for promotional activities with various activation options using any of the touch sensitive, pressure sensitive, motion sensitive sensors. This can be adopted for both labels as well as carton packaging.

Glow in the Dark: The Glow-in-the-dark feature will completely transform packaging by hiding messages, creating a nightclub atmosphere, or an element of surprise.

 

Kuldip Goel

Kuldip Goel of Any Graphics Noida has repeatedly proven the need to invest time and money in creating innovations. Though he has always wanted to produce the best, stressing on aesthetics yet it was in the start of new millennium that he realized the pressing need to strengthen capabilities to produce labels that were not commodity labels done on one simple flexo press but those with added value by indulging in creativity. Anygraphics have to their credit the world label awards, Fespa awards, only Indian company to have been nominated for Global Label award for innovation, winning Printweek label printer of the year award for five consecutive years in a row, special Printweek Jury award for innovation and many LMAI label awards. 

Label created by Any Graphics

Anygraphics creates innovative labels and packaging using multiple equipment and processes for the same product employing technologies like Screen Printing, Foiling, Embossing, Doming, Narrow web Letterpress printing, Narrow web Flexo printing, Offset printing and Digital printing.

Booklet Label by Unick-Fix-A
-Form

Hemen Vasa’s Unick Fix-A-Form was set up in 1985-1986, in rented premises with one small machine (Semi automatic model) for making Booklet/Leaflet labels in Ahmedabad. In the initial years they outsourced printing.  They convinced Bayer-India to be their first customer for their Innovative leaflet labels made by using wet glue, developed for manual application on containers of agrochemical bottles. In 1992 another customer came for these labels in self adhesive format. Since pressure sensitive products were in a nascent stage that time and locally made silicone release paper was not consistent creating problem of label dispensing from applicator, Unick started import of Self Adhesive Paper.  Being the only manufacturer of booklet/leaflet labels those days, their business grew profitably and they expanded by moving into own premises and installing high-end rotary label presses, booklet making equipment and offset press. Their business has expanded to the pharmaceuticals segment with a range of offerings that include Cartons, Labels, in mould labels, Shrink Sleeves, etc. They have won many awards at home and abroad. Their supremacy in innovative leaflet-booklet labels segment has been the main reason for their success and expansion!

Pragati Pack (India) Pvt. Ltd., being one of the most awarded printers in the country is hesitant to share their work and endeavours in creating innovations. However still, Hemanth Paruchuri says, they try to bring innovation in labels by investing in the right equipment and pushing the limits of that equipment. Their knowledge and experience gained in the carton, commercial printing areas aids their efforts. The aim is to create innovations that are unique and have a high shelf appeal.

U K Gupta, Managing Director of India’s largest Hologram manufacturing company and specialty label manufacturer Holostik India Ltd. says, “Innovation is the key to drive any industry in the ever-changing dynamic world, anything that does not keep changing, ultimately loses track and is out of the race.” He has mentored his team to understand that ‘Change is the only constant’ and therefore they have to innovate with their products. Extraordinary labels, that are not just visually appealing but also render security to the product are now a necessity in view of the fact that security feature of labels cannot be ignored due to the tremendous growth of the counterfeiting business. Holostik has on an ongoing basis been making significant investments to enhance their capabilities.

Anil Namugade at Trigon Digital Solutions says, “Innovation is a continuous process.”  They are passionate, entrepreneurial, collaborative and creative to always deliver on their commitments. Trigon Digital established in 2007 has production facilities in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Dubai and an office in Singapore offering services in Pre-press, Print Packaging, Color management and serving over 350 brands including 20 out of top 100 global brands in 12 countries.  They provide packaging mockups on actual substrates with finishes like foiling, embossing, varnishing, lamination etc. for cartons pouches, shrink sleeves, lamitubes and labels. They specialize in Print on Demand, small and medium quantities for shrinks sleeves and Labels with personalization and variable data printing. With an ongoing innovation developing vision they aspire to be the best in the innovative label and packaging business.

Anuj Bhargava of Kumar Labels belonging to an extended family of label printers, is excited that his company has been recipient of many label awards in recent times including Printweek label printer of year award 2017. His team is trained to look at the product, its target audience, its selling price bracket and the brand’s desired perception that it wants to create amongst its customers, before proposing a label solution. For them innovation is not just increasing price of a label or adding shots of foil or screen inks. Different brands need different innovations. A mass market brand needs a re-engineered cost effective label stock with which it can reduce its decoration costs. A brand from the same customer, which may be targeted for the upper market segment, may need multiple foils and textured stocks. So no one formula works for all. By utilizing their expertise in print process, machine manufacturing and label stock making, Kumar Labels is able to offer different innovations. They produce their own specialized labelstocks that include textured and unique substrates normally not available.

It is evident that to drive in better margins, capabilities in print and decoration need to be substantially enhanced by making the correct and timely investments. Earlier only a reasonably designed and printed label was enough. Now with growing, knowledgeable, and well informed consumers one needs to study the demand perception and design the label to appeal and communicate with the end consumer in a short while that he or she is in front of the shop shelf. Pre-press is extremely important process to draw out the creativity that the design tends to deliver. Selecting the right substrate, the adhesive and shape of the label is another imperative. The label has to last the life of the consumer product as it remains visible until all of its lifespan and keeps delivering value to the brand by its aesthetic appearance. Finally it is the Press that will not only do full justice to the print but also decorate, inspect and finish the label with speed; ease of use and with least waste generation. Productivity and managing production waste are other imperatives that affect the profitability. Brand owners attempt buying at the lowest prices for their established products, however the fact still remains that to stay ahead of competition in getting the consumer attention, they need to dress up their products well. With numerous options available in an already crowded shelf space, brand owners will only consider higher prices if a label promotes their sales. To reach a win-win situation for suppliers and brand owners, printers need to invest in “Creating Innovations in Labels”!

Written exclusively for Narrow Web Tech, Germany by Harveer Sahni Chairman Weldon Celloplast Ltd. New Delhi India December 2017. 

The above article is restricted for reproduction without permission from the author or Narrow Web Tech, Germany