Northern Technologies targets South Asian market for bioplastic packaging
The venture builds on an early joint- venture in India and is 90% owned by NTIC and is targeting the rapid economic growth in India that has led to a burgeoning and increasingly sophisticated middle class consumer category.
“NTIC has built strong credibility in the Indian market over the past few years,” said Patrick Lynch, president and CEO of NTIC. Who added that its bioplastic solutions had been adopted by a number of major consumer brands in the country.
“This newly formed subsidiary will allow us to build upon this initial moment and better serves our customers in the growing market for bioplastics within India and the surrounding countries of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.”
Plastic consumption and pollution a growing a problem
In line with this plastics consumption has grown exponentially, making the country the third largest global consumer of plastics, behind the United States and China.
However, the increasingly levels of plastics has also led to big problem with discarded plastics that are polluting the environment, a problem that is exacerbated by the fact that in India there are very limited resources for the waste management and recycling of packaging.
In answer to this, local governments in Indian have created legislations and regulations that target plastic packaging for a variety of fast-moving consumer goods products, including personal care and cosmetics.
Plastics regulations spell opportunities
These regulations aim to curb the use of such plastics, spelling significant opportunities for certified compostable and bio-based alternatives to the conventional plastics that are currently causing the pollution problems.
Indeed, NTIC was one of the first companies in India to spot this opportunity, after it started to market its Natur-Tec line of compostable and bio-based packaging in India through a joint-venture with Hariata-NTI.
