“The pandemic has seen a huge requirement for labels – an increase in volumes. However, there were challenges too, in terms of labour shortage, accessibility to raw material plus deliverable logistics. The converters who could overcome these challenges saw good growth in their business,” said Rajesh Nema, president of the Label Manufacturers Association of India (LMAI).

However, according to Nema, when things are improving, there’s a new challenge to almost every label manufacturer. “A very tricky challenge," he said, adding, "As price rise of raw material has been frequent and the customers are not willing to accept these cost escalations. We face the prospect of losing these customers. (Therefore) ... we need to get a price rise and continue to retain the customer, and that is our biggest challenge.”

To discuss issues that the label industry is encountering and how to overcome them, the LMAI will be hosting a series of webinars under the theme "Knowledge – Accelerating Growth". The first in the series will be conducted tomorrow at 3.30 pm to discuss – rising raw material prices, which has become a frequent challenge.

The LMAI has lined up a solid panel comprising Saurabh Agarwal of Avery, Ajay Mehta of SMI, Prashanth Raveendran of Sel Jagat and Manish Desai of Mudrika.

“This webinar will dwell on, explore and discuss the imperatives required to face the difficult situation due to frequent increases of raw material prices and how to deal with their long-term contracts,” said Nema.

LMAI members interested in attending the webinars will need to fill and submit the Google form to register.