India’s consumption story is changing. People are buying more packaged food, personal care products, home care items, and healthcare products. Demand is also getting wider. It is no longer limited to big cities. IBEF says rural India overtook cities in affordable FMCG premium consumption in 2025. That shows how demand is spreading beyond large urban centres and reshaping the consumption story.
This shift matters for packaging companies. As more products move through organised retail shelves, pharmacies, and delivery channels, packaging becomes more important. Brands need better cartons, tubes, rigid containers, glass bottles, and specialty packs.
India’s food and beverage packaging market is projected to rise from Rs 3,31,595 crore in 2025 to Rs 4,53,625 crore in 2030, according to IBEF. That tells us packaging is not just a support industry. It is becoming an important part of the consumption chain.
That is why packaging companies is an interesting space to watch. They sit behind many everyday categories. So when demand improves in FMCG, food, personal care, or pharma, these companies can benefit quietly in the background. The space also offers variety.
Some players focus on cartons and blister packs. Some make tubes. Some are strong in rigid plastic packaging. Others are exposed to glass and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) containers. That gives investors different ways to play the same broad trend.
The four stocks selected here fit that theme well. One has a strong presence in tubes used in oral care, beauty, home care, food, and pharma. Another makes folding cartons, printed blanks, outers, plastic cartons, and blister packs. A third has been expanding in food, FMCG, and pharma-related packaging. The fourth adds exposure through glass containers, PET bottles, and closures used across consumer and healthcare segments. Together, these four names offer a broad and practical way to track India’s changing consumption trends through packaging.
#1 EPL: Riding the Beauty and Cosmetics Wave
EPL (formerly known as Essel Propack), is the largest specialty packaging company in the world. The company manufactures laminated plastic tubes catering to the beauty & cosmetics, pharma & healthcare, food, oral care and home.
EPL reported a steady Q3FY26 performance. The quarter showed how packaging companies are benefiting from rising demand in beauty, personal care and healthcare. Consolidated revenue rose 13.3% year on year (YoY) to Rs 1,149 crore in the December quarter. Reported net profit was flat from a year ago because the base quarter had a one-off benefit. Excluding that, profit grew 11% YoY.
Shift from Oral Care to High-Margin Beauty Formats
The main growth driver was beauty and cosmetics. Revenue from this segment rose 26% YoY. EPL said it has now delivered four straight quarters of more than 20% growth in this category. Non-oral products now account for 53% of the portfolio. This shift matters for the packaging industry.
Beauty and cosmetics needs more specialised tubes, applicators and premium formats. That usually supports better realisations and stronger customer stickiness.
Growth was broad-based across regions. East Asia Pacific grew 18%. The Americas rose 19%. Africa, Middle East and South Asia (AMESA) grew 10%. India standalone business grew 8.7%. This was helped by traction in beauty and cosmetics.
Oral care also showed early signs of recovery. Europe grew 8%. But management said the region remained below expectations. It blamed this on weaker customer mix, higher write-offs, outsourcing costs and production issues. The company expects these pressures to ease over the coming quarters.
The global expansion story also moved ahead in the quarter. EPL commercialised its Thailand plant in Q3. Production started in November. Management said the business there is still at an early stage. It expects the ramp-up to be gradual over the next few quarters. The company said Thailand is being built through an on-ground sales team and an organic pipeline.
This is different from Brazil, where it had an anchor customer. EPL also completed a plant shift in China after a customer moved its filling facility. Equipment was relocated to another existing site. The company said there was no capacity loss, though severance costs were incurred.
Global Footprint: Navigating Thailand and Brazil Expansions
EPL is also investing for future growth. It has set up a centre of excellence in Mumbai. It is adding extruded capacity. It is also seeing traction in newer formats such as tube-in-tube solutions in China. Sustainable tube formats contributed 38% of sales in the quarter.
That suggests customers are moving towards higher-value packaging solutions. The company also said it has strengthened its raw material pass-through systems. This should help protect margins if polymer prices rise.
The broader message from the quarter is clear. Packaging demand is no longer tied only to basic oral care volumes. Growth is shifting towards beauty, personal care and specialised formats. EPL looks well placed in that trend. The next key monitorables will be Europe’s recovery, Thailand’s scale-up and the strength of demand in beauty-led packaging.
In the past year, the EPL share price is up 17.6%.
EPL 1 Year Share Price Chart
#2 TCPL Packaging: Balancing domestic growth with export headwinds
Incorporated in 1987, TCPL Packaging manufactures paperboard-based packaging materials and flexible packaging products.
TCPL Packaging reported a mixed Q3FY26 quarter. Domestic demand improved gradually as the quarter progressed. That helped the company post healthy growth in India. But exports remained weak due to soft international markets. This is an important point for the packaging industry. Demand from local FMCG and consumer-facing segments stayed supportive, while overseas demand was still uneven.
Consolidated revenue for the December quarter stood at Rs 453 crore down from Rs 458 crore reported over a year ago. Net profit needs to be read with some caution. TCPL reported Q3 profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 25 crore which was lower compared to Rs 38 crore reported a year ago. The company also booked an exceptional loss of Rs 11.6 crore linked to the revised labour code framework. Management described this as a one-time impact. Cash profit for the quarter stood at Rs 56.5 crore.
The core theme for the quarter was clear. Packaging demand in India remained healthy, especially in the domestic market. Management said domestic volume grew in low double digits in Q3. Realisations were broadly flattish.
This suggests growth was driven more by volumes than pricing. That matters in packaging. It shows end-user demand is holding up in key categories even when pricing remains stable. Management also said the domestic business is diversified and not heavily dependent on tobacco.
Capacity utilization and backward integration at Silvassa
On capacity and expansion, the company highlighted the commissioning of its gravure cylinder manufacturing facility at Silvassa under wholly owned subsidiary Accura Technik. This is a backward integration move. It should improve process control, print precision and quality consistency. It should also reduce dependence on outside vendors. The facility has been built with surplus space. That leaves room to serve external demand over time.
Another project to watch is Chennai. Management said the plant is operating at below 50% utilisation at present. But it expects improvement in the next few months as audits are largely complete. Overall capacity utilisation is around 70% to 75%.
Flexible packaging utilisation is slightly higher than that. This suggests the next phase of growth may come more from ramp-up and operating leverage than from very large fresh capex. For FY27, the company has guided for capex of about Rs 100 crore, similar to this year.
Export Headwinds and the Stabilisation Phase
Exports remain the weak spot. Management said the business should benefit over time from trade developments involving the US, EU and UK. The direct benefit is stronger in flexible packaging, where tariffs are falling.
There could also be a second-order benefit if more industries export from India and need packaging. But the company was clear that this will not translate into orders immediately. Customer development cycles take time. Management described FY26 more as a year of stabilisation for exports after strong growth in earlier years, rather than a cause for concern.
The broader takeaway is that TCPL is still benefiting from domestic packaging demand, even as global markets remain soft. Its expansion in backward integration, gradual scale-up at Chennai and disciplined capex suggest it is preparing for the next leg of growth. The near-term triggers will be better use of new capacity, steadier exports and whether domestic consumption remains firm across customer segments.
In the past year, the TCPL Packaging share price tumbled 41.2%.
TCPL Packaging 1 Year Share Price Chart
#3 Mold-Tek Packaging: High-Value Pharma and food delivery drive the shift
Mold-Tek Packaging is engaged in the manufacturing of injection-molded containers for lubes, paints, food and other products.
Mold-Tek Packaging reported a seasonally weak but improving third quarter. Q3 is usually the company’s softest period. Even so, sales for Q3 stood at Rs 198 crore up 3.7% YoY. However, profit for Q3 remained flat at Rs 14 crore. The management said that demand started improving from January. That matters for the packaging sector. It suggests end-user demand in paints, food and pharma is picking up again after a slower patch.
The main growth drivers are shifting in the right direction. Pharma is gaining traction. More than 25 clients have audited and cleared Mold-Tek’s facilities. Less than half have started commercial offtake so far. The rest are expected to start in the coming months. That gives the company visibility for better growth in pharma packaging.
Management said pharma revenue should reach about Rs 35 crore this year. The management targets to achieve revenue of Rs 50-55 crore next year. This is important because pharma remains the highest value-added segment in its portfolio.
Pharma approvals and the Swiggy food-delivery tie-up
Food and FMCG is also showing strength. Management said growth in this segment returned to the mid-teens after printing capacity constraints were addressed. Q-Pack continued to grow strongly.
The company also said Thin-wall packs in the North are picking up across categories such as confectionery, yoghurt, ice cream, protein powder, edible oil, cashews and rice. In packaging, this is a useful trend to watch. It shows demand is widening across consumer categories and not depending on just one client or one use-case.
On expansion, Mold-Tek has largely completed the consolidation of its Hyderabad operations. Five units are being brought down to two. The company expects this to improve efficiency, reduce goods movement and lower personnel and operating costs from the next quarter. It is also expanding capacity in Panipat for Q-Pack and Thin-wall products.
Operational efficiency: Consolidating the Hyderabad footprint
At the same time, Mahad is being readied to support paint packaging demand. Management said these steps should help utilisation move back above 70% in Q4 and stay above that level in FY27.
The company is also working on new products and partnerships. Under its MOU with Vibe Generation, pilot moulds for patented closure products are being developed. Commercial moulds could be ready by the end of Q1FY27 if trials go well. These products are aimed at chemicals and lubricants and may also find uses in India.
Mold-Tek has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Swiggy, under which it has been selected as a preferred packaging vendor for restaurant and food packs. Management was careful not to overstate the near-term volume benefit, but the tie-up could widen reach in food delivery packaging over time.
Not all segments are moving evenly. Lubricants remained weak. Management said lube volumes fell, partly because the company lost the BPCL tender on pricing and chose not to chase very low-margin business. That means the near-term mix will depend more on paints, food and pharma.
On the positive side, Asian Paints volumes have started improving after the company developed a recycled-content formula that meets new compliance needs. Aditya Birla group volumes also remain strong, with Mahad expected to support further growth.
The bigger takeaway is that Mold-Tek is still a growth story within packaging, but the shape of that growth is changing. Higher-value pharma, food and specialty products are becoming more important. New capacity is getting absorbed. Efficiency gains are starting to show.
The next few quarters will depend on how quickly pharma client approvals translate into volumes, how well the North food business scales up, and whether the company can offset weakness in lubricants with stronger demand in consumer and healthcare packaging.
In the past year, the Mold-Tek Packaging share price rallied 21.5%.
Mold-Tek Packaging 1 Year Share Price Chart
#4 AGI Greenpac: Premium glass demand meets a massive 1.6 billion can expansion
Incorporated in 1960, AGI Greenpac manufactures and sells container glass bottles, PET bottles and security caps and closures under packaging products segment.
AGI Greenpac reported a steady Q3FY26 performance, though the quarter was softer than expected in some parts of the business. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 634 crore down from Rs 658 crore reported a year ago. PAT was Rs 72 crore which is quite lower from profit of Rs 91 crore reported a year ago. This PAT included exceptional items of Rs 5.09 crore linked to the estimated impact of labour code implementation.
The specialty glass edge: Outperforming commercial volumes
The key message from the quarter was that packaging demand remained intact, but the mix changed. In container glass, sales volume rose around 10% over Q2FY26, but was 2% lower than Q3FY25. Capacity utilisation remained high at about 95%.
Realisations, however, declined by around Rs 450 per ton versus Q2 and by around Rs 1,200 per ton year on year. Management said this was largely due to contract-linked pricing revisions with liquor and other customers, where raw material movements are passed through with a lag.
Specialty glass was the stronger part of the quarter. Sales volume was broadly flat on a sequential basis but rose more than 13% year on year. Capacity utilisation stood at around 85%. Realisations improved sharply. They were higher by around Rs 900 per ton over Q2 and by around Rs 6,800 per ton over Q3FY25.
Demand remained firm in higher-margin segments such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and premium beverages. This is important for the packaging story, because it shows AGI is getting more support from premium and specialised categories, not just bulk commercial glass.
The weaker part of the quarter was commercial glass, especially beer bottles. Management said volumes were affected by seasonal factors and temporary delivery deferments by customers due to weather-related issues. Extended rains and a harsh winter hurt beverage demand in some markets. The company expects this to normalize in the coming quarter. It said the shortfall looked more like a postponement than a structural loss of demand.
On expansion, execution remains the main highlight. The container glass debottlenecking project has already been completed and commissioned. This has lifted capacity to 1,900 tons per day, ahead of the earlier March 2026 target.
The specialty glass expansion to 200 tons per day is also on track and is expected to be completed by March 2026. These additions matter because existing glass capacities are already running at high utilisation. That leaves limited room for growth without new capacity.
The bigger growth trigger lies further ahead. The Greenfield container glass plant in Madhya Pradesh is progressing steadily. Land acquisition is complete. Civil work is underway. Procurement of key machinery is in progress and major equipment contracts are being finalized alongside regulatory approvals.
The 500 tons per day facility is scheduled for commissioning in March 2027. Management said this should increase glass container capacity by about 25% and improve the company’s reach in key consumption markets, especially in North India.
Greenfield expansion: The ₹1.6 billion aluminum can project
AGI is also widening its packaging portfolio. Its planned entry into aluminium beverage cans remains on schedule. Equipment procurement is in the final stage for an annual capacity of 1.6 billion cans. The company said this will complement its glass business and deepen relationships with liquid packaging customers.
At the same time, it is exploring a retail-oriented outsourcing model, where it can offer customers filled products through third-party manufacturing instead of supplying only empty bottles. Management said the aim is not to build a brand, but to strengthen its hold with end customers and improve placement of its core glass products.
The broader reading is that AGI Greenpac is still benefiting from the shift towards premium and sustainable packaging, even if quarterly demand can be uneven. High utilisation in container glass, improving specialty mix and timely capacity additions support that view. The near-term watch will be Q4 demand recovery. The medium-term story depends on smooth execution of the Madhya Pradesh glass plant and the aluminium can project.
In the past year, the AGI Greenpac share price tumbled 31.9%.
AGI Greenpac 1 Year Share Price Chart
Comparative Returns: Analyzing ROCE and EV/EBITDA Multiples
Let’s now turn to the valuations of the companies in focus, using the Enterprise Value to EBITDA multiple as a yardstick.
Valuations of Companies in focus
| Sr No | Company | EV/EBITDA Ratio | 5-Year Average EV/EBITDA | Industry Median | ROCE | ROE |
| 1 | EPL | 7.7 | 10.2 | 9.2 | 17.5% | 16.3% |
| 2 | TCPL Packaging | 9.1 | 9.1 | 20.0% | 23.8% | |
| 3 | Mold-Tek Packaging | 12.5 | 19.5 | 12.4% | 9.8% | |
| 4 | AGI Greenpac | 5.4 | 8.4 | 19.9% | 16.2% |
TCPL Packaging looks better on return ratios than the others here. Its return on capital employed (ROCE) is 20% and return on equity (ROE) is 23.8%. AGI Greenpac also looks strong with ROCE of 19.9% and ROE of 16.2%. EPL is decent too, with ROCE of 17.5% and ROE of 16.3%. Mold-Tek Packaging is behind the rest on this measure. Its ROCE is 12.4% and ROE is 9.8%.
On valuation, AGI Greenpac at 5.4 times EV/EBITDA and EPL at 7.7 times are below their own 5-year average multiples. TCPL Packaging is at 9.1 times, which is the same as its 5-year average of 9.1 times. Mold-Tek Packaging is at 12.5 times EV/EBITDA. That is lower than its 5-year average of 19.5 times, but it is still the most expensive stock in this pack.
The packaging story is quite straightforward. If more products are sold, more packaging is needed. It may be cartons, tubes, plastic containers or glass bottles. That is why these businesses can do well when consumption improves.
These four names are not the same. EPL is more about tubes and specialty packaging. TCPL Packaging is more about cartons and printed packs. Mold-Tek Packaging is more about rigid plastic packaging. AGI Greenpac gives the glass packaging side of the story. So together, they cover different parts of the market.
That is what makes them worth tracking. TCPL Packaging and AGI Greenpac look stronger on return ratios. EPL looks relatively comfortable on valuation. Mold-Tek Packaging still trades at a richer multiple than the rest. Put together, these four offer a fair way to track how growth in consumption may flow into packaging demand.
Conclusion
Packaging may not look as exciting as a direct consumer brand. But it still moves with consumption. When more paint, food, personal care, liquor or pharma products are sold, demand for cartons, tubes, bottles and containers also rises.
That is what makes this space worth watching. But the story is not the same for every company. Some names are stronger on return ratios. Some look more comfortable on valuation. Some have better growth visibility because of product mix, expansion plans or exposure to premium segments.
So this is not a space to look at only through one lens. Growth matters, but valuation also matters. A strong business at the wrong price can disappoint. At the same time, a cheaper stock also needs demand, execution and margins to hold up.
For now, the sector looks interesting enough to stay on the watch list. If consumption stays firm and organised demand keeps rising, packaging companies should continue to benefit. The real difference will come from who executes better and who converts that demand into steady earnings growth.
You can track how these are progressing by adding stocks to your watchlist.
Note: We have relied on data from www.Screener.in throughout this article. Only in cases where the data was not available, have we used an alternate, but widely used and accepted source of information.
The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educative purposes only.
Ekta Sonecha Desai has a passion for writing and a deep interest in the equity markets. Combined with an analytical approach, she likes to deep dive into the world of companies, studying their performance, and uncovering insights that bring value to her readers.
Disclosure: The writer and her dependents do not hold the stocks discussed in this article.
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