With a minimalist design, Sady Pridonya juices and some dairy products are already on sale.
Temporary and Forcible Measure
You go to the supermarket, and your eyes are dazzled by multi-colored packages. A family image? But the shortage of imported paints, which are used to make boxes for juice, milk, and other beverages, is starting to fade on Russian store shelves. With a minimalist design, Sady Pridonya juices and some dairy products are already on sale. And it seems that this is only the beginning.
– We would like to tell you about the changes that will occur in the near future with the appearance of our products in Tetra Pak packaging, – Sady Pridonya OJSC (a large Volgograd company specializing in the production of juices and other products). – Soon you will see juices and baby food in a new minimalist design on store shelves. Such design is a temporary and forced measure. As a result of the sanctions, serious problems arose with the supply of raw materials and necessary materials to our country, including some types of cardboard, special varnishes, and paints. Using fewer inks for packaging design will ensure a smooth supply of our products to the point of sale.
Of course, the absence of the usual patterns on the packaging does not affect the quality of the product. But it will certainly affect sales volumes; after all, shoppers who are used to the familiar layout will find it more difficult at first to find their favorite product on the shelves.
Food containers for juices, milk, and other beverages sold in Russia are mainly produced by Tetra Pak, which notified customers in March of a temporary reduction in the range of containers due to shortages of components, mainly cardboard, varnishes, and paintings.
The Russian factory of the transnational company Tetra Pak, which has Swedish roots, is located in the Moscow region. They ensure that production continues, and even more so the company does not plan to close. But there are problems with the supply of raw materials. Most components, including paint, are imported. And although no one imposed sanctions for the supply of printing inks to Russia, Tetra Pak’s European headquarters, according to unofficial data, practically broke off relations with its Russian branch. And now the plant has to deal with the entire supply process again; this will take time. In the meantime, until supplies are restored, our juices will have colorless packaging.
Add Alcohol
How could it happen that our country could not be self-sufficient in ordinary printing ink? It turns out that in the days of the USSR, the Torzhok plant produced paints for letterpress printing. It was built in 1963. Unfortunately, the company is now bankrupt. It could not withstand competition in the conditions in which, since the early 2000s, the country was flooded with products from foreign manufacturers: Sun Chemical, Siegwerk, Torda, Flint, etc. It turned out to be much more profitable to buy his goods than paintings of his own production. But still, in Russia there are companies that produce printing inks, these are PTK Gangut LLC, Beta-Silicon LLC, Partner LLC, and Print-color LLC. And they are ready to fill an attractive niche with their product. But there is a caveat.
Our domestic paint, in the production of which ethyl alcohol is used, could successfully compete with imported ones. But ethyl alcohol is an excise product, that is, an excise tax is added to its value. It turns out that our alcohol-containing paint will make the final product much more expensive, which is unprofitable for consumers as well as beverage and packaging manufacturers. Thus, the same “Tetra Pak” used in the production of paint from foreign manufacturers, which was also imported into Russia duty-free.
But the situation can change. The issue of the withdrawal of the special tax from companies for the use of denatured ethyl alcohol in the printing inks used for Tetra Pak packaging is now being discussed, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recently reported.
– This will increase the competitiveness of domestic products both on the domestic market and abroad, – emphasizing the press service of the department.
In the event that it is not possible to quickly solve the problem of the shortage of paints on our own, and foreign manufacturers refuse to supply their paints to Russia, the government has a plan B – printing inks were included in the list of permitted products. for parallel imports. That is, it is now possible to import them into the country without the permission of their manufacturers and copyright holders. Previously, without such permission, these goods would have been displayed at customs and the importer would have been fined.
