1: On a personal level, what excites you most about expanding Ball’s footprint in India?
India is becoming a true cornerstone of Ball Corporation’s global strategy, and we now will have the scale on the ground to match the country’s ambition. With our recent and upcoming investments, we’re not only scaling operations but also deepening partnerships with both global key accounts and fast-growing local brands that are looking for modern, sustainable packaging solutions. It’s particularly motivating to see how our retort and sustainability technologies can support India’s dynamic beverage categories while creating high-quality jobs and contributing to “Make in India” objectives.
And ultimately, knowing that our expanded footprint can help advance circular, aluminium-based packaging in such an important market is exciting both professionally and personally. India is a very tangible example of how Ball’s purpose and promise come to life by unlocking the infinite potential of aluminum to advance a world free from waste, simplifying sustainability for our customers through scalable solutions, and winning together by creating enduring impact. Seeing these principles materialize in such a dynamic market is incredibly rewarding.
2: India’s beverage can market is growing incredibly fast. From your perspective, what makes this market so unique—and so important—for Ball’s global strategy?
What makes India so distinctive is the combination of rapid, broad-based growth and the sheer diversity of beverage categories that are shifting into aluminium. The market is projected to experience strong annual growth in aluminium beverage packaging, driven by both established segments like beer and carbonated soft drinks and newer ones such as energy drinks, RTD coffee, shakes and modern dairy beverages enabled by retort technology.
For Ball, that means India is key to our global strategy, helping us scale innovation, from retort-compatible cans to advanced sustainability technologies, in partnership with both global key accounts and fast-growing local brands.
As the world’s largest producer of aluminium packaging, building a strong, long-term footprint in a market with this level of momentum is critical to how we support customers and advance circular, recyclable packaging worldwide.
3. We’re seeing new categories like dairy and RTD beverages shift toward aluminum. What conversations have you been having with brands that convinced you this was the right direction?
The most convincing conversations have been with brands that are trying to do two things at once, protect the quality of sensitive products like dairy and RTD coffee, while also reaching more consumers in more places. Again and again, our partners have told us they need packaging that can deliver extended shelf life without compromising taste or nutritional integrity, and that’s exactly what our retort innovation technology in aluminium cans is designed to do.
When we worked with dairy and RTD players who were looking to move beyond traditional formats, those discussions led to change. For example, CavinKare shifting popular milkshake flavours into two-piece retort aluminium cans. Other global brand, available on the Indian market, have launched RTD coffee in retort cans to improve product quality, convenience and environmental performance.
We’ve seen similar dynamics in other fast-growing RTD categories, such as juices and energy drinks, where brands like Dabur have embraced aluminium cans to offer more portable, modern and sustainable options for on-the-go consumers.
Those experiences, and the results our customers are seeing in the market, have really confirmed that moving dairy and RTD beverages into aluminium is the right direction for both performance and sustainability.
4. Ball’s retort technology is being described as a game-changer for dairy. In simple terms, how would you explain the impact this innovation is having on product quality and shelf life?
In simple terms, our retort technology allows sensitive products like milk-based and ready-to-drink beverages to stay fresh and safe for much longer, without losing their taste or nutritional value.
By combining heat-resistant, aseptic-ready aluminium can designs with advanced processing, we can lock in flavour and nutrients while protecting the product from light, oxygen and contamination.
For dairy brands, that means they can offer shelf-stable milkshakes and RTD coffee that still taste fresh and high-quality, with the convenience of cans that are easy to store, transport and chill.
At the same time, extended shelf life helps reduce waste across the value chain, making aluminium cans a more sustainable choice as India’s dairy and RTD categories continue to grow.
5. Two major expansions in two years is a big commitment. How do you personally approach decision-making when you’re investing at this scale in a market like India?
When we look at investments of this scale in India, the starting point is always our long-term vision. We begin by asking whether a project will genuinely strengthen our ability to scale operations, deepen local partnerships and drive innovation tailored to the market.
We then assess the fundamentals behind the growth story, such as India’s robust macroeconomic outlook and the projected annual strong growth in aluminium beverage packaging, to ensure demand is both real and sustainable.
Local conditions are also equally important. For example, in Andhra Pradesh, our decision was driven by the state’s potential, excellent connectivity and a shared vision for creating impactful opportunities and long-term value.
Finally, every major decision is tested against our sustainability strategy, from investments in technologies like retort and heat pumps to how we support “Make in India” by creating high-quality jobs and strengthening regional supply chains.
What truly gives us confidence is the strength of our entire team – in India, across EMEA and globally. We operate as one integrated organization, sharing expertise and supporting each other to deliver on our commitments. In India, we have an experienced leadership group that knows the market and executes with precision, fully aligned with our global strategy. This collaboration ensures we move forward with certainty and consistency.
Our track record speaks for itself: Ball’s plants in SriCity and Taloja have received national recognition for manufacturing excellence, including the CII Quality Excellence Award and Kaizen Star Challenger honors. These achievements reflect not only operational excellence but also the capability of our teams worldwide to lead and innovate at scale.
6. Beyond production capacity, how is Ball working with local communities, suppliers, or talent in India? Are there any stories that stand out to you?
Beyond adding capacity, a lot of our focus in India is on building a stronger ecosystem around our plants, from local suppliers and logistics partners to the people and communities we work with every day. We are deliberately strengthening partnerships with Indian suppliers and customers so we can serve the market faster and more reliably, while directly supporting the government’s “Make in India” objectives.
Our recent investments alone are expected to create more than 50 new direct jobs and over 75 indirect roles across Sri City and Taloja, supporting both technical and commercial roles and helping to reinforce regional supply chains.
This links closely to Ball’s global ambition of building a skilled, engaged workforce through structured technical training and development opportunities across our manufacturing network.
On the community side, we are committed to responsible growth in India, which includes supporting awareness around recycling and responsible consumption, while globally, Ball Foundation and our employee volunteering programme channel time and resources into recycling education, manufacturing education and local charitable partners.
This is underscored by our new investment in Andhra Pradesh, where the MoU with the state government is explicitly framed around creating impactful opportunities and long-term value for the region.
7. Sustainability is a big part of Ball’s identity. What have Indian consumers and brands told you about their expectations—and how is Ball responding?
What we hear consistently from brands in India is that sustainability is no longer a “nice to have”, consumers want packaging that can clearly meet their environmental goals and live up to rising consumer expectations. Many of our partners are actively looking to move into formats that are fully recyclable, have a lower environmental footprint and signal that commitment to shoppers on the shelf, which is why transitions like Del Monte India move into two-piece aluminium cans have been so important.
At the consumer level, we’re seeing growing awareness that aluminium is permanently recyclable, has high recovery value and supports India’s broader climate and resource-efficiency goals, expectations that are being reinforced by new frameworks such as the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Rules, 2024, that come into force in 2026 and require producers to take full responsibility for the post-consumer lifecycle of packaging.
Our facility in Taloja is central to these efforts, serving as a hub for innovation and operational excellence in sustainable aluminium packaging.
More broadly, our sustainability strategy is about making things simpler for customers. We design fully circular aluminium packaging and work with brands to turn complex regulations and consumer expectations into practical, scalable solutions that help them win in the market.
8. Ball serves both global and homegrown Indian brands. How do you balance these different needs, and what have you learned from the Indian market specifically?
In India we work with both global key accounts and fast-growing local brands, all of whom are looking for packaging that combines functionality, aesthetics and sustainability.
The way we balance those needs starts with the same foundation: high-quality aluminium cans. We then tailor our support to where each customer is on their growth journey. For some of our larger global partners, that can mean leveraging our scale, insights and technical capabilities to enable category shifts, like the move into RTD and dairy in retort-compatible formats.
For homegrown Indian brands, we often play a more hands-on, solutions-driven role. For example, supporting Del Monte India with its transition into two-piece aluminium cans. Or additionally, working with Dabur which introduced new flavours of its Réal Bites juice with fruit chunks in 185 ml aluminium cans, providing a portable and sustainable option for on-the-go consumers.
What we’ve learned from India is that this market moves quickly, and brands, whether global or local, expect partners who can match that pace with innovation and reliable local execution. The success of recent collaborations has reinforced that when we listen closely to our customers’ specific needs, co-create solutions and back that up with local investment in capacity, supply chains and talent, we can help very different types of brands grow while advancing more sustainable, circular packaging across the market.
9. Looking ahead, what future investments or innovations are you personally eager to explore to support India’s evolving packaging landscape?
Looking ahead, what excites me most is the opportunity to build on the foundations we’ve already put in place with Taloja and Sri City, and to support India’s projected strong annual growth in aluminium beverage packaging.
I’m particularly keen to further scale the technologies that are already differentiating Ball in India, from advanced retort systems that enable shelf-stable dairy and RTD beverages, to heat pump solutions that improve our environmental performance.
At the same time, I see huge potential in continuing to innovate with our customers as new categories emerge, whether that’s dairy RTDs, juices or other functional beverages that benefit from modern, sustainable can formats, like we’ve seen with the beer and carbonated soft drink category growth, supported by premiumisation and a rise in at-home consumption.
We’ll also keep investing in the broader circularity ecosystem, strengthening traceability, working more closely with recyclers and aligning with India’s EPR framework. Ball’s aluminium cans are designed for closed-loop recycling, helping reduce waste and conserve resources – fully aligned with India’s vision for a circular economy.
Ultimately, the goal is to combine smart, future-ready investments in capacity and technology with innovations that make sustainability simpler and more accessible for brands and consumers across India.
10. If you had to describe Ball’s long-term vision for India in one or two sentences, what would it be?
Ball’s long-term vision for India is to make the country a cornerstone of our global strategy by scaling operations, fostering local partnerships, and driving innovation tailored to regional needs. As consumer demand for sustainable packaging accelerates, we aim to lead India’s transition to modern, circular aluminum packaging – a winning substrate that is lightweight, durable, fully recyclable, and designed for a changing world. Over time, our ambition is to deliver packaging solutions that combine functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability, meeting the needs of producers and the expectations of modern consumers while supporting the transformation of India’s beverage industry.
Interview published by Emily Gambrill