Sai Packaging – Harveer Sahni Blog

With the evolution of Indian label industry, narrow web label converting has started to expand beyond traditional pressure-sensitive labels to embrace a broad array of diverse applications such as flexible packaging, shrink sleeves, in-mold labels, sachets, wrap-around labels and more. Besides market expansion, these diversifications are not just driven by market demand, but also by an imperative need to implement sustainability across all formats of packaging.

To dwell on the topic LMAI, The Label Manufacturers Association of India has organized a panel discussion titled “Narrow web label converting expanding to diverse applications” during the LMAI conference at Udaipur on the 5^th of July 2025. The panel will be moderated by Harveer Sahni, Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited. Panelists from renowned label converting companies and Kurz, suppliers of global repute include:

1. I.V. Stephane Royere

Head of Business Area

Packaging and Print

International Sales and Marketing

LEONHARD KURZ Stiftung & Co. KG

2. Manoj Kochhar

Director

Holoflex Limited

3. Denver Annunciation

Director – Strategic Initiatives.

Janus International Pvt Ltd

4. Priyata Raghavan

Deputy CEO

Sai Packaging Company

5. Mehzabin Nair

Managing Director

Skanem India Pvt Ltd

6. Hemanth Paruchuri

Director

PRAGATI PACK (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED

LMAI Conference themed “Emerging Beyond Boundaries.”

The Label Manufacturers Association of India, LMAI is celebrating their 25 years along with their biennial LMAI Conference themed “Emerging Beyond Boundaries”. The conference is expected to be the biggest ever LMAI event. It is to be held at the Fairmont Udaipur Palace from 3^rd to 6^th of July 2025. Fairmont Udaipur Palace is an alluring destination to discover the charm of Udaipur, seamlessly blending timelessly tradition with modern elegance, featuring a historic stepwell, one of Rajasthan’s largest ballrooms and exclusive events pool with jacuzzi and amphitheater. Fairmont Udaipur Palace is 45 minutes from the nearest airport and 10 km from Udaipur city center. Nestled in the Aravalli Hills, it offers easy access to the city’s top attractions and cultural landmarks. The LMAI Conference brings together the entire Indian label fraternity including label converters and leading industry suppliers from within India and from around the world.

LMAI President Rajesh Chadha says, “The event will deliver immense value to the label industry, we endeavor to make it a memorable event.”

The conference is open only to LMAI members of good standing. An extensive list of sponsors includes Kurz India as Platinum sponsors and Avery Dennison as Elite sponsors besides so many others. Over 350 rooms are booked for the conference, the main event will be held at The Fairmont Udaipur Palace, additional rooms are arranged at Hotel Aurika Udaipur. Elaborate transport, transfer, and registration arrangements are put in place. As usual the conference will be a knowledge delivery event with motivational and other speakers, celebrity driven entertainment, panel discussion, multiple networking programs and much more.

Conference Chairmen Manish Desai and Jaideep Singh assure in unison, “We are making sure that it is a well-organized event with all functions and programs running smoothly to precision. We strive to provide satisfaction to delegates.”

Label Manufacturers Association of India
Navi Mumbai, Mob – 8097333995, Email – lmaiorg@gmail.com

The author has firmly believed that “Women are largely loyal, committed and resilient in business”. They achieve success in their endeavors despite being multi-taskers. We all know being a home maker is a gigantic task; looking after household chores, managing children, their education, their activities, arranging wardrobes for self and family. After all this, running one of the largest packaging companies in the country is nothing short of a miracle! Priyata Raghavan, is one such woman who is like a role model for young aspiring women leaders riding success with her hard work. She is the younger daughter of Vijay Raghavan, the founder of Sai Packaging Company and heads the overall operations of the company as deputy CEO.

Vijay Raghavan came from a modest background having witnessed financial heights and lows in his childhood. Despite difficulties he completed his education through college and then went on to achieve an MBA. Middle aged, in his late 40s, in 1993 he decided to set up his maiden venture Sai Security Printers with meagre capital that he could arrange. With sheer hard work he established his credibility and adopted good business practices and ethical values that became the way forward for the business and for his family to follow. His wife was a big support, with a masters in English literature she pursued job as a teacher. In the beginning of a new millennium, the business felt the need of more family members and at this time she quit her job to join as administrator, a designation she has held for the past 20 years.

Vijay Raghavan carried on his security printing business, printing lottery tickets for various state Governments. In 1996 they invested in an imported, one of the early 13-inch 12 color narrow web flexo press for printing scratch coupons. Due to a sudden ban on lottery by the government, they were left evaluating what to do next. Vijay Raghavan initiated his journey into packaging by setting up Sai Packaging Company and putting the swanky new press to use instead, for Labels, Beverages and liquor. That was how they started working in Labels.

Vijay Raghavan is blessed with two daughters and being a proponent of women empowerment, encouraged his daughters to achieve the best in education. His elder daughter is a maths graduate from South Campus Delhi, and currently heads the Tutor Quality Department at CueLearn India, an e-learning startup focused on math education globally. She is Carnegie Mellon University Dean’s Scholar with a master’s in information systems management. His younger daughter Priyata who now heads the North India operations of Sai Packaging as deputy CEO since 2005, attended Holy Child School New Delhi and Sri Venkateswara College in South Campus, New DELHI. She did her MBA from IIM Lucknow and has been a gold medalist through all these institutions. She specialized in Marketing and Finance.

Priyata joined ITC Limited in 2003 as a Management Trainee in Sales and Marketing. She considers her time at ITC crucial for her business future, working on brands like Ashirwaad and Sunfeast that became household names. She gained insights into sales and distribution channels, travelling extensively across the country. She joined Sai Packaging right after spending a few years at ITC Limited. This was at a time when the business was going through a transformation from the lottery business into a world of labels and packaging. It was an important trajectory dependent on succession. She has spent over 20 years at the helm of SAI, wearing many hats like heading Sales, Operations, Finance etc. As with every family-run enterprise, her duties/task far outnumber any designation. After initially starting out in finance, then sales and operations, she worked her way to leading Profit Centers for the overall business as well as heading Business Development, Finance and Corporate Affairs for the Company.

Reminiscing her early days at SAI, she says, “Memories of selling packaging those days, are very memorable, albeit for very different reasons. I was handed a few of the challenging customers to prove my mettle. I cannot name them here of course, but I can say that my learnings from selling to these difficult customers was far higher than the business earnings from them. I still carry those early lessons with me!”. As for the challenges she faced as a woman, she goes on to add, “Printing as such, especially the convertor business has few women and there is always resistance both within and without for a woman on the shop floor and as a leader. I overcame initial resistance with hard work, resilience, passion and delivery to be trusted by all stakeholders as an inclusive leader. “Priyata firmly believes that there are advantages of being a female leader. Women bring in the innate ability to multitask and establish an emotional connect. Their higher social quotient and emotional quotient helps build tangible and solid relationships amongst all levels of the team and stakeholders. This ability helps the teams to go above and beyond, and win trust with suppliers, customers and investors. She asserts that she has always tried to look at the end consumer requirements so as to understand the packaging needs of brands and translate that back to her teams within the company. This helped her in winning business. Sai, until she joined, was a men-only organisation 20 years ago, but contrary to that, it now employs women at various positions in the company. Sai has evolved to recognise the merit and talent in women.

Priyata’s father, Vijay Raghavan, inspired her with his business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit. He mentored her throughout her career, alongside other professionals in both family and business, which contributed to her growth. She avidly reads biographies and management books to gather insights and experiences. She has, over the years, been the recipient of many awards.

Business leader of the Year 2023, Women in Print by Printweek
Tycoons of Faridabad by the Jagran Group in 2019
Appreciation Award for Women Empowerment by FICCI 2019
Young Entrepreneur Recognition by DLF Industries 2020

Despite her entrepreneurial responsibilities, she has successfully raised two children. Advait, her 13-year-old son excels in football, academics, and music. Zoya, her 10-year-old daughter is an outstanding student and a dedicated Kathak dancer, performing across India and winning numerous awards.

Vijay Raghavan continues to guide and mentor Sai Packaging as Chairman. Arvind Sekhar -his elder son in law, husband of Priyata’s elder sister, is the CEO of the company looking after National Customers & Corporate Account Relationships, Strategic R&D Initiatives, and Investor Relationships. Arvind is master’s in chemical engineering, and has worked with International Papers and Ariba, an American software and information technology services company located in Palo Alto, California now acquired by German software maker SAP. He was in the US for 13 years, before he came back to India to join the company.

Sai packaging is multilocation company serving FMCG brands needing a pan-India vender presence. Sai is the preferred partner for them with production facilities in Faridabad NCR and Bengaluru in the south of India. Their product range includes Labels, Cartons, Leaflets, Inserts and Security printing instruments.

With 14 offset and flexo production lines they work out of the shop floor area admeasuring 270,000 square feet employing a 700 plus workforce at two locations. They invested in digital printing capabilities some years back and found digital solutions extremely useful in giving options with speed to the world of packaging. Priyata believes that hybrid technologies that toggle both conventional and digital technologies, have great scope for growth, in the years to come, however still, the industry needs to overcome the pricing challenge for digital.

Finally, regarding her vision for future, she says, “We want to consolidate that position to grow much faster in the years to come. We want to be known for our initiatives in Creativity, Trust, and Sustainability across the board.

Written by Harveer Sahni, Chairman Weldon Celloplast Limited, New Delhi March 2025