PAN MASALA AND ZARDA MANUFACTURING IN POUCHES

Pan masala is a mouth freshener with catechu, chuna, flavouring agents and perfumery compounds etc. It refreshens the mouth and gives the feeling of cold in throat when taken in small amount. Pan Masala tobacco is chewed either with pan or directly without any other thing. Zarda of various grades, specified by different numbers, constitutes different proportions of zarda in tobacco. The higher the grade number of zarda panmasala, the higher it will contain zarda content. Zarda if taken in high dose is injurious to health and gives the feeling of laziness and unconsciousness. Kimam is the sweetened masala, usually taken by peoples who are not in regular routine of chewing tobacco. It is generally a mouth freshener and believed to increase appetite by improving digestion system.

The custom of chewing breath fresheners after meals has a very long history, particularly in India. Pan Masala is a balanced mixture of areca nuts (also known as supari), catechu, cardamom, lime, flavouring agents and some natural perfuming materials. It is widely used to remove the bad odour of the mouth by providing a fresh breath and comes in attractive user-friendly packets and containers. Despite its growing demand in rural areas, pan masala is gaining prominence in urban areas of India. Factors like its immense popularity, constantly increasing disposable incomes, convenient packaging, aggressive advertising campaigns by manufacturers and the large-scale switching of consumers from tobacco products to pan masala are currently encouraging the growth of pan masala market. According to IMARC group, the Pan Masala market has reached values worth around INR 31,000 Crores in 2015 growing at a CAGR of 17% during 2008-2015.

Among the various types of pan masala available in the Indian market, pan masala containing tobacco represents the dominating type accounting for more than 50% of the entire market. Pan Masala is followed by plain pan masala and flavoured pan masala. The Indian exports of pan masala are dominated by UAE accounting for around one-third of the total export values. UAE is followed by USA, Singapore, Afghanistan, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Rajnigandha represents the largest manufacturer of pan masala followed by RMD, Pan Vilas and Pan Parag.