Gas Crunch Guts India Glassmakers Tripping Milk-to-Malt Supply Chains
Indian glass factories are being forced to pare output due to energy shortages from the Gulf war, pinching buyers of beverage bottles and medicine vials
Traditional glassblowing techniques are used at the Shri Sitaram Glass Works in Firozabad, India in March.
Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/BloombergAt Bengaluru-based Mossant Craft Kombucha, co-founder Shishir Sathyan has been scrambling to source glass flasks for their premium fermented drinks over the past month.
“There's nothing out there for us to buy right now,” he said, as India's glass-making industries, built on gas-fired furnaces, are struggling to sustain production in the wake of the Middle East conflict. “It’s the worst time of the year to have this problem,” Sathyan said, noting demand for beverages typically surges during the summer months.
He said his start-up is now looking to tighten its budget for marketing and discounts to offset the rising procurement costs.