Shaping the Future of Nutra and Pharma
inConversation with Anil Andrade – Vice President Global Sales at ACG
In an exclusive interview, Anil Andrade, Vice President of Global Sales at ACG, shares insights into the company’s ambitious growth strategy and sustainability efforts. With a longstanding commitment to quality, innovation, and customer-centric solutions, ACG is poised to lead the way in the global capsule manufacturing industry. In this conversation, Anil discusses the opening of their new state-of-the-art facility in Thailand, the company’s focus on cutting-edge capsule printing technology, and the strategic importance of sustainability in ACG’s operations. He also sheds light on the challenges and opportunities in the rapidly evolving industry and offers a glimpse into the future of ACG as it continues to expand its global footprint.
Good morning, Anil, and thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. It’s a pleasure to have you here.
Let’s begin by discussing ACG’s exciting new venture. The decision to establish a new facility in Rayong (Thailand) is a significant step forward for the company. Could you share with us what prompted this strategic initiative, and how does it align with ACG’s broader growth and global strategy?
The concept for this facility was envisioned quite some time ago, long before it came to fruition. We had actually owned the land for over a decade, but it remained unused until we made the strategic decision to establish the facility there. The primary objective behind this move was to cater more effectively to the APAC region, which has seen rapid growth and increasing demand for our services. By setting up a local facility, we are not only able to serve our customers more promptly but also strategically position ourselves to expand our customer base in the region.
Key markets such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam posed significant challenges when trying to address them from India, primarily due to intense local competition, regulatory differences, and longer lead times. These barriers often led to inefficiencies and customer dissatisfaction. Establishing a presence in Thailand has allowed us to significantly reduce these lead times and overcome these hurdles. It also brings us closer to our customers, enabling them to visit the facility, interact with our teams directly, and experience our operations firsthand. This proximity greatly enhances their confidence in doing business with us, as they now have greater visibility and reassurance about the quality and reliability of our offerings.
This move is a natural extension of our broader vision to expand our capsule manufacturing footprint outside India. In addition to Thailand, we’ve also established facilities in Brazil and Croatia, each chosen strategically to localize our operations and meet the growing demand in those regions. These steps align with our philosophy of creating strong regional hubs, ensuring that we can offer faster, more reliable service while continuing to meet the evolving needs of our global customers.
That’s excellent! With this expansion, what is the expected annual production capacity for the Thailand facility?
The facility is strategically designed to produce approximately 20 billion capsules annually, with a primary focus on gelatin capsules, which continue to be in high demand across various markets. The site is equipped with cutting-edge technology and infrastructure to ensure high-quality production while maintaining flexibility and efficiency. Additionally, one of the key advantages of this facility is that it sits on a large plot of land, providing ample space for future expansion, should the business require it. This foresight ensures that we can scale up our operations seamlessly to meet increasing market demands as they arise.
For the time being, we are concentrating on achieving the initial production capacity of 20 billion capsules per year, ensuring that our systems, workforce, and processes are running smoothly at this level. However, we are continuously monitoring market trends and customer requirements. As the business grows and demand for our products increases, we will evaluate the need for scaling up operations and enhancing our production capabilities. This approach allows us to remain agile and responsive to market dynamics, ensuring that we can consistently meet our customers’ needs without compromising on quality.
I read that this facility incorporates advanced capsule printing capabilities. Could you elaborate on these technologies and how they benefit customers and the supply chain?
Certainly. ACG has been at the forefront of sustainability and digitalization, earning recognition as a World Economic Forum Lighthouse. While this distinction began with our facilities in India, the expertise is being extended globally, including Thailand.
At this facility, we have installed state-of-the-art manufacturing and printing technologies known for their precision and quality. Our advanced systems enable various printing techniques, such as circular, linear, and 360-degree printing. These capabilities are particularly significant in Asia, where capsule aesthetics and antibiotic branding are highly valued.
Beyond aesthetics, the machines can handle complex, multi-color printing, including logos, vector designs, and multilingual text, on both the capsule cap and body. We’ve advanced from basic customization options like single-color capsules to a robust system that supports up to four colors, ensuring that customer-specific branding requirements are met efficiently.
You mentioned sustainability earlier. Could you outline some of the key sustainability practices ACG implements across its operations?
Sustainability is a cornerstone of our operations, especially given the scale of our global manufacturing. We focus on several key areas to ensure we are minimizing our environmental footprint while continuing to deliver high-quality products. First, energy efficiency plays a critical role in our sustainability efforts. We have made significant investments in solar farms in India, and we are expanding this initiative to other regions globally. Solar panels now supply power to our facilities, and any surplus energy is fed back into the grid, contributing to a cleaner energy ecosystem.
Another crucial area is raw material optimization. Gelatin, which is our primary raw material, is a natural resource, and we are committed to minimizing wastage in its use. Surplus material is either recycled for reuse in our processes or redirected to ancillary industries, helping to reduce waste and maximize the value derived from the material.
We also prioritize sustainable packaging. In an effort to reduce our environmental impact, we’ve introduced biodegradable and paper-based packaging solutions. These include innovative materials such as blister-form packaging and halogen-free options, which further align with our commitment to sustainability.
Lastly, water management is a critical focus for us. Our facilities are designed to achieve zero liquid discharge, ensuring no contamination of the environment through wastewater. The wastewater generated is treated and recycled within the facility, which minimizes both water consumption and the ecological footprint associated with it.
Through these initiatives, ACG demonstrates its ongoing commitment to reducing its environmental impact while maintaining operational excellence across all our global manufacturing facilities.
With this, ACG is undoubtedly the largest in capsule manufacturing, and I’m confident it will soon achieve the same from a production capacity perspective. However, do you foresee any significant challenges? The industry seems to be around 20-25% structured, but a large portion is still unstructured. Given this dynamic, what challenges might arise despite ACG’s dominant position?
Let me clarify—we are not the largest yet. We are currently the second largest, but we are steadily working toward becoming the largest.
The capsule industry, though niche, holds tremendous growth potential for ACG. Customers demand a product that is reliable—once it arrives at their facility, it should function seamlessly, be delivered on time, and allow them to bring their products to market quickly.
To address this, ACG has heavily invested in building the capabilities of our teams and facilities to ensure we fulfill our commitments as a reliable supplier. Reliability is a core principle we prioritize to appeal to our customers.
The second area of focus has been cost efficiency. By streamlining our operations, we can serve diverse segments such as branded pharma, generics, nutraceuticals, and traditional Chinese medicine. The nutraceutical and traditional medicine segments, in particular, are highly unorganized, and we aim to make our offerings accessible and cost-effective for customers in these areas.
Lastly, we’ve emphasized providing tailored solutions. Years ago, we conducted a global “Voice of the Customer” initiative, which highlighted that ACG’s flexibility and problem-solving approach resonate strongly with our clients. As a result, we’ve expanded strategically to be closer to our customers, with facilities in Croatia, Brazil, and most recently, Thailand for the Asia-Pacific region. Over the next few years, we plan to establish more local facilities in key markets to drive our growth further.
That leads perfectly to my next question—what’s the next 20 billion capsule facility that ACG is planning?
We are currently building Asia’s largest vegetarian capsule facility in India. This facility has already begun production and, in its initial phase, has a capacity of 20 billion capsules. Eventually, it can scale up to produce 40 billion capsules, making it the largest vegetarian capsule facility in the world.
Beyond this, we have plans for two additional facilities, though I cannot disclose their locations or timelines at this stage. What I can share is that we are targeting an increase in production capacity by another 100 billion capsules over the next three to four years.
Out of academic interest, you touched upon the nutraceutical segment, which is unorganized but growing rapidly, especially post-pandemic. Demand has surged significantly in India and globally. Are there any plans for ACG to explore white-label or private-label manufacturing for this segment?
That’s a great question. I was recently reviewing data from the Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) on the global supplement market. As you pointed out, India is poised for accelerated growth in this segment, alongside regions in Eastern Europe, Russia, and parts of Asia.
However, for India to fully realize this potential, regulatory frameworks need to become more conducive, as they are in markets like the US, where streamlined regulations have allowed the sector to flourish.
India has a natural advantage in this space due to the abundance of ingredients like ashwagandha, curcumin, tulsi, and moringa. Nearly half of the raw materials for global supplements originate in India. This creates an excellent foundation for the growth of nutraceuticals here, especially with increasing consumer awareness of health and wellness.
To support this, we recently built a new facility in 2024 that focuses on advanced dosage forms, including liquid-filled capsules, capsule-in-capsule combinations, and multi-dose pellets. While these are niche offerings, there’s also substantial potential for standard products like multivitamins, prenatal supplements, and collagen-based solutions.
We are particularly optimistic about vegetarian capsules, as consumers increasingly seek clean-label products made from natural ingredients. As awareness of health-conscious living continues to grow, the demand for these products will likely surge.
That’s a promising outlook. Additionally, I believe the agricultural sector could also benefit significantly. For example, capsules could play a role in seed protection or other agro-based applications.
Absolutely. The agro-industry is another area where capsules could make a meaningful impact, particularly in areas such as seed protection and nutrient delivery. As consumers and industries alike become more conscious of sustainability and product integrity, there is an increasing demand for clean-label, pesticide-free products. This shift is driving the agro-industry to adopt more sustainable practices, including organic farming and soil regeneration. These trends align perfectly with the potential applications of capsule technologies in agro-based industries.
In fact, I’ve had several discussions with colleagues and friends in agriculture who are actively exploring innovations in areas like crop seeding, water management, and sustainable practices such as soil regeneration. These innovations are not only environmentally beneficial but also align with the growing compliance requirements for organic certification. With organic certification becoming increasingly important in many markets, capsule technologies provide an excellent solution that meets both sustainability goals and regulatory demands. This represents a promising opportunity for us to expand our reach and impact in the agro-industry.
Anything other than this you would like to speak, Anil?
I think we covered a whole range of topics there, but I would like to give an overall glimpse of the breadth of ACG’s capabilities.
ACG operates across multiple verticals, encompassing Empty Capsules, Process Equipment for oral solid dose manufacturing, packaging solutions, Track and Trace Systems, and Vantage Nutrition. This extensive portfolio allows us to collaborate seamlessly with customers in both the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries, reflecting our global reach and commitment to innovation.
For instance, Vantage Nutrition has established a strong manufacturing footprint in the United States and recently introduced a higher concentration VitaCholine® in liquid capsules. This development, launched late last year, signifies our ongoing dedication to advancing product solutions, and we anticipate further exciting progress in the near future.
Guest-bio
Anil Andrade is an accomplished senior executive with over 15 years of experience in driving sales and business development across North America and globally. Currently serving as the Vice President of Global Sales & Service at ACG World, he leads the company’s strategic initiatives, focusing on expanding its global footprint. With a background in business strategy, he has a track record of success in fostering sustainable growth, innovative solutions, and building strong customer relationships. Anil holds a certification in Business Strategy from Wharton, reflecting his expertise in competitive advantage and leadership.
