Introduction

The food packaging market is growing with the increasing demand for packaged food. The causes of the growth include the reason below 1. The increasing urban population leads to a growing consumption for food 2. Consumers tend to buy more food with packages today. 3. Increased consumption of processed food and takeaways 4. Demand for longer shelf-life of the food As a result, there are chances for the food packaging industry today. To discuss more on this topic, let’s go deeper into the food market by segments.

Food packaging market today

The global food packaging market size was expected to reach an amount of over USD 300 billion. On the other hand, the development of food packaging products has never stopped, in order to meet the needs of customers. The evolution of food packaging products today is mainly based on the following features: easy opening, portable to use, and sanitary conditions. As a result, the requirements for packaging production have become more and more restricted. Among the various factors, packaging materials play a decisive role.

Food packaging market by materials

Generally, popular materials for food packaging products today are mainly 1. Paper and board 2. Rigid and flexible plastic 3. Glass 4. Metal

1. Paper and board on the current food packaging market

Paper-based packaging materials has become one of the favourite packaging products. As a matter of fact, more and more people start to adopt paper and paper-based packaging products. After all, paper bags and boxes get their reputation as the biodegradable solution with the household name. And because of that, many expect a growth of the packaging market of paper and paper-based material.
The segment generated a revenue share of 31.9% of the total food packaging market in 2019.

2. Rigid and flexible plastics on the current food packaging market

For a long time, the packaging products of plastic materials play a key role in the packaging industry. Although the traditional plastic packaging materials are not as eco-friendly as the paper-based packaging materials. Still, they are on the service line in many aspects today. After all, the low price brings them a bunch of fans, which makes them popular until now. Meanwhile, plastic packaging products have their unique advantages over others. You can tell them with your own experiences, such as excellent sealing capacity and high water-proof performance. Moreover, the application of eco-friendly technology has extended the life circle of plastic materials. With the feature of recycling, biodegradability, and compostability. Want to know more about biodegradability and compostability? Also read More about Biodegradable Packaging. All these factors cause another rapid growth in the plastic food packaging market.

3. Glass on the current food packaging market

Glass packaging for food is commonly seen almost everywhere, from the shelf in a supermarket to the compartment of the refrigerator at home. The popularity results from the high-performance of fresh-keeping ability combined with its non-corrosive nature. Also, glass material is recyclable and non-sensitive to chemicals. All these features make it desirable packaging material for food preservation and direct food contact. Therefore, an estimation of USD 43.5 billion by 2027 for the glass material segment.

4. Metal on the current food packaging market

Metal packaging for food? It might look weird at first glance. But think twice, you will probably find them common and familiar. Usually, metal packaging is widely used for canned food such as meat, fish, and fruits. There are times you worry about the life span of the food, or just too busy to grab the ingredients for cooking from the market. In these cases, a couple of canned food helps you from starving your stomach. Metal packaging stands out among the others with the ability to extend shelf-life of food products and preserve the nutrition of food. Hereby the market growth of the metal packaging segment, not so fast as that of other segments above though. In conclusion, the growth of the paper packaging market takes first place in the material segment.

Applications

If you look at the packaging market by the segments of applications. You probably find out the wide usage of packaging solutions in the industry below. 1. Bakery and Confectionery 2. Dairy products 3. Fruits and vegetables 4. Meat and seafood

1. Bakery and Confectionery

Bakery and confectionery require packaging with moisture-proof material with high-level performance. Because moisture is the killer of bakery and confectionery products, which will largely shorten their shelf life. At the same time, the price is another key factor to consider. Flexible packaging has excellent moisture-proof performance. Lower prices over paper and metal materials combined with the feature of lightweight. Above all, flexible packaging takes the advantaged place over the other packaging solutions.

2. Dairy products

Dairy products can be a necessity for every family. The constant demand for dairy products boosts the growth of the packaging market. On the other hand, the designs of the packaging have become more and more attractive to customers. Sometimes, you may pick up a bottle of milk or a piece of yogurt for their appealing packaging. And all these deeds definitely contribute to the market growth of packaging products for the dairy industry.

3. Fruits and vegetables

The segment of fruit and vegetable packaging has been growing recently. An important reason among the others can be the rising awareness of health. To get more vitamins in your daily meals, you want to fetch some fruits in the supermarket. And you want them packed in a clean bag best of eco-friendly materials. Because you want your food preserved in a place with protection rather than being exposed for hours in the public area. Now, you realize that you are one of the contributors to the growing market share for fruits and vegetable packaging.

4. Meat and seafood

The increasing demand for meat and seafood has led to the growth of the packaging market for this segment. As well as that of dairy products, you probably need them every day unless you are a vegetarian or vegan. Moreover, meat is one of the things you usually find in popular healthy eating habit suggestions. For all these reasons, the packaging market for meat and seafood grows at a rapid pace.

Regional diversity

1. Asia-Pacific 2. North America 3. Europe

1. The food packaging market in Asia-Pacific

The Asia Pacific is estimated to be the largest market with 37% of the total market share in 2019. Among the countries in this region, China is the largest contributor. Because Chinese consumers have more purchasing power today, as a result of the increase in the middle-class population. Meanwhile, the Indian market is growing the fastest due to the increasing usage of food packaging products.

2. The food packaging market in North America

When it comes to North America, the packaging market growth is more a result of the thriving retail industry. And the large consumption of packaged food is another reason for the market growth.

3. The food packaging market in Europe

The European food packaging market shows a positive pose expectedly. Although the domestic market has reached a saturation level. Export business in the region will pretty much propel another growth of the packaging industry. One of the key reasons is the free-trade policy in Europe.

Paper food packaging – the trend

As a result of various factors, the paper packaging market has been growing at a rapid pace. Among the other causes, the prevailing habit of buying eco-friendly products is the key one. More and more people and industries start to use and produce paper food packaging. Why? Because paper food packaging has a lot of benefits. Being friendly to the environment is the critical one among the others.

1. Paper packaging is eco-friendly

For a long time, the overuse of plastics has greatly damaged the environment. And the pain still continues today. You can easily find the evidence in just a bit of time. As a citizen in the village of earth, the environment matters to every one of us. Honestly, our living conditions could have been better without the abuse of the plastic at a time. But fortunately, the awareness of environmental protection has become increasingly popular with society. As a result, more and more consumers are looking for ways to improve our environment. They try their best to seek for eco-friendly products and reduce the use of non-biodegradable materials. The adoption of paper food packaging is the witness.

2. Paper packaging is multi-functional

You can use paper-based packaging in many cases today. This is another reason to use it as an alternative to plastics. Paper packaging might not be so popular as it is today because it could easily get damaged. But thanks to modern technology, paper-based packaging has become increasingly strong and durable. You probably find your cardboard box still stands upright after handling several heavy loads. Also, they are recyclable. After the main paper material finishes their missions in the frontline, the leftover pieces continue the cycle. Scrap paper is the raw material of a variety of products such as fibre-board, paper sacks, wrapping paper, and more. Moreover, many companies are adopting and developing paper-based bottles as containers for coffee, soft drinks, and other beverages. You can easily find the paper coffee cups when you try to get some coffee in many coffee shops today. At the same time, the usage of paper bags to keep dry foods has become prevalent such as coffee, tea leaves, snack food and nuts, cookies and candy, and spices. Because paper-based materials can keep the freshness of the food by “keeping their breath”. All in all, this trend of paper packaging continues and could be a competitive alternative over the other packaging solutions.

3. Paper packaging is lighter

Due to its lightweight, shipping a load of goods packed by paper packaging requires much less energy. With the contribution of advanced technology, paper packaging today can handle more situations than it used to be. This enables a paper container to stay longer in the service line and offer better protection for the goods. Therefore, less demand for a second container to load the cargos. In other words, you can save your shipping cost and keep more money in your bank account. You will find more benefits of the paper packaging solution as the trend continues.

Conclusion

Thanks to the growing trend of the global packaging market, the packaging industry has got more chances. Companies dealing with paper packaging and other eco-friendly are likely to earn the most benefits. Despite the constant change, the market winners always share the characters in common. They never stop their pace to develop and show more care in our community. In terms of environment protection, PrimePac continues doing with the best effort.

Paper food packaging in PrimePac

We contribute by the continuous investment in the production line of paper food packaging. PrimePac has established a reputation within our customers through creative designs and the application of modern technology. Click to know more about our paper packaging products. Customers adopt our paper-based packaging solutions in various applications. Food & beverages, health care, and pet care are the most common ones.