Flexible Plastic Packaging Market

Flexible plastic packaging products to gradually replace rigid packaging products

With the growing demand for flexible plastic packaging in the key end-use sectors such as food & beverages, electrical & electronics, and e-commerce industries, the flexible plastic packaging market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The crucial growth factor in the global flexible plastic packaging market is the growing demand for flexible plastic packaging due to its lightweight properties.

Flexible plastic packaging, due to its flexibility, durability, and lightweight nature is increasingly replacing rigid packaging made of plastic and non-plastic materials such as glass and metal. Rigid packaging offers high-barrier packaging solutions irrespective of shelf-life requirements. Also, rigid packaging formats are vulnerable to breakage and corrosion. Consumer views and interactions with packaged products are changing and there is a growing focus on convenience, durability, shelf-life, and most importantly, sustainability.

Traditional rigid packaging formats are replaced by innovative flexible plastic packaging options to meet customer needs. Brands are able to offer longer shelf life and convenient user experience to consumers with the help of flexible plastic packaging solutions. Flexible plastic packaging products can be made in opaque as well as transparent forms depending upon merchandising requirements of the product.

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Packaging industry is gradually advancing towards green solutions due to the rising environmental concerns associated with flexible plastic packaging

Flexible plastic packaging takes hundreds of years to decompose and therefore, is not favored by many countries and organizations. In fact, the European Parliament has plans to ban all single-use plastics by the end of 2020. In the last few years, there has been a prominent increase in awareness regarding environmental issues associated with flexible plastic packaging.

Sudden changes in plastic regulations could lead to turbulence in the flexible plastic packaging market, which might negatively impact the demand for flexible plastic packaging films. Furthermore, the flexible plastic packaging industry is gradually shifting towards alternative solutions rather than using plastic. This will ultimately impact the demand for flexible plastic packaging across the globe.

Restricted scope of multi-layered plastic film recycling to affect the global flexible plastic packaging market

The food packaging segment constitutes the highest share in the global flexible plastic packaging market. Flexible plastic packaging, especially the one used in food packaging, is multi-layered in nature, in order to provide atmosphere barrier protection.

Flexible plastic packaging formats are formed by layers of plastic and metal (aluminum), and recycling of these products requires lot of segregation and categorization. Segregation allows these components to be further converted into recycled resins. Owing to the lack of a concrete segregation process, the recyclability of flexible plastic packaging becomes practically unfeasible. 

Transformations brought into the industry by global flexible plastic packaging market leaders

• In March 2018, Constantia Flexibles Group acquired Indian film laminates producer Creative Polypack Limited. Creative Polypack Limited manufactures film-based flexible packaging for food and home & personal care industries. Lucrative incremental opportunity represented by the Indian flexible plastic packaging market is targeted by the company.
• In February 2018, Berry Global Group, Inc. invested in the Spinlace technology to expand the production capacity of flexible plastic packaging by 17000 metric tons, serving the North American Market.
• In August 2018, Amcor acquired Bemis in an all-stock combination, which makes Amcor the leading manufacturer of flexible plastic packaging in the U.S.
• In January 2017, Mondi partnered with Nespresso Austria to develop biodegradable and compostable recycling bags, for facilitating recycling of capsules in the Austria region.
• In March 2016, the company launched new flexible bags with its trademark Cross Seal technology that features an easy-to-open quad seal functionality.

Key players operating in the global flexible plastic packaging market include Amcor Ltd., Constantia Flexibles Group GmbH, Berry Global Group, Inc., Huhtamäki Oyj, Sonoco Products Company, Bemis Company, Inc., Sealed Air Corporation, AR Packaging Group AB, Mondi Group, DS Smith Plc, CCL Industries Inc., Uflex Ltd., Winpak Ltd., Rengo Co. Ltd., Transcontinental Inc., Epac LLC, Emerald Packaging Inc., Glenroy, Inc., Schur Flexibles Group, ProAmpac LLC, Goglio Group, Bischof & Klein GmbH & Co. KG, Clondalkin Group Holdings B.V., BBC Cellpack Packaging, Bryce Corporation, Printpack, Inc., Parkside Flexibles (Europe) Limited, Lindopharm GmbH, Flair Flexible Packaging Corporation, American Packaging Corporation, Coveris Holdings S.A., and Interflex Group Inc.

Key Segment

Based on material type

• oil base polymers
• bioplastics

Based on product type

• pouches
• bags & sacks
• tubes
• sleeve labels
• films & wraps

Based on packaging type

• VSP (vacuum skin packaging)
• MAP (modified atmospheric packaging)
• general barrier

Based on end-use

• food
• beverages
• personal care
• homecare
• pharmaceuticals
• industrial packaging
• others