Rigid Food Containers Market

Rigid containers are utilised extensively in the food & beverage industry for facilitating convenience in handling food products and preventing damages. Various rigid packaging types used for packaging food products include boxes & cartons, bottles & jars, cans, cups & tubs, and trays. Rigid packaging products comprise high stiffness, high impact strength, and high barrier properties.                                                           

High Demand for Convenience Food Products & Better Packaging Facilities

The shifts in household size & income, along with changing lifestyles and busy work regime, have dramatically influenced the food purchasing behaviour of consumers. This has further resulted into important implications for channel strategies and new product development in food packaging, such as rigid containers. Rigid food containers have been gaining immense popularity over the past few years, providing longer shelf life to food products. Demand for convenience food has witnessed an upsurge owing to growing number of nuclear families. The number of one-person households has increased gradually from just over 10% in 1961 to more than 30% in 2011, according to the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics. This proportion will further gain a significant rise in the near future, leading toward higher demand for packaged food products. In addition, rapidly changing demographics, increased expenditure on packaged food products worldwide, and improved manufacturing output have driven demand for better packaging facilities, such as rigid packaging, in the food & beverage industry.

Increased Global Trade propelling Need for Preventing Food Products from Damage while Shipping

Rigid packaging caters well to applications, where flexible packaging fails to compete, including baby food, meat, poultry & sea food, bakery & confectionary, fruits & vegetables, dairy products, and ready-to-eat food. Robust expansion of geographic customer base of food & beverage industries has resulted into an increased global trade, propelling the need for preventing food products from damages while shipping. Materials used for rigid food containers such as paperboard, metal, and glass are reusable & recyclable. Leading rigid food containers manufacturing companies are focusing on continuous product innovations, and moving beyond adoption of conventional material and products to lower carbon emissions from rigid plastic packaging.

According to a recently published research report by Future Market Insights (FMI), the global market for rigid food containers will experience a moderate expansion over the assessment period, 2017 to 2022. Global sales of rigid food containers are estimated to exceed US$ 80,000 Mn in revenues by 2022-end.

APEJ to Dominate Global Rigid Food Containers Market

In terms of revenues, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will dominate the global rigid food containers market in 2017, and the trend will continue throughout the assessment period. The rigid food containers market in APEJ is projected to register a comparatively higher CAGR than the global market through 2022. North America will also continue to be a lucrative region for the rigid food containers market, with sales estimated to reach nearly US$ 20,000 Mn in revenues by 2022-end.

On the basis of materials, plastic will remain sought-after among manufacturers of rigid food containers, followed by paperboard. Revenues from plastic and paperboard used for rigid food containers are expected to account for nearly 80% share of the market in 2017. By 2022, plastic will gain an uptick in its market share, while paperboard will witness a slight decline in its market share, in terms of revenues.

Trays – Dominant Packaging Type of Rigid Food Containers

Trays will remain the dominant packaging type of rigid food containers, in terms of revenues as well as sales expansion. Over one third revenue share of the market will be accounted by trays in 2017. Bottles & Jars will continue to be the second most lucrative packaging type of rigid food containers in terms of revenues, although projected to register a sluggish expansion in sales through 2022.

Collectively projected to account for over half revenue share of the market in 2017, ready-to-eat and bakery & confectionary food products will remain lucrative applications of rigid food containers. Sales of rigid food containers for ready-to-eat food products will register the highest CAGR through 2022.

Company Profiles

Key participants profiled in FMI’s report on the global rigid food containers market include Amcor Ltd., Sealed Air Corp., Berry Global Group, Inc., DS Smith PLC, Ball Corporation, Packaging Corp. of America, Crown Holdings, Inc., Smurfit Kappa Group PLC, Printpack Inc., Sonoco Products Co., Bemis Co., Inc., and Huhtamaki Oyj.