Mixed Growth Prospects for Plastics in Food and Beverage Packaging

14-May-2001

The trends in the European plastic food and beverage packaging market have recently been unveiled in a report by Frost & Sullivan the international marketing consultancy company. The plastics food and beverage packaging continues to show good growth prospects. The main factors driving the market are replacement of traditional materials, improvements in polymer properties and processing equipment, and growth in the pre-packed food market. In 2000, total revenues of plastic resins used in this market amounted to $4.91 billion and are projected at $7.15 billion in 2007, representing average annual growth of 5.5%. There are significant differences in projected growth rates for the various commodity plastics used for food and beverage packaging. As Frost & Sullivan Senior Plastics Industry Analyst David Platt explains, "During the forecast period of 2000 ? 2007 thermoformed and injection moulded polypropylene are expected to show the highest annual growth rates (10.7% and 9.5% respectively). Bottle-grade PET growth is not far behind at 9.2% /annum. In contrast, the slowest growing polymers will be flexible PVC which is forecast to remain virtually static, and expandable polystyrene with projected growth of 0.6% per annum." The study highlights the trends in inter-polymer substitution taking place in the food and beverage packaging market. The growth in use of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) for mineral water bottles has propelled polyester into the number one position with a share of 30.5% of total market revenues in 2000. Polystyrene, with 17.7% of total market revenues is the second most important polymer used in food & beverage packaging, followed by polypropylene with 16.6% and LDPE with 14.2%. PET, polypropylene and LLDPE are projected to increase their market share even further during the next five years, while PVC, LDPE, polystyrene and to a lesser extent HDPE will continue to lose market share. New technologies will continue to play an important role in the further development of this market. A key task for R&D is to improve the performance properties of the polymer including toughness, strength, processing speed, heat resistance, clarity, etc. The use of metallocene catalyst technologies allowing the production of polyolefins with improved properties is one of example of how new technologies are opening up opportunities for food packaging. Packaging films made from these new types of resin are providing similar or superior packaging performance at significantly lower gauges. In rigid packaging applications these materials permit thinner walls and hence have economic and environmental benefits. Also, the development of co-extrusion technology has encouraged the development of innovative packaging ideas based on multi-layer film, which has further expanded the market for plastic food and beverage packaging. Consumers are becoming more demanding of their food packaging. They want food to retain its fresh look for longer and to have the correct flavour, odour and texture. They also want packaged food to have greater convenience, be tamper resistant, safe and environmentally friendly. The packaging industry is responding with ever more new and innovative packaging solutions. The most interesting areas are multi-layer film and trays, stand-up pouches and caps & closures.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/3130/mixed-growth-prospects-for-plastics-in-food-and-beverage-packaging.html