Sustainable Packaging Market is Growing

Sustainable packaging is a growing market despite the down economy. Sustainable packaging will be 32 percent of total global packaging market by 2014, up from its current 21 percent, a study released last month by Pike Research said. Plastic based packaging will be fastest growing sector of the sustainable packaging market. It is currently 35 percent. Metal based will be more than 63 percent by 2014. Paper-based packaging is the largest sector with over 40 percent of market.

Food consumers want three things from food manufacturers: fresher ingredients, increased health benefits, and more environmentally friendly packaging, according to a new study by Ipsos Marketing. The study was based on an online survey of 23,000 consumers from 18 countries.

“We are seeing a global consumer movement toward heightened consciousness of health, wellness and environmental factors in their food purchasing decisions,” said David Pring, executive vice president of the global consumer goods division of Ipsos Marketing.

Pring continued, “These are key developments in the food market, and not just in North America and Europe. We are also seeing that taste, convenience and product difference – aspects that were probably more characteristic of food product drivers towards the end of the last millennium – are taking a back seat in a world now more focused on making a positive impact on freshness and health as well as the sustainability of the planet.”

“The move toward sustainable packaging represents a broad-based effort by manufacturers, retailers, industry groups, and governments to promote the design of minimal packaging that can be easily reclaimed,” said managing director Clint Wheelock. “A tremendous amount of innovation is going into reducing energy requirements to manufacture packaging and using more recyclable and compostable materials, but there is still a long way to go.”