Flexible Packaging Market Trend, Share, Growth, Size, Analysis and Forecast 2028

Industry Prospective:

The global flexible packaging market was worth around USD 160.1 billion in 2021 and is estimated to grow to about USD 206.1 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 4.3 percent over the forecast period. The report analyzes the flexible packaging market’s drivers, restraints/challenges, and the effect they have on the demands during the projection period. In addition, the report explores emerging opportunities in the flexible packaging market.

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Flexible Packaging Market: Overview

Flexible packaging has gained substantial demand over the past few years as innovation in the packaging industry has seen a major impetus owing to changing consumer preferences and requirements in multiple end-use applications across various industry verticals.

Rising demand for packaging solutions, increasing sales of multiple products, increasing focus on sustainable packaging, increasing disposable income, the growing popularity of online sales channels, and the emergence of e-commerce are expected to be major factors influencing flexible packaging market growth through 2028. 

Flexible packaging market is experiencing the highest growth rate in developed as well as developing countries. The advancements of technology in flexible packaging have resulted in upgradation and innovation in the product development in many sectors of the industry. Many organizations are significantly investing their capital in research and development in order to come up with the exclusive and economical products. Hence, the innovations, particularly in the packaging industry are rising exponentially. In July 2017, the American Packaging Company made investments in a digital system.

That system was designed to serve the purpose for flexible packaging to enable greater choice of products from consumer’s point of view. In addition, the rising middle-class population followed by the significant change in their lifestyle is contributing to the growth of the market. This has led to the ever increasing and growing need of the consumers. In the modern world, there has been a rising consumption of food among the population. So, consumers prefer an easy, simplistic, and convenient method of packaging those food products which are basically ready to eat or ready to serve. Hence, such factors are contributing to the flexible packaging market growth over the forecast period.

COVID-19 Impact:

The pandemic of 2020 resulted in a major change in consumer trends across the world owing to the drastic effects of widespread coronavirus infections. This sudden change in demand and supply impacted the overall packaging market and had a substantially adverse impact on demand for flexible packaging in 2020.

With lockdown restrictions being common across the world, manufacturing and supply chain activity came to a near halt due to a lack of labor and raw material. The closure of multiple sales and distribution channels also impacted the sales of flexible packaging throughout the year.

However, the flexible packaging market is expected to make a steady comeback in the post-pandemic era and is expected to surge as the world returns to normalcy and demand for flexible packaging through 2028 bolsters.

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Flexible Packaging Market: Growth Drivers

Cost-Effective Nature

Research and development in the packaging industry have bolstered over the past few years and the world has seen some major innovations in this field owing to constant changes in the packaging industry landscape. Flexible packaging has emerged as a popular choice due to its cost-effective nature and longer shelf life than that other packaging options. Other than that the changing demand for more nimble and delicate packaging in an affordable manner has fostered the demand for flexible packaging products through 2028

Flexible Packaging Market: Restraints

Lack of Efficient Recycling Infrastructure

Packaging trends have drastically evolved over recent years but the packaging recycling infrastructure has not seen development and is still pretty much outdated which makes it a huge challenge for flexible packaging manufacturers to end their product lifecycle in an eco-friendly manner. With no proper infrastructure to recycle the flexible packaging waste, there will be a drop in the adoption of this type of packaging and thus will act as a major restraining factor to the growth of the flexible packaging market through 2028.

Flexible Packaging Market: Opportunities

Increasing Demand for Sustainable Packaging

Increasing focus on waste management has substantially propelled the demand for sustainable products and since packaging waste is a major contributor to the global waste problem, the need to develop sustainable packaging is more prominent than it was ever before and hence this is expected to provide a lucrative opportunity to flexible packaging market players over the forecast period. Increasing research and development activity to develop eco-friendly sustainable packaging is expected to be a major trend for flexible packaging market growth through 2028 and flexible packaging market players are expected to capitalize on this trend over the forecast period to boost their profit numbers.

Flexible Packaging Market: Challenges

Increasing Environmental Concerns regarding the use of Plastic

Plastic is and has been a major part of all kinds of packaging across the world and since plastic is a major harm to the environment its use is being restricted and limited across the world. These restrictions are expected to be major challenges for flexible packaging market growth through 2028. Increasingly stringent mandates about the use of plastic in packaging are anticipated to prove to be a major challenge for multiple flexible packaging companies across the world.

Flexible Packaging Market: Report Scope

Global Flexible Packaging Market: Segmentation

The global flexible packaging market is segregated based on type, material, technology, application, and region.

By Material, the market is divided into plastic, aluminum foil, and others (including coating, ink, coating, and adhesive). The plastic segment is expected to maintain a dominant outlook throughout the forecast period but is expected to see a decline in popularity by the end of the forecast period owing to increasing efforts to phase out plastic from the packaging industry to comply with sustainability goals.

By Application, the flexible packaging market is segmented into food, beverage, pharma & health care, personal care & cosmetics, and others (including consumer goods, oil & lubricants, agriculture, automotive, household products, tobacco, and sporting goods). The food and beverages segments are expected to lead the market. The pharma and health segment is anticipated to see a substantial increase in demand through 2028.

Report Scope:

Recent Developments

• In November 2021 – Smurfit Kappa a leading name in the packaging industry announced that it had started production of its new packaging bags with a new and more sustainable thermos-laminated film. The films of this new lamination are bonded without adhesives and hence make for a more sustainable option than conventional films.

Flexible Packaging Market: Regional Landscape

Asia Pacific region leads the global flexible packaging market in terms of revenue and volume share and is anticipated to hold a dominant stance over the forecast period through 2028. Increasing disposable income, the growing popularity of e-commerce and online shopping, the presence of key flexible packaging companies, and rising demand for ready-to-eat foods and consumables are some of the major factors propelling market growth through 2028.

The market for flexible packaging in Europe is expected to significant demand owing to the rising demand for packaging in the pharmaceutical industry vertical. The personal care and cosmetics industry in this region is also expected to drive flexible packaging market growth over the forecast period.

Flexible Packaging Market: Competitive Landscape

Some of the main competitors dominating the global flexible packaging market include -

• Sealed Air Corporation (US)
• Amcor (Australia)
• Berry Global Inc. (US)
• Mondi (South Africa)
• Sonoco (US)
• Huhtamaki (Finland)
• Coveris (Austria)
• Transcontinental Inc. (Canada)
• and Clondalkin Group  (The Netherlands)

The global flexible packaging market is segmented as follows:

By Type

• Bags
• Wraps
• Pouches
• Rollstock
• Others (include Labels, stick packs and sachets)

By Material

• Plastic
• Aluminum Foil
• Others (Include Coating, Ink, Coating, And Adhesive)

By Technology

• Flexography
• Rotogravure
• Digital Printing
• Others (including Screen, Offset, And Letterpress Printing)

By Application

• Food
• Beverage
• Pharma & Health Care
• Personal Care & Cosmetics
• Others (Includes Consumer Goods, Oil & Lubricants, Agriculture, Automotive, Household Products, Tobacco, And Sporting Goods)

By Region

• North America
  • The U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • France 
  • The UK
  • Spain
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Southeast Asia
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Rest of Latin America
• Middle East & Africa
  • GCC
  • South Africa
  • Rest of Middle East & Africa