If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants an overview of the latest analysis of the U.S. Plastics in Flexible Food Packaging Markets, then send an e-mail to Shwetha Thomas and Surbhi Dedhia, Corporate Communications at sthomas@frost.com / sdedhia@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.
“Changing consumer preference patterns coupled with the increasing number of single households and reduced time spent on cooking are driving the emergence of convenient flexible food packages in the United States,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Anupama Ramaswamy. “The rising cost of aluminum is further forcing several manufacturers to shift from metal containers to flexible plastic packages, which provide equally good barrier properties and tensile strength and are also of lesser weight.”
This apart, the general shift from rigid plastic containers to flexible plastic packages is also benefiting the uptake of flexible food packages. Due to fluctuating resin prices, end-user companies are gradually adopting flexible plastic packages that are comparatively cheaper than rigid packages of the same volume. Moreover, these packages enable significant savings in transportation costs and facilitate better retail display, thereby drawing preference over rigid plastic packages.
However, escalating resin prices are raising concerns in the industry and are likely to prove a strong challenge for participants in the U.S. plastics in flexible food packaging markets. In the last three years, the prices of most resins used in flexible food packaging have risen by close to 40 percent every year. With thinner gauges, a mix of biodegradables with the current blend of materials is seen as a solution for the future, but the industry has to forge ahead a long way to reach this stage.
“With increasing resin prices, there is a constant drive among manufacturers to produce films that have thinner gauges and the challenge lies in developing films that are not only thin, but also have the necessary barrier properties,” says Ramaswamy. “A combination of these factors together with the constant development of new materials is likely to be critical in ensuring market success.”
In overcoming the many challenges and staying ahead of competition, flexible food packaging manufacturers will do well to ensure a right mix of R&D activities on new materials as well as investment in the correct type of equipment and technology. The quality of flexible products is also an important criterion for end users along with price and with an increasing number of brands vying for consumer attention, manufacturers will have to develop innovative packages that help customers differentiate their products.
