France Paper Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023-2028)

The France Paper Packaging market is expected to register a CAGR of 4% during the forecast period. With the focus shifting towards eco-friendly and sustainability, paper packaging is anticipated to gain traction as players in the country are turning to paper packaging over plastic packaging, which poses a significant threat to the environment. There is also an impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the overall packaging ecosystem.

Key Highlights

• Consumers are becoming more conscious of the environmental hazards linked with packaging and are moving their purchasing habits to more environmentally friendly options. Consumers, the government, and the media are putting pressure on manufacturers to make their products, packaging, and processes more environmentally friendly. These trends are expected to propel the demand for the paper packaging market in the country.
• The growing demand for paper packaging due to the rise in e-commerce sales in the country is another factor driving the global paper packaging market. However, the growing concern about deforestation owing to increased demand for wood for pulp is likely to hinder the market's growth.
• Moreover, in October 2021, the government of France passed a law and published a list of fruits and vegetable varieties in the food trade that may no longer be packaged with plastic from 1 January 2022. Such initiatives in the country are expected to act as a critical growth factor adding demand for paper packaging.
• The increasing awareness about the environmental effect of single-use plastic and unsustainable business practices empowered consumers to demand a higher standard of product with a positive ecological impact. For instance, in October 2021, the European Union announced a new regulation to ban the export of recovered paper to India as they are a part of the green-listed waste. Owing to such measures, the EU intends to recycle and recover more than 95% of its paper waste by encouraging the circular economy of paper.​
• With the e-commerce evolution and focus on offering an eco-friendly solution to meet the regulatory bindings, the eco-friendly approach also emerged as a significant factor for new design with the consumer becoming waste-conscious. End-user industry players are steering away from over-packaging and wasting space, and similar trends have been observed in the e-commerce sector. According to Edge by Ascential, retail e-commerce sales in France reached EUR 72.5 billion (USD 77.3 billion) in 2021.
• During the COVID-19 outbreak, the market studied faced slow growth due to lockdowns imposed in the country that disrupted the supply chain process and the production plant closures. The post-COVID future for paper packaging looks promising in terms of demand.

France Paper Packaging Market Trends

Increasing Growth of E-commerce Sales

• The demand for paper packaging was propelled in the country due to increased e-commerce growth during the pandemic and post-pandemic, especially in the food and beverage industries. Furthermore, omnichannel retail is moving beyond web-based retailers to include B2C and D2C, social media sites with online marketplaces, quick commerce, and more.
• Consumers, including Gen Z, want brands to help them become greener and more ethical. It means considering the products' environmental impact and supporting local businesses. Their biggest challenge is buying wisely with a focus on practicality and reusability. According to Fevad, 53% of consumers consider environmental, responsibility, or ethical factors when shopping online.
• In November 2021, Amazon in France announced it would stop packaging items in single-use plastic by the end of the year. Customers would now receive their items in flexible paper sleeves or cardboard envelopes, recycled more easily by waste collection and treatment services. The change involves all small items shipped from Amazon fulfillment centers in France, whether sold directly by Amazon or by third-party sellers who use its logistics network.
• As more corrugated boxes are arriving on doorsteps rather than in stores, the sector is counting on more people to keep up with recycling. Thus, paper packaging is becoming a substantial and high-growth opportunity for the paper packaging market in France.
• In July 2021, BigCommerce, an Open SaaS e-commerce platform for fast-growing and established brands, announced that it had extended its European presence from the UK into France, Netherlands, and Italy. With BigCommerce, merchants in France now have access to a flexible, enterprise-grade e-commerce platform built to sell on a local and global scale. This expansion will create new roles in France to work directly with regional merchants, ultimately increasing the demand for paper packaging.

Food Industry to Hold Major Share

• The market's growth is driven by changing demographics and factors such as urbanization and employment rates, influencing retail food sales through consumer spending power, online purchasing, and online food deliveries. As a result of these changes, new package types such as convenience packaging, value-for-money packaging, multi-packs, and more miniature single-serve packs are becoming more popular. As a result of these reasons, there will be a tremendous demand for paper packaging in France.
• Furthermore, to achieve 100% recycling of plastics by 2025, the government in the country is offering subsidies to companies in the industry to modernize their infrastructure and improve waste management. For instance, in August 2021, Saica, a provider of paper-based packaging solutions, secured funds for investments at two French containerboard mills.
• According to the Organic Trade Association, organic packaged food in France increased by 8.3% in 2021, with a market value of USD 4.7 billion. Organic dairy accounts for 26% of the market and recorded 8.6% growth in 2021. It is driving growth in organic packaged food in the country.
• Companies operating in the country are focused on innovations as part of their business expansion and are being recognized for them. For instance, in January 2022, environmental service provider CITEO certified various Koehler Paper flexible packaging paper offerings. More specifically, CITEO identified Koehler's NexPlus Seal Pure, NexPlus Seal Pure MOB, and NexPlus Advanced, with the certification ensuring they all are highly recyclable. Accordingly, companies selling branded goods in France can further benefit from significantly lowering the license fees by using Koehler paper certified by CITEO.
• For the ideal environment for the paper market growth in the country, several companies operating in the region are investing in setting up new facilities and developing innovative solutions to strengthen their market position further. For instance, in June 2021, paper-based packaging firm Smurfit Kappa announced an investment of EUR 24 million (USD 24.74 million) to expand its corrugated plant in Rethel, North-East France. The company plans to use the latest investment to consolidate two existing facilities at the French plant and install a new corrugator and conversion equipment.

France Paper Packaging Market Competitor Analysis

The France Paper Packaging market is fragmented, with international and domestic players present in the market, including International Paper, Smurfit Kappa Group Plc, MM Packaging GmbH, Graphic Packaging, DS Smith Plc, etc. The players in the market are concentrating on expanding their reach with strategic initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, capacity expansion, and product innovation.

• June 2022 - The company acquired Essentra Packaging, which extends the company's packaging range of folding boxes, package inserts, and labels for the pharmaceutical and healthcare market and creates an engaging platform for further growth. The acquisition of Essentra Packaging implements MM Packaging's strategy to grow in profitable and resilient segments such as secondary pharma packaging. It strengthens its position in the European pharma folding boxes and leaflets market.
• May 2022 - International Paper announced invest of EUR 23 million (USD 23.71 million) in a corrugated board mill in France to adapt its production capacity to the growth of the e-commerce sector and offer even more sustainable packaging solutions to customers. This investment will fund the installation of new equipment, including new converting lines, to increase production capacity by more than 60% and 50%, respectively.

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