Baby Food Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The baby food packaging market has registered a CAGR of 6.95% during the forecast period, 2021-2026. With growing urbanization, the rising demand for eco-friendly packaging of the products and safety concerns among the users have become major factors, which are expected to make the baby food packaging market grow lucratively during the forecast period.

Key Highlights

• The developing countries across the world are witnessing rapid urbanization leading to increased disposable income and adoption of modern lifestyle. These factors have led to an increase in the expenditure on baby food products.
• Another factor boosting the need for packaging solutions is the innovations by baby food manufacturers to meet the consumers’ various needs. This has led the companies to create green, innovative, and recyclable products to replace normal packaging.
• Owing to the lifestyles and growth in the number of working parents, the demand for larger pack sizes and more convenient packaging is expected to grow significantly in the baby food packaging market over the forecast period. The demand is likely to be high in the prepared baby food category, where thin wall plastic containers, flexible plastic packs, and aluminum/plastic pouches in sizes above 100 g are expected to replace glass jars due to the benefit they offer regarding portability, ease of use, and disposability.
• Although the impact of COVID-19 was less on the packaging industry overall, the factors such as supply chain disruption and partial closure of production facilities temporarily disrupted the production and distribution capacity of baby food products. The packaging industry is expected to recover rather quickly considering the growing demand, widespread vaccination in various parts of the world, and removal of travel restrictions.
• Moreover, in the last decade, baby food products packaged in jars or glass accounted for the majority of sales. However, the growing consumer preference for eco-friendly pouches and features such as safety, reusability, hygiene, lightweight, and easy to carry has increased the adoption of flexible packaging in the last ten years. Similar trends are expected to drive the growth of the market studied during the forecast period.

Key Market Trends

Plastic is Expected to Hold the Largest Market Share

• Plastics are a more efficient material for food packaging than other alternatives because plastics are energy efficient to manufacture and lighter than alternative materials. For instance, just two pounds of plastic can deliver 10 gallons of a beverage, whereas three pounds of aluminum, eight pounds of steel, or over 40 pounds of glass are needed to deliver the same amount of beverage.
• In infant formula, metal and plastic packaging are majorly adopted. Ball Corporation is one of the major companies offering metal packaging, such as food cans. However, the usage of larger folding cartons as primary packaging for powdered milk formula, which offers individual servings in secondary packs of flexible plastic, is expected to increase over the forecast period.
• In the powder milk formula segment, the busy life of working parents has led to the launch of single-serve plastic sachets by various brands. Thus, this increases the importance of ready nutrition products and further boosts the market growth.
• The growing consumer preference toward eco-friendly pouch packaging has also increased the adoption of flexible packaging. Another factor augmenting the demand for plastic packaging solutions is the innovation by baby food manufacturers to meet varying consumer needs as eco-conscious parents are predominantly choosing baby food packaged in plastic barrier bags and pouches because these materials are recyclable and landfill-friendly.
• To meet the demand for eco-friendly baby food products, packaging companies are opting for plastics that do not affect the packaged food. For instance, in March 2020, Nestle announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind, single-material pouch for its baby food products designed for the future of recycling. The product will be 100% recyclable through Gerber's national recycling program with TerraCycle.

Asia Pacific to Witness a Significant Growth

• The Asia Pacific region is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period, owing to the increased use of packaged baby food products by the urban population. Additionally, with the rising disposable income of people in the emerging economies and their busy lifestyles, there is a significant growth in the market in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Moreover, China is expected to have the highest share in the baby food packaging market in the Asia Pacific region, followed by Japan and India. The increasing awareness of consumers regarding the nutritional benefits of packaged baby food products is expected to drive the growth of the market.
• Furthermore, due to superior quality and the perceived safety and security that comes with Japanese brands, the baby food formulas manufactured in Japan are also gaining popularity in other countries, which is expanding the scope of export and packaging. Earlier, Europe was one of the major export destinations for Japan’s baby food products. However, recently, the country started targeting other emerging regions. For instance, in the last few years, the Japanese baby food formulas quickly gained popularity in the Southeast Asian region, especially among the emerging countries.​
• Additionally, a significant increase in the employment of women is being observed in the Asia Pacific region, by virtue of which women get less time to care for their babies through traditional methods. This has created an opportunity for the baby food market, thereby driving the studied market.

Competitive Landscape

The baby food packaging market is highly competitive, owing to the presence of many domestic and international players. The market is fragmented, with the players competing in terms of price, product design, product innovation, etc. Some of the major players in the market are Ardagh Group, Amcor Ltd, Mondi Group, and Sonoco, among others.

• September 2021 – Silgan Holdings Inc. announced that it had acquired Gateway Plastics. This business manufactures and sells dispensing closures and integrated dispensing packaging solutions, such as a combined container and closure or 100% recyclable dispensing beverage pods, to consumer goods product companies primarily for the food and beverage markets.
• August 2021 - Heinz unveiled an easily recyclable baby food pouch. The products are made entirely from polypropylene and have been assessed by the On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL). This is in line with the company’s mission to remove plastic where possible and its aim to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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