United States Caps and Closure Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The United States caps and closures market was valued at USD 12460.4 million in 2020, and it is expected to reach USD 15859.09 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 4.2% during the period of 2021 - 2026. As the inclusion of nanotechnology in convenience food manufacturing has been playing a crucial role in improving critical functions, including preservation procedure, packaging method, and finished goods processing. This trend is anticipated to play a significant role in increasing the usage of containers for packaged food products soon, which is expected to increase the demand for various kinds of closures.

Key Highlights

• Increased demand for innovative solutions from different end users drives the market. In addition to traditional demands, such as leak tightness, easy closing, and offering higher barrier properties, customers expectations have increased highly. Therefore, the innovation has become a characteristic to define the packaging industry’s approach to cater to the vast and changing consumer demands and society’s needs. Major innovations have also been made in child-proof caps and closures. For instance, in August 2018, Comar introduced the new Secure Cap QuarterLoc child resistant closure, a one-piece push-and-turn bottle closure that requires only a quarter turn to apply or remove.
• However, stringent regulation on manufacturers pertaining to environmental degradation is restraining the market. The increasing regulation against plastic and increasing taxes on packaged products poses challenges against the growth of the market. In California, the government imposed ban on removable plastic bottle caps. According to Assembly bill 2779, the bottling companies would decide if they want to have California specific plastic bottles with tethered bottle caps or different bottles for the other markets in the United States.

Key Market Trends

Plastic to Witness a Highest Growth

• According to American Chemistry Council, in 2018, out of USD 37.8 billion investment in plastic resins, USD 24.9 billion investment is used for plastic products, which shows the demand for plastic packaging in the overall products. The food and beverage industry is one of the major contributors to the caps and closures market in the United States. Majority of the manufactured food products are packaged in PET containers, which are mostly covered with plastic enclosures, to protect them from contamination. As PET had been approved as safe for contact with food and beverage (F&B) by the FDA and health-safety agencies, due to which PET caps and closures are increasingly being used for dairy products, convenience food, and other food service applications.
• Polypropylene (PP) has inherent properties, like excellent tensile strength, inertness toward acids, alkalis, and solvents, and has a cost advantage over other thermoplastic polymers. These properties positioned PP across a wide range of consumer products, which are manufactured by high-volume forming methods.
• Some of the prominent players in the industry through research and developments have been instrumental in further innovating their offerings and coming up with product developments with a next generation random polypropylene (PP). For instance, in October 2019, Borealis announced the commercial launch of BorPure RF777MO based on the proprietary Borstar Nucleation Technology (BNT). The BorPure RF777MO is designed for use in flip-top caps where the new resin enables the manufacturer to reduce cycle times for certain caps applications.
• Moroever to provide impact strength, combined with stiffness and a low potential for stress whitening, High-density polyethylene (HDPE) and LDPE are best suited in it. According to Borealis, the growth in the HDPE caps and closures is mainly due to the replacement of metal caps used on glass bottles (replaced by PET), and a change in the consumption pattern as more refreshments are consumed from small bottles.
• As HDPE caps are more compatible with the geometries of the PET thread, these are being increasingly used in the PET bottling. The increasing consumption of the bottled water is expected to fuel the adoption of the HDPE caps over the forecast period.

Beverage Accounted to Hold a Major Market Growth

• As the US beverage market is growing, following with higher consumption of wine and beer, the packaging components and materials are also adding value differentiation with evolving demands. According to the report by the Wine Institute of America, released in April 2019, almost 1 billion gallons of wine were produced in the United States in 2017. The United States is the highest consumer of wine, with a 15% global share. Owing to such high consumption of beverages, the demand for caps and closures is expected to increase in the United States.
• United States is one of the largest wine consuming country. According to Wines and Vines Analytics, 2019, the total dollar value of the US wine market in 2018 was USD 70.5. A key trend for the market growth that can be seen in this market is the growing preference for plastic/synthetic corks and screw caps over natural corks.
• As artificial corks, technical and synthetic corks are replacing natural corks, as it shows cork taint or TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole) chemical that leeches out of a natural cork into the wine, but the synthetic corks can also pick up TCA contamination from the external environment.
• To address this issue, according to SevenFifty Daily, the world’s largest cork producer, Amorim, is focusing to eliminate TCA from corks by 2020, using cutting-edge technology, and it focuses to manufacture cork with zero TCA.
• Moreover, the most conventional packaging material for single-serve, non-carbonated bottled water in the United States is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. According to the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), in 2018, the total sales of bottled water were USD 18.5 billion, an increase of 8.8% from previous years. The average American consumes 167 plastic bottles of water per year. Owing to such demand for packaged drinking water in the region, there is an increasing demand for especially PET plastic caps and enclosures.
• Furthermore, the innovation pertaining to temper resistant caps and closures is also gaining significant traction due to anti-counterfeiting properties.
• For instance, in May 2019, Guala Closures won Alufoil Trophy 2019 for its e-WAK technology; the e-WAK from Guala Closures is the first NFC aluminum closure which is based on a new smart technology that allows every bottle of wine to become a connected bottle. A chip is positioned inside the closure that can be read by enabled smartphones, providing consumers authenticity certification and extensive product information.

Competitive Landscape

The US caps and closures market is highly fragmented. The sustainable competitive advantage can be gained through innovation in design, technology, and application. The levels of market penetration for the caps and closure have grown significantly over the last decade, aided by growing demand from the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. Key players are Albea S.A., Silgan Closures, Amcor Plc, etc. Recent developments in the market are -

• July 2019 - Aptar Food + Beverage introduced the Karma Beverage Closure. Karma, makers of the Karma Push Cap Technology, and Aptar Food & Beverage division formed a collaborative relationship to provide instant-mix technology to the market segments focused on the growing trend of personalized, fortified nutrition. The company is expected to leverage its global presence, along with its diverse technology platform and application experience, to optimize the potential of the Karma Push Cap by providing opportunities for Karma’s design to be used in the value-add convenient packaging area.​
• Nov 2019 - Closure Systems International introduced 38K-DL a caps for diary and non-carbonated beverages. CSI’s 38D-KL closure delivers a sustainable solution and can be sourced with up to 40% PolyCycle, CSI’s post-consumer recycled (PCR) HDPE resin.

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