Folding Carton in Healthcare Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Key Highlights

• The Folding carton market for the Healthcare market was valued at USD 10.63 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 14.71 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of 5.72% during this forecast period of 2021 - 2026. Moreover, this Healthcare segment is defined by regulatory requirements for quality, flexibility in the packaging of various drug products, and client requirements aligned to these products. However, the major vendors in this market also provide customized folded carton packaging solutions for its customers.
• In April 2020, Keystone Folding Box Company expanded its manufacturing capabilities with the introduction of a new die cutting and gluing equipment into its production facility. The infrastructure investment increases the company’s production capacity of vial and syringe packaging by 25% and accommodates shorter lead-times.
• The demand for folding carton has been on the rise due to increased competition in the pharma industry. The folding carton also provides additional area for regulatory information, which is limited in small vials and bottles.
• Tamper evidence and protection from children are the latest introductions to pharmaceutical packaging. These properties are mostly achieved through a combination of material technology (strength properties) and design, which is further driving the demand for folding carton in child-proof medicine packaging.
• The labeling segment of the folding carton market may account for a significant share over the forecast period. Easy to customize, cost-effective, and sustainable are the major features that may drive the demand for folding carton packaging and labeling.
• The label segment is also encouraging the trend of customized and innovative packaging, which is further expanding the scope of the market studied. The RFID (radio-frequency identification) smart labeling technology is widely beingused to prevent the counterfeiting of products, especially in the pharmaceutical market.
• However, the rapidly changing price of raw material can negatively impact the net demand of this product. Most of the raw materials of these products are derived from crude oil, which is primarily utilized during any manufacturing process. Furthermore, the price is also affected by the types of pulps used, due to the yields and price of the raw materials of pulp.

Key Market Trends

Growing Emphasis of Monitoring and Assisting Patient Medication

• Inadequate medication adherence is a widespread problem that contributes to increasing chronic disease complications and healthcare expenditures. Packaging interventions using pillboxes and blister packs have been widely recommended to address the medication adherence issue, further driving the market.
• Pillboxes, reusable multi-compartment containers with designated spaces for medications to be consumed at a particular time, are another common packaging type. Unlike blister packs, pillboxes do not require professional action, as they can be filled by patients, informal caregivers, or healthcare providers. Multiple healthcare providers recommend both blister packs and pillboxes with folding cartons as secondary packaging with medicine information for aging adults with multiple chronic diseases.
• Several market players are introducing smart packaging solutions that implement folding cartons as secondary packaging to intelligent blister packs for different medicines, with the surging adoption rates.
• For instance, Westrock Company offers Electronic Dosepak (EDP) that records the date and time each dose of medication is taken and transfers the data to its medAmigo software platform for immediate analysis. The EDP is a digitally enabled version of the Dosepak adherence packaging, with customizable medication package with medication information on the outer folding carton and pills delivered inside a calendared blister.
• Furthermore, the August Faller Group designed a prototype for medication packaging that captures the level of an opaque bottle of liquid medicine at the push of a button and delivers it to the patient via an integrated display. It is operated via a small e-paper display on the folding carton packaging and uses electronic controls (buttons).

Asia Pacific is the Fastest Growing Region for this Market

• Asia-Pacific is one of the fastest-growing regions. It has the highest share in the market, owing to the presence of densely populated countries, such as India and China, as well as the increasing prevalence of the pharmaceutical and healthcare market in these countries.
• The healthcare and pharmaceutical sector in China is one of the world's largest markets, primarily driven by its aging population. China had a population of 249 million, aged 60 years or above, by the end of 2018, making up 17.9% of the national population. The number is expected to reach 487 million in 2050, which means one in every three Chinese would be a senior citizen.
• Moreover, India has a far superior advantage over many nations for the basic manufacturing of medical drugs and products, due to resources, such as high level of workforce, knowledgeable workforce, and WHO-GMP approved production principles.According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the total export value of the pharmaceutical industry in 2019 was USD 19.1 billion.
• The vendors in the region are significantly investing in their capacity and production units to meet the growing demand from the pharmaceutical market. For instance, in September 2019, Parksons Packaging commissioned the country's first HP Indigo 30000 digital press for mono cartons at its Daman plant. The HP Indigo 3000 is a one-of-a-kind, field-proven, digital folding carton press that helps the company address the demand from the healthcare sector.

Competitive Landscape

The Folded Carton for the Healthcare market is highly competitive. Hence the market concentration for this market is low. The major vendors in this market are investing a vast amount of money in their production capacity to meet the demand of their customers. Some of the major players for this market are DS Smith, Edelmann Group, CCL Industries​, Multi Packaging Solutions (WestRock)​ , etc.

• April 2020 - DS Smith PLC opened a new manufacturing plant in Lebanon. The plant is dedicated to producing corrugated packaging boxes. The 550,000 sq. ft facility can produce 30,000 boxes/hour and 2 billion sq. ft of recyclable packaging a year. This expansion increases the company’s manufacturing capabilities
• May 2020 - Stora Enso OYJ signed a joint development agreement with Cordenka, to develop precursors for bio-based carbon fiber. The co-development is driven by the need for high performance carbon fiber in transportation, construction and power generation in food and heath care market

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