Americas Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Americas Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) Market was valued at USD 6.06 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 7.79 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 4.29% during the forecast period (2021 - 2026). Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is used to packaging meats, fruits, vegetables, and other consumable goods. Cheese, fresh pasta, ready meals, and seafood also benefit from MAP. MAPs ability to decrease the amount of oxygen inside the package reduces oxidation, leads to the elimination of the cause of discoloration, off-flavors, and textures.

Key Highlights

• Considering, fresh fruits and vegetables, the air of packaging is replaced with atmospheric gases different in proportion. Usually, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen are majorly used. Also, the choice and ratio of gases get dependent upon the material being packed. For instance, coffee beans release Carbon Dioxide when they are roasted, and without the use of MAP, the beans need to cool down before being packaged; else, the packaging would burst open.
• Moreover, developments in such technologies are significantly driven by the need for quality preservation, improvement in safety, and reduced postharvest losses waste. Therefore, such processing technologies aid in the reduction of costs and product quality.
• New initiatives to improve the sustainability profile of flexible packaging are being increasingly addressed in the region. These include technologies to drive recycling and collection and sortation of flexible materials, investigate new materials including compostable or bio-based structures, enhance processing technologies that extend shelf life and freshness, and increase consumer participation.
• For instance, programs such as Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP) allows the collection of polyethylene (PE) wraps to be recycled with plastic grocery store bags. Then, the How2Recycle label alerts consumers about flexible packaging formats.

Key Market Trends

Polyethylene (PE)​ Material is Expected to Exhibit Significant Adoption

• PE is an uncomplicated plastic and the lowest cost material prepared by the addition polymerization of ethylene. PE is being used for the packaging of fruits. It is observed that packaging citrus fruits in polyethylene films maintained high relative humidity (RH) inside the package and resulted in a reduction of shrinkage.
• The simplest and the most economical plastics made by addition of polymerization of ethylene is polyethylene. Low-density polyethylene is the most commonly used packaging film. LDPE seals at lower and over a more comprehensive temperature range and has better hot tack, all of which result significantly from its long-chain branching.
• LDPE is an excellent barrier to water vapor, but a weak barrier to oxygen, carbon dioxide, and many odors and flavour compounds. Because LDPE is relatively transparent, it is predominantly used in film applications and in applications where heat sealing is necessary. LDPE's predominant availability in the American region is making it an excellent material for modified atmosphere packaging.

United States Expected to Dominate the Market

• The United States is one of the prominent countries that accounts for a significant share of MAP market in the region due to rising demand for packaging of processed food, perishable food, and fresh food that bolstering the demand for MAP as it increases the shelf life of the Product to provide convenience to the customer and adds worth to the product.
• According to Progressive Grocer, the retail sales of processed meat in the United States in 2019 accounted for USD 21.47 billion. Moreover, the country has a significant amount of food wastage due to improper packaging and wasted along supply chain that is resulting in the adoption of MAP for fresh vegetables and fruits in the country. According to Swag, 40% of food is wasted in the United States every year.
• The country hosts many vendors such as Sealed Air, Amcor Plc, Berry Global Inc, among others, those who offer Modified Atmospheric Packing products in the market. For instance, Sealed Air offers Cryovac modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) that is designed to reduce the spoilage for preservative-free, gluten-free, whole-grain, and other high-end, specialty bakery products that can be susceptible to mold where Cryovac MAP for Bakery can extend product shelf life from traditional 1-2 week timeframes to more than 40 days.

Competitive Landscape

The Americas Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) Market is moderately consolidated, owing to the presence of few regional vendors with a majority share in the market. Also, the market players are increasingly developing innovative solutions in the market to help them increase their market presence in the region. Global, as well as regional players, are taking several initiatives to strengthen their global foothold.

• July 2019 - Klöckner Pentaplast (kp) developed a fresh protein modified atmosphere packaging tray, to be used by several meat packers across California. kp’s Elite MAP tray features a design that allows for 33% more trays per pallet and more trays per truck. Elite MAP tray Based on an annual volume of 20 million US 3-2.0 size trays, it has the capability to fit 4,400 Elite MAP trays per pallet, against the standard of 3,300 trays per pallet. For businesses, this highlights 24% fewer pallets used per year along with savings on transportation costs, pallet costs, and storage.
• February 2019 - American company Air Products launched new scented Modified Atmosphere Packaging in the United Kingdom. The system vaporizes natural aromas, like essential oils, into the packaging at an equivalent time because of the Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) gas, with no additional production steps.​

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