North America Beverage Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The North American Beverage Packaging Market is expected to register a CAGR of 4.3% during the forecast period (2021-2026). The impact of COVID-19 on the market is significant in the short-run, as the global lockdown has brought the entire packaging supply chain to an almost grinding halt. However, with online shopping on the rise, the market is expected to rebound in the long-run. There has been a considerable increase in residential trash, which significantly comprises packaged products as a result of more stay-at-home dining and COVID has exposed vulnerability in the supply chain globally, resulting in various disruptions, including some stores stopping collection of store drop-off for grocery bags and flexible packaging.

Key Highlights

• Technological innovation, sustainability trepidations, and attractive economics are among the reasons for the remarkable growth of beverage packaging in the last two decades in the United States. The way consumers view and interact with packages is altering. Due to the rising focus on sustainability, traditional rigid packaging solutions are being substituted by innovative and more sustainable, flexible packaging. The growing market demand for customer-friendly packages and heightened product protection is expected to boost flexible packaging as a viable and cost-effective substitute.
• The growing demand for carbonated drinks, energy drinks, and juices, among others, is indicative of rising PET bottles and metal cans as preferred materials for the same. Glass on the other hand, with its recyclable properties, has been challenged by increased costs of production and recycling. The preference for the same has been growing recently concerning sustainability trends across beverage packaging.
• Moreover, as plastic has been long-standing and a preferred packaging option by global beverage manufacturers, due to the reduced manufacturing, durability, and logistics costs, the transition towards sustainable packaging has driven these packaging manufacturers and bottling companies to pledge and commit usage of newer materials for the same.
• For instance, Coca-Cola shared its commitment towards recycling as many plastic bottles as it uses by 2030. For the same, the company has been partnering with NGOs globally, to help improve collection. Then, as of January 2020, Nestle commits USD 2.1 billion towards using recycled plastic packaging.

Key Market Trends

Growing E-commerce market to Drive the Market

• The significant share contributed by e-commerce is expected to positively impact the market as many companies have not yet optimized packaging for e-commerce, and overpacking is common while shipping products from a distribution center to a consumer. Because shipments are usually broken down into individual packages for delivery, this causes not only additional wastage but also energy consumption and pollution due to the increasing complexity of this retail chain. Beverage packaging offers performance features, such as waterproof and lightweight materials, better dimensional weight benefits, all of which are attractive to e-commerce providers.
• As business insider reports, e-commerce is driving retail growth virtually, and its influence on beverage packaging may develop in the region.​ The retail industry in the US is highly competitive due to established food retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons, thereby driving the growth of the country's market.
• Moreover, based out of the United States, Walmart is the largest global retailer and the largest of its kind in the world. Of the top 10 largest retail companies globally, five are based out of the United States, which makes the country the foremost in the retail industry.
• Also, the demand for bevergae packaging products is generally driven by millennial customers in the region, as they have an ardent preference for single-serving and on-the-go beverages. These products are generally designed to be portable, durable, and lightweight; flexible packaging stands to be a famous option to pack such products. .

Alcoholic Beverages to Hold Significant Share

• The categorization of alcoholic beverages includes wine, beer, spirits, etc. being packaged using formats such as bottles, kegs, cartons, and cans, to name a few. When it comes to Alcoholic beverages, there has been a significant transitioning of the wine industry concerning packaging format has been observed, as the global consumption across still wine has been slowing down. This has led the Unites States-based wineries to drive packaging innovations to cut costs and appeal to younger consumers.
• Therefore, portability and convenience became significant drivers in wine packaging innovation, which led to Bota Box and Black Box to leverage alternative packagings, such as tetra packs and bag-in-box wine and cartons. According to the State Of Wine Industry Report 2020, by Silicon Valley Bank, canned wine in the country has recorded an 80% growth in 2019, despite the 0.5% as an overall share.
• Cans have been observed increasing footprint across other alcoholic single-serve options. Here, the economies of smaller sizes remain the same for cans for 375- and 500-milliliter glass formats. For instance, small-sized bottles and cans, such as 100-200 milliliters, have been holding 90% of beer volume globally.
• Beer’s packaging, on the other hand, is highly diverse. The format packaging type preference has been driven by different regions where local laws, regulations, tastes, culture, and other drivers influence the packaging landscape.
• With the COVID-19 outbreak and an upsurge in demand for alcoholic beverages across the United States, multiple packagers have reported having been running on low stocks.
• For instance, the draft beer sales stopped flowing in the United States due to on-premise shutdowns caused by efforts in the wake of novel coronavirus disease COVID-19. Therefore, allied craft brewers turned to 32 oz. Cans filled and sealed on demand to sell out leftover beer in kegs before oxidization. This has led to an increased demand for packaging towards current production in hand. Amidst the lockdown scenarios, packaging manufacturers have themselves reported operability with a reduced workforce, creating a supply-driven challenge.

Competitive Landscape

The North America Beverage Packaging Market is moderately competitive with few dominant and few new entrants in the market. The companies keep on innovating and entering into strategic prtnerships, in order to retain their market share.

• November 2020 - Transcontinental Inc. launched the Intergritite, which is a 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) collation shrink film. The new packaging film is applicable for Sparkling Water printed case wrap appearing on select Sam’s and BJ's Club Store shelves in countries like Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Indiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Delaware.

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