Europe Active and Intelligent Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

TheEurope Active and Intelligent Packaging market are expected to register a CAGR of 6.0% over the forecast period (2021 - 2026). With the recent COVID 19, the active and intelligent packaging manufacturers were flooded with a pool of issues that are expected to only last for the short term. Some of the lockdown effects include supply chain disruptions, lack of availability of raw materials used in the manufacturing process, labor shortages, fluctuating prices that could cause the final product's production to inflate and go beyond budget, and shipping problems.

Key Highlights

• The European pig meat production is expected to increase by 0.5% in 2020, helped by favorable prices and solid export prospects, especially to China, after the African Swine Fever epidemic in the country. However, sheep and goat meat production are projected to decline by 1.5% in 2020 with lower food service and home consumption, particularly the loss of the Easter and Ramadan celebrations, due to the lockdowns and supply shortages due to logistical issues.
• An intelligent packaging system contains small smart devices, inexpensive labels or tags capable of acquiring, storing, and transferring information about the food's parameters, functions, and properties contained inside the package.
• According to the European Union Guidance to the Commission Regulation (EUGCR) No. 450/ 2009 (EU, 2009) description, active packaging is a type of food packaging that is enabled with the extra function of providing a protective barrier against external influence.
• This rise in the demand for fresh foods, particularly in developing countries, significantly contributed to the need for oxygen scavengers. They react with the oxygen in the package and protect the product from degradative oxidation reactions, keeping them fresh.

Key Market Trends

Pharmaceutical is Observing a Significant Growth

• In Germany, healthcare device packaging is experiencing growth as hospitals are concentrating more on sterile and disinfected packaging of medical devices due to a rise in viral infections and various stringent government safety regulations.
• According to Statistisches Bundesamt, the industry revenue of packaging activities in Germany is expected to reach USD 3,849 million in 2023 from USD 3,226.4 million in 2011. As nearly half of all the German packaging activities cater to the domestic demand, such revenue improvements in the packaging activities prompt the increased activity in the German packaging industry, boosting the studied market growth. ​
• Apart from retail and e-commerce, the United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry also offers various market opportunities. For instance, according to the Office of National Statistics (UK), the consumer spending on pharmaceutical products was GBP 10,737 million in 2020 as compared to GBP 9,888 million in 2018 which was significant growth.
• Also, the Netherland is home to a steadily growing pharmaceuticals industry which offers growing opportunities for co-packers. For example, according to Eurostat, the industry revenue of 'manufacture of pharmaceutical preparation' in the country during 2018 stood at USD 49.17 billion and is expected to reach USD 51.7 billion by 2020, maintaining steady growth.

United Kingdom is Observing a Notable Growth

• With an increasing number of consumers of multiple medicines, the pressure on NHS to track the drug delivery, and that they are used before the expiration, and the vaccines reach in the designated environment is high. This is further increasing the expectations on this sector to use technologies, such as intelligent packaging.
• The country observed an increase in meat export in the last few months, which is bolstering the growth of active packaging. According to the recent statistics published by HMRC, the country’s lamb exports to Switzerland increased over 200% in the first six months of 2020 compared to last year.
• Despite reassurances from the UK's Prime Minister in the first week of September 2020, that the country is ready for any eventuality, many key issues remain unresolved. Brexit contingency preparations are proceeding at a snail’s pace and the UK Government’s "Brexit Report Card" to date reveals will weaken the export system that is about to become massively overloaded. Unless a number of key issues are urgently addressed, GBP 1.2 billion worth of annual meat exports will be at risk, along with thousands of jobs in the meat and livestock sector. This will pose a threat to the country’s active packaging ecosystem for the coming years.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nations across the world witnessed lockdown restrictions, which led to panic buying. This imposed a massive pressure on the FMCG companies to adopt flexible packaging solutions, as the food companies increasingly witnessed an inclination toward pre-packaged food in smaller, consumer-sized packaging.

Competitive Landscape

The Europe Active and Intelligent Packaging market are moderately consolidated, with a few major companies like BASF SE, Amcor Ltd, Honeywell International Inc., Landec Corporation, Bemis Company Inc., Crown Holdings Inc.Ball Corporation, Timestrip UK Ltd are some players. The companies are continuously investing in making strategic partnerships and product developments to gain more market share. Some of the recent developments in the market are:

• May 2021 - A new thermoforming packaging solution has been developed by Sealed Air. When compared to commonly used laminates, Sealed Air claims that the new CRYOVAC brand LID830R is a thin, high abuse resistance, anti-fog top lid film that can reduce packing weight by up to 50%.
• August 2021 - One of the prominent Korean chemical manufacturers, LOTTE Chemical, used BASF's Irgastab, a non-discoloring processing stabilizer, to generate the polypropylene (PP) required for medical purposes. With the global rollout of COVID-19 immunizations, the need for PP-based syringes has increased exponentially.

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