Japan Plastic Packaging Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The Japan Plastic Packaging market is expected to register a CAGR of global 2.7 % over the forecast period (2021 - 2026). Owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, food & beverage companies are developing response actions and effective plans to help mitigate their risk and prepare for how they would deal with the effects of the coronavirus. These plans include establishing an interdisciplinary crisis response team of personnel from all aspects of the business to identify, assess, and manage the risk presented.

Key Highlights

• Plastic packaging has become popular among consumers, over other products, as plastic material is lightweight and unbreakable making them easier to handle. Even major manufacturers prefer to use plastic packaging, owing to the lower cost of production. Moreover, the introduction of polymers, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), is expanding the applications of plastic bottles. The market has been witnessing an increasing demand for PET bottles.
• Plastic containers are becoming important, not only in the beverage segment, but in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals industries. New filling technologies and the emergence of heat-resistant PET bottles opened up new possibilities and options in the market. While PET bottles are common in multiple segments, beverages, cosmetics, sanitary products, and detergents are predominantly sold in bottles that are made up of polyethylene (PE).
• The increasing popularity of PET bottles helped it in considerably gaining market shares in the past few years. The quality of plastic bottles is constantly improving, as they are gaining access to other segments that traditionally used other materials.
• Consumers have also been inclining themselves toward other packaging materials, which offer environment-friendly properties. The consumption of aluminum and glass has been witnessing high adoption rates in the region, owing to the eco-friendly nature and high recyclability. Thus, consumers have been increasingly moving toward other materials from plastic.

Key Market Trends

Increase in Adoption of Light-Weight Packaging

• The lightweight properties of the material have been driving the growth of plastic. Glass is much heavier as compared to plastic, which means more trips are required while transporting. This translates to a more significant environmental impact. Glass is also much heavier for the end consumer, whereas plastic is lightweight and much easier to carry.
• Moreover, out of all the types of plastic, it is anticipated that using PET will help in manufacturing the lightest bottle and container. According to the PETRA, PET is a clear, strong, and lightweight plastic that is widely used for packaging food and beverages, especially convenience-sized soft drinks, juices, and water.
• While on the other hand, the demand for aluminum beverage cans is also significant. The average weight of an empty aluminum can is 14.9 grams. Though these materials are light in weight, the probability of beverage cans being damaged during the transportation is high compared to plastic bottles. Therefore, the lightweight property of plastic has driven its adoption in the manufacturing of bottles and containers.
• One of the major opportunities for vendors who exist in the market studied or new players focusing of targeting opportunities in recycling, is the implementation of New Plastics Economy initiative. It was created to work with businesses, governments, NGOs, academics, and other stakeholders, to shift away from current linear “take-make-dispose” model and redesign the global plastics system based on the principles of a circular economy.

Beverage Industry is Observing a Significant Increase

• The market for plastic bottles and containers in the beverage sector is anticipated to witness growth, owing to the never-ending demand for bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages. The demand for bottled water is credited to consumers' propensity for specifically demanding high-quality drinking water, owing to the fear of diseases as an aftermath of drinking polluted tap water and the ease of portability and convenience provided by bottled water.
• Plastic bottles also provide a good shelf life to store the mineral water for an extended period. However, as the world is shifting towards a circular economy, bottled water manufacturers use recycled PET containers to store water. The containers must be kept in a dark place with no light exposure to avoid chemical reactions and bacterial growth. Also, with r-PET, the shelf life of the water bottle has been reduced to 20 days.
• In December 2020, Food & beverage giant PepsiCo announced a new initiative to reach 100% recycled content in plastic Pepsi bottles sold across its nine biggest European markets by 2022. The company would source 100% post-consumer recycled PET (rPET) to house its range of Pepsi drinks.
• Beverages like Sports drinks, energy drinks, and ready-to-drink beverages like coffee and tea are being studied under this segment. With the increasing health consciousness, people are more inclined to sports drinks and energy drink supplements.

Competitive Landscape

As the demand for plastic packaging has been increasing significantly in the Japan region, the market is mildly concentrated with the presence of major players like Amcor, Coveris Holding, Berry Global, Sealed Air Corporation, Constantia Flexibles, among others.

• Dec 2020- Berry announced its agreement with its longtime supplier, Repsol, to supply circular resins. The Spanish multi-energy global company Repsol will provide Berry with ISCC Plus certified circular polyolefins from its Repsol Reciclex range. These polyolefins are obtained by advanced recycling, enabled by the adoption of new chemical recycling technologies, of post-consumer plastic waste not suitable for traditional recycling.
• July 2021- ALPLA announced that it is consolidating its developments in relation to biodegradable packaging solutions under its new Blue Circle Packaging label. Home-compostable coffee capsules were the first product available on the market under the new label. With the TÜV certificates OK Compost HOME and OK Compost INDUSTRIAL, these products are suitable for disposal in home compost, as well as in the organic waste bin.

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