US Demand for Cups and Lids to Reach $8.2 Billion in 2014

US demand for cups and lids is expected to increase 4.4 percent per year to $8.2 billion in 2014.  Gains will be driven by expanding foodservice revenues and favorable prospects for foodservice packaging cups.  In addition, cup and lid demand will be supported by heightened emphasis on premium coffee by quick service restaurants and continued introductions of alternative beverages in foodservice establishments to offset the maturity of the soft drinks segment.  Moreover, value gains will be bolstered by increasing demand for environmentally friendly cups, such as cups made from higher-value biodegradable resins or recycled content.  These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in Cups & Lids, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.

While drinking cups will remain the dominant cup type, packaging cups will register faster gains due to continued expansion in key applications such as yogurt, ice cream novelties and dry coffee as well as development of newer uses.  Innovations such as lidded single-serving ketchup cups that allow either dipping or squeezing will boost packaging cup demand at the expense of conventional flexible packets.  Among drinking cups, plastic cups will have the fastest growth as they continue to make inroads into traditional paper cup applications for cold drinks in both the foodservice and retail markets.  Foodservice paper hot cups will also log rapid increases.

Growth in lid demand will outpace that in cup demand, bolstered by an increasing percentage of drinking cups using lids, heightened demand for costlier specialty lids and continued solid advances for single-serving packaging cups.  Faster growth is expected for lids in packaging applications.

Foodservice, which represented 68 percent of demand in 2009, will remain the dominant cup and lid market.  Although market maturity of the large soft drinks segment will moderate gains, advances will be bolstered by fountain dispenser innovations that enable users to customize beverage flavors.  Cup and lid demand in the food and beverage packaging market will post faster gains, aided by continued healthy growth in yogurt and the ongoing popularity of single-serving microwaveable cups for soups, entrees and other foods.  Retail and other markets will advance at a slower pace, although gains will be supported by convenience advantages and increased demand for higher-value environmentally friendly cups.

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.