Demand for meat, poultry and seafood packaging will increase 3.0 percent per annum to $9.2 billion in 2015. Gains will be fueled by expanding meat, poultry and seafood production for the domestic market, as well as rising export opportunities to countries such as Japan and Chile. Packaging demand will also be stimulated by the ongoing shift to case-ready packaging by many retailers as a means of reducing in-store labor costs. These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in Meat, Poultry & Seafood Packaging, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.
Flexible
packaging demand growth will continue to outpace that of rigid packaging. Gains
will be bolstered by good opportunities for high barrier film and pouches. Demand for high barrier film will benefit
from a favorable outlook for case-ready packaging, which requires value-added
materials to prolong shelf life and protect contents during shipping and
handling. Pouch demand will be driven by
further inroads by retort pouches into traditional can applications and healthy
gains for stand-up pouches in frozen meat, poultry and seafood applications.
Gains
for rigid packaging will lag those for flexible packaging,
reflecting maturity in the large corrugated box segment and minimal advances
for metal cans. However, plastic
containers and trays will post robust gains.
Demand for plastic containers will be driven by heightened demand for
prepared meat and poultry items in supermarkets and other retail locations as a
result of consumer preference for convenience foods that require little or no
preparation. Tray demand will be aided
by the growing use of case-ready packaging, which often employs larger foam or
more costly rigid barrier trays.
Increasing use of more expensive biodegradable trays will also stimulate
value gains. Demand for packaging
accessories will benefit from regulations requiring nutrition information and
country-of-origin labels on a variety of meat and poultry items.
Meat applications will continue to account for the largest share of packaging demand as a result of red meat’s status as a favored main dish in the foodservice sector and the growing presence of case-ready meats in retail sites. However, demand growth in meat applications will lag the pace of poultry and seafood due to concerns over the fat and cholesterol levels of red meat. Although seafood applications will account for the smallest portion of packaging demand, gains will outpace those for meat and poultry as a result of seafood’s perceived health benefits.
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.