Bioplastic Packaging Market

Market Overview

The growing trend of sustainability in different aspects of packaging is driving the market for bioplastics packaging. Food & beverage industries are known to be the leading consumers of bioplastics packaging owing to growing reluctance to platic packging with high risk of contamination and the huge application of packaging products.

The growing consumer preference for organic and natural polymers in food packaging is also positively influencing the adoption rate of these sustainable packaging solutions in the food & beverage sector. The global market is projected to exhibit 36.8% CAGR by the end of 2020. Besides consumer awareness, augmenting government initiatives encouraging the use of eco-friendly packaging products in different countries is bolstering the market growth.

Europe is expected to lead the global market in terms of expansion, followed by North America and the Asia Pacific. Regions projected to exhibit tremendous growth in the bioplastics packaging material landscape include Japan, US, China, and Germany.

Major players in the market are focused to enhance the physical properties of these packaging materials, making them highly attractive and usable. They are exploring opportunities in emerging economies to strengthen their market presence. Prominent market players are Novamont S.p.A, Innovia Films, Koninklijke DSM N.V., TheDow Chemical Company (Dow), and Metabolix, Inc.

The need for sustainable and affordable packaging solution for a vast range of products has encompassed several industrial verticals, especially in food & beverages (F&B). With incorporation of the best industrial & manufacturing technologies available, F&B companies from around the world have induced higher importance for the use of bioplastics.

Bioplastics packaging is slated to gain traction and attain a privileged status in the global F&B packaging industry, as consumers are conscientiously paying heed to the materials used for wrapping their favorite food consumables.

With growing preference for packaging materials made from natural or organic polymers, which are derived from biomass sources such as fats, oils, starch, and microbiota, among others, the global market for bioplastics packaging has been able to record a market value of US$ 4,342.5 Mn in 2014. By the end of 2020, the global bioplastics packaging market is expected to reach a market value of US$ 28,503.6 Mn, registering an exponential CAGR of 36.8%.

Key Market Dynamics 

Packaging solutions have incurred a predominant significance among every F&B company. Manufacturers of food products and beverages continue to adopt the most suitable packaging mechanism, befitting the packaging requirements of various kinds of products.

Bioplastics packaging is, thus, expected to gain prominence in the global F&B sector, primarily due to the several advantages that it endures. Obtained from biomass sources, bioplastics or biopolymers are innovative packaging materials for food materials, the demand for which is deeply integrated to consumer preferences. 

Preferences of consumers for organic/natural materials is slated to impact the growth of bioplastics packaging market. Along with this, government initiatives enacted in various countries and regions in the world promote the production of bioplastics over that of hazardous polymer and plastic materials.

Besides the consumers’ keen inclination towards eco-friendly products and favorable support from industrial regulatory bodies and governments, the growth of the global bioplastics packaging market will also be driven by the sustainability of bioplastics packaging materials compared to others. 

Enhancing the physical properties of packaging materials by making them more attractive, easily printable and antistatic has been observed to be key trend influencing the growth of global bioplastics packaging market.

Nonetheless, inclusion of chemical additives in production of bioplastics has spiked health concerns related to its toxicity. Besides the health concerns, complexity of processes for separation of bioplastics materials from disposal sites, on the basis of resin types, are also slated to restrain the market’s growth. 

Segment Analysis 

The global market for bioplastics packaging is segmented on the basis of products and applications. Bio-PET, PLA & PLA blends, starch blends, and other biodegradables are the product-type sub-segments for bioplastics packaging. Food & beverages, and catering are the key applications segmented in the global bioplastics packaging market. PLA and starch bases bioplastics are expected to be influenced by incorporation of nanotechnology-based packaging that makes them environmentally safe and ensures the safety of products as well. 

Regional Analysis 

Among the regional segmentation, the global market for bioplastics packaging is categorized into key regions such as Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the Rest of the World (RoW). Expansion of global bioplastics packaging market in such regions is intrinsic to prominence of their respective F&B industries.

For bioplastics packaging, Europe is anticipated to be the dominant region in the global market throughout the forecast period. North America and Asia-Pacific will be the following lucrative regions in the global bioplastics packaging market. China, Japan, Germany and the US will exhibit exceptional growth in bioplastics packaging market. 

Key Market Players 

Since few companies participating in the growth of global bioplastics packaging market, contribution of each one of them is highly-instrumental towards market expansion. And, a stiff competition is being anticipated among such companies with respect to accounting for larger market share.

Some of the key companies profiled in the global bioplastics packaging market include, Metabolix, Inc., The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Novamont S.p.A, NatureWorks, LLC, Innovia Films, Ltd, Braskem S.A, BASF SE (Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik), Arkema S.A., and Koninklijke DSM N.V., among others.