Converted flexible packaging demand to top $20bn

Results from Freedonia’s latest Converted Flexible Packaging report put the demand for converted flexible packaging in the US at just over 20 million USD in 2019, up from 17.5 billion USD in 2014, which grew at an annual rate of 3.8 percent from 14.5 billion USD in 2009.

Converted flexible packaging will remain a growth area in both food and non-food applications due to the inherent cost and performance advantages of lightweight bags and pouches, Freedonia said, as well as the advantages of source reduction, space savings, and lower production and transportation costs. All of these factors will drive further conversions from rigid to flexible formats. 

Pouches will experience above average gains, reflecting continued opportunities in both food and non-food segments and for new conversions from rigid packaging, and Freedonia analyst Esther Palevsky said: ‘Growth will benefit from the increased prevalence of value-added features, such as spouts and fitments, as well as the development of newer stand-up pouch designs that can contain heavier weight contents.’

Bag demand will rise more slowly due to the maturity of a number of applications, competition from pouches, and, to some degree, rigid packaging such as clamshells and blister packaging.

Overall advances will be helped by growth in food production, an expanding elderly population, and the importance of bags for bulk and other larger-sized packages in such markets as pet food, chemicals, building materials, and agricultural and horticultural products.

Demand for active and intelligent packaging in the US is forecast to expand 7.3 percent annually to four billion USD in 2019, according to another recent report from Freedonia.