According to a new market study released this past week by The Freedonia Group, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, U.S. demand for food containers is projected to increase 2.8% per year to more than $31 billion in 2020.  Major trends include a general shift from rigid packaging formats to flexible containers such as paperboard, efforts to improve both the reality and optics of sustainability initiatives, and increased use of package revisions to reignite interest in sluggish product categories.

 

According to analyst Mike Richardson, "Although nearly every major packaging type can make a legitimate case for its environmental suitability, consumer perceptions often weigh more heavily into purchasing behavior than careful analysis of data from lifecycle sustainability assessments. For example, while rigid plastic, foam, and molded pulp containers all offer environmental benefits, molded pulp is often considered the 'greenest' option of the three."