North America EPS Coolers Market - 2022-2029

Market Overview

North America EPS coolers market size was worth US$ XX million in 2021 and is estimated to record significant growth by reaching up to US$ XX million by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 2.72% within the forecast period (2022-2029).

EPS coolers are portable temperature-controlled systems that store and transport food products and pharmaceutical products to protect them from environmental hazards. The logistics and shipping industry mainly uses it for the products which require to be transported with specific temperature ranges due to high sensitivity, such as biopharmaceutical drugs, vaccines, foods etc.

It is also quite popular among general household consumers as they use it to carry food and beverage. Depending upon the product type, the North America EPS coolers market is divided into Promotional EPS Coolers and Thick Wall EPS Coolers. Thick wall EPS cooler dominates the product segment of North America EPS coolers market, with a share of 82% in 2020. Depending on the Application, the North America EPS coolers market is divided into pharmaceuticals, food & beverages, medical consumables and others. Among these, the food and beverages segment dominates the market, with a share of 50.36% in 2020.

In terms of the region, the North America EPS coolers market is divided into U.S., Canada and Mexico. U.S. is dominating the market with a market share of 77% in the forecast period due to the presence of leading biopharmaceutical companies. s during travel or recreational activities for convenience purposes.

Market Dynamics

Growing demand for temperature-controlled shipment boosts the region's market trend for EPS coolers.

Growing demand for temperature-controlled shipment is boosting the region's market trend for EPS coolers

The essential nature of temperature-controlled shipment of various products, mainly related to biopharmaceuticals and perishable foods, drives the EPS coolers market in North America.

A continuous storage and shipment process is necessary to ensure the product's quality is sustained throughout. Mainly EPS cooler is used to prevent microbial and metabolic deterioration caused by temperature excursions.

All the coolers and insulated shippers available at Cooler Warehouse are made from expanded polystyrene material. The molecular structure of EPS foam makes it a suitable material for different manufacturing applications.

Polystyrene foam products, generally known as Styrofoam, are extensively used as single-use consumer goods. For instance, three million tons of polystyrene are produced in the USA each year, mainly used to make packaging materials and food service items such as foam cups, cartons and other containers to maintain the temperature.

Several advantageous qualities of Styrofoam have resulted in its widespread use in these applications, such as low cost, lightweight nature, insulation properties and durability.

According to the Sonoco Thermosafe product family, over the previous five years, the industry has shifted from very few packages needing temperature control beyond refrigerated or frozen temperature shipping to a continuous increase in demand for controlled room temperature. It has positively affected the EPS coolers market due to its growing application in the logistics and shipping industry.

Disadvantages in terms of natural properties and size hurdle the market growth of the product

Various design limitations and unnecessary container space, which indirectly increase the cost of logistics, hinder market growth.

For instance, EPS R-Value is low; it can, at most, maintain temperatures in the 2-8°c range for 24-36 hours. Consequently, products must be shipped costly Overnight or by a practice known as "stone skipping" to ensure internal payload temperatures are maintained during transit, which gives additional financial burdens to pharma companies.

EPS has a bulkier design that needs considerable warehouse and freight truck space, which increases total costs. Due to its limitation of maintaining temperatures for a specific time, EPS increases the risk of potential product failures and excursions because of unexpected events such as transit delays.

Additionally, EPS packaging is less resistant to moisture, heat, certain chemicals and other factors that can damage the product. Additional packaging products must be used to preserve the products, which may increase shipping costs.

Several companies that need cold chain packaging are turning to PUR (polyurethane) insulated shipping coolers as an alternative to the EPS due to low cost in terms of the total cost of ownership, which is up to 40 percent cost savings by switching from EPS to polyurethane coolers across the entire supply chain. As the temperature maintaining range is lower than some substitutes such as PUR, many companies prefer PUR, as it eliminates overnight shipping and related costs.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

COVID-19 is an unequaled public health emergency that has affected nearly every industry. Still, as EPS coolers come under necessary service in packaging and transporting food and pharmaceutical products, COVID-19 has some positive effects on this industry. Still, its main end-users, such as the seafood trade, are severely affected.

So as a whole, the EPS cooler market was negatively affected at the time of COVID-19 but is anticipated to grow due to the vaccination program.

In this pandemic, the pharmaceutical and cold chain industries were pushed 2020 to innovate through vaccine development, temperature-controlled packages that may meet the requirements of new deep-frozen vaccine storage and increased demand for existing products to treat COVID-19.

Though there is hope for more normalcy in 2021 due to the extensive vaccination program, COVID-19 will continue to drive business operations, as the Coronavirus still comes up with many fresh infection zones. This scenario, in turn, has greatly helped the EPS cooler market in 2020 and is expected to do a record amount of business in 2021 due to the strict requirement of temperature maintenance in COVID-19 vaccine transportation.

For instance, even if the market will likely favor vaccines that need refrigerated temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius, passive temperature-controlled systems are in need where necessary infrastructure is unavailable; this will greatly favor the EPS cooler market.

Segment Analysis

The North America EPS coolers market can be segmented by product, application and country.

Thick wall EPS coolers are ideal for food packaging and pharmaceutical drug packaging due to their superior performance

The North America EPS coolers market is segmented based on product into promotional eps coolers and thick wall eps coolers. Thick Wall EPS Coolers hold the highest market share of the mentioned products. Thick-wall EPS coolers have a thick wall, normally ranging from 1-2 inches and are generally stronger than thin-wall EPS coolers and promotional coolers.

Thick-wall EPS are also leak resistant and perform better than thin-walled EPS coolers in resistivity and durability. These EPS coolers are ideal for food packaging and pharmaceutical drug packaging due to their superior performance. They are dominant types in the product segment of the North American EPS cooler market, with a share of around 82% in North America.

One of the main characteristics of thick wall EPS coolers is that they maintain temperature for a longer time, generally 24 hours to 48 hours. It is used for packaging where long time temperature maintenance is required.

Being of similar strength and rigidity as many foam shipping coolers, these are relied upon for long-term reuse. Suitable for storage, they are frequently used for keeping things moth-free in the attic, plus customers keep valuable goods in them to protect them from temperature fluctuations.

A thick wall foam cooler ice chest is more expensive than regular ones but provides more value for your money than those with a cheaper price tag. Thick-walled foam coolers are also examined and rated thoroughly for cross-country shipping of temperature-sensitive medical supplies. Such medical supplies will comprise gel packs, which will be ineffective if not cooled correctly.

Country Analysis

The rising demand from the food & beverages and pharmaceutical industry is propelling the growth of the EPS coolers market in North America

North America has shown tremendous growth in the EPS coolers market due to the strong pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical companies are primarily concerned with product quality and sensitivity. An increase in the development of more complex biological-based medicines, shipments of hormone treatments, vaccines and complex proteins that require cold chain refinements need to transport at a controlled temperature which EPS coolers can achieve.

U.S. pharmaceutical market is among the world's most important national markets. U.S. alone holds over 45% of the pharmaceutical market. This dominant position enabled the country to become one of the hotspots for the EPS coolers market, as they are widely in the pharmaceutical industry for storing and transporting medicines, vaccines and others.

According to Almac Pharma Services, the pipeline of biological drugs in development is becoming more temperature-sensitive, increasing the storage of bulk drug substances at frozen temperatures (-40 to -70 °C). The company adds that labeling, packing and distributing cell and gene therapy products often require products to be stored and processed at ultra-low temperatures (-20 to -80 °C), with the products only being defrosted immediately before use.

Furthermore, the rising demand from the food & beverages the pharmaceutical industry is propelling the growth of the EPS coolers market in Canada.

According to a report published by the Government of Canada, the food and beverage processing industry is Canada's second-largest manufacturing industry in terms of the value of production, with sales of goods manufactured worth US$ 117.8 billion in 2019, accounting for 17% of total manufacturing sales and 2% of the country's GDP (GDP).

Competitive Landscape

The North America EPS coolers market is highly competitive with local companies. Some prime companies contributing to the market's growth are Airlite Plastics Co, Cellofoam North America Inc, Magna Manufacturing, Inc, Thermal Shipping Solutions, Thermal Shield, Armstrong Brands Inc, Plymouth Foam, TempAid, Lifoam Industries, Styropek, Cold Chain Technologies, Sonoco Thermosafe, DuPont, Synthos S.A., Sundolitt Ltd and others

The major companies are adopting several growth strategies such as acquisitions, product launches and collaborations, contributing to North America's EPS coolers market growth.

• In February 2020, Airlite Plastics Co. announced the unification of their EPS foam brand "Arctic Fox" into their recently acquired Cold Chain company KODIAKOOLER. Combining the Arctic Fox brand with KODIAKOOLER represents another step towards Airlite's ever-growing Cold Chain division.

Lifoam Industries, LLC

Overview: Lifoam Industries is a manufacturer of temperature-control solutions for healthcare, pharmaceutical and commercial packaging dealing with developing and selling coolers, ice packs and food warmers. The company's product portfolio contains refrigerants and EPS, ePUR AND PUR solutions for shipping food and healthcare products.

The company is part of the Plastic & Rubber Product Manufacturing Industry and has 10 manufacturing sites. The company generates annual revenue of approximately USD 180 million. The company has initiated an EPS recycling program for the foam coolers at their manufacturing facilities where the consumers can easily dispose of their unwanted EPS products.

Product Portfolio: Propak: Propak is a leading brand of EPS-insulated shipping containers used to transport temperature-sensitive products safely. Propak offers a wide range of products depending upon the needs. They are used for domestic applications and custom packaging. They are available in various temperature ranges with various operating durations ranging from 24 to 72 hrs. 2 to 8°C, 2 to 30°C, 10 to 25°C and 15 to 25°C are the temperature ranges in which the products are available. The wide range of Propak coolers is diversified into EPS Without Corrugate, EPS With Corrugate, EPS Separates and EPS Seafood Shippers.

Key Development

• On 10 March 2020, Lifoam Industries announced the expansion and launch of a new company identity, including name, logo and domain name. The new entity, LifeMade Products LLC, includes two business units Lifoam and LifeMade Consumer Products and has the domain name lifemadeproducts.com. The main aim behind this idea was to evolve the business and reflect its move towards sustainable innovation. LifeMade Products LLC is a Jadex Inc. operating company that previously announced a new corporate identity after its acquisition by One Rock Capital in May 2019.

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The North America EPS coolers market report would provide approximately 45 market data tables, 31 figures and 202 pages.

Target Audience 2022

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