High-Barrier Packaging Film Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The market for high-barrier packaging film has seen a CAGR of 5% in the upcoming years. Growing urbanization has increased consumer demand for packaged foods. Additionally, goods and user safety concerns have grown to be essential variables, which are anticipated to cause the high-barrier packaging market to expand profitably over the projected year.

Key Highlights

• The high-barrier packaging films help to keep oxygen, carbon dioxide, and moisture out while limiting the effects of mineral oil and UV light. This strong barrier, made of functional materials, also retains food qualities such as color, taste, texture, aroma, and flavor. Also, ready-to-eat foods are becoming more popular around the world, which makes people more likely to buy packaged products.
• According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, global meat consumption per capita in 2028 will be 35.1 kilograms, an increase from 34.4 kilograms in 2019. The increasing demand for meat globally propels polyethylene, a high-performing film. These films are ideal for fish, poultry, and meat packaging because they are an excellent oxygen barrier, durable, and heat resistant.
• Moreover, the pharmaceuticals sector poses different demands for packaging solutions regarding insulation from external surroundings, high levels of protection, cost-effectiveness, and ease of handling. Thus, blister base high packaging films are widely used because these films do not allow the exchange of gasses across the packaging and control the temperature within the package, thereby augmenting the market. However, volatile raw material prices and stringent government regulations in specific end-user industries limit the adoption of the high-barrier packaging film market.
• The outbreak is expected to necessitate flexible packaging across various countries. China has a very low consumption rate per capita of flexible packaging for fresh and processed meat and seafood compared to Japan, the United States, and Western Europe. However, the usage increased due to several advantages of flexible packaging solutions, such as live on-site butchering, improved sterilization, traceability, recall, and extended shelf life.
• Due to COVID-19, many Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification programs are giving six-month certificate extensions by doing a remote audit and risk assessment. This lets the company approve a new supplier location without having to do an on-site audit.

Moreover, with the increasing demand for medical and healthcare supplies, the high-barrier film packaging market is expected to witness significant growth in the future. For instance, Envy Pack is also continuing its operation by supplying medical and healthcare packaging solutions in clear pouches, pockets, and adhesive-backed sleeves, with and without print, to meet the demand.

High-Barrier Packaging Film Market Trends

Pharmaceuticals Sector is Expected to Register a Significant Growth

• The primary packaging materials are plastic because they protect the pharmaceutical product against oxygen and odor, water vapor transmission, moisture, contamination, and bacteria. These properties make polypropylene a good choice for high-barrier blister packaging. Polypropylene high-barrier films have a high melting point, which makes them suitable for boilable packages and sterilizable products.
• Moreover, products packed in thermoforming films have higher product visibility without compromising the barrier properties of the packaging. Because these films can't be punctured, manufacturers can use them to package their products and make them easier to move.
• AptarGroup, for example, offers Activ Blister packaging.The company uses silica gel and molecular sieve technology. The outfitted blisters can absorb tailored amounts of water vapor, oxygen, or a combination of the two and can be produced in shapes and sizes to accommodate any tablet or capsule size. Aptar CSP Technologies developed Activ-Blister solutions that controlled the internal atmosphere of existing individual blister cavities, allowing for improved product performance and enhanced shelf-life.
• Furthermore, rising demand for high-quality pharmaceutical packaging is driving up demand for bags and pouches packaging, as it protects the product from external influences such as moisture, light, biological contamination, gases, and mechanical damage, all of which can degrade its quality or effectiveness.
• Further, the manufacturers must follow ISO standards, such as the ISO 9001 quality management certifications, to meet customer demands. Therefore, high-barrier films are more suitable for pharmaceutical packaging, augmenting the market.

Asia- Pacific to Witness Fastest Growth

• The Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest growth owing to the ongoing trend of consumerism in highly populated areas such as India and China. Increasing buying power and the rising working population in the region are the primary factors driving the high-barrier packaging film market in the area.
• Moreover, per the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the pharmaceutical sector in India will increase by 232%, and China will see an increase of 230% between 2017 and 2030. Therefore, advances in the pharmaceutical industry would help increase the demand for different high-barrier packaging products such as blister base films.
• Further, the vast demand for packaged foods and beverages and the critical role pouch packaging plays in keeping packaged consumables fresh for extended periods will likely boost the market in these regions. The high-barrier packaging film market in the Asia-Pacific region is likely to be driven by these important factors.

High-Barrier Packaging Film Market Competitor Analysis

The high-barrier packaging film market is concentrated in nature because of the presence of many global players such as Amcor Plc, Glenroy, Inc., Celplast Metallized Products Limited, and Berry Global Group Inc. These players face stiff competition from regional players in different countries as well. Companies are investing a large amount of their resources and money in R&D to innovate new products that meet environmental and government compliance standards. Some recent developments are:

In October 2022, Toppan expanded its GL Barrier barrier range with a mono-material PE barrier designed to package liquid products in a durable, sterile, and easy-to-recycle material. Aiming to meet "growing demand" in the European and North American markets, the company claims that vapor deposition has previously posed a challenge with PE packaging and that its new barrier supersedes existing designs of its kind.

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