Meat packaging to enjoy near-decade of growth, report says

Demand for new and improved meat packaging across Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific is expected to help the meat packaging industry enjoy a decade of modest growth, according to FMI.

Thanks to growing urbanisation in large landmass countries such as Brazil, China and Russia, coupled with a rise in demand for convenient products, meat packaging has been “flourishing​” the report says.

Despite the positive meat packaging market in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations, a number of challenges face the immediate prosperity of the industry.

Nanotechnology​

FMI says the primary issues “restraining the market growth of meat packaging​” can be grouped into two main categories: environment and health. On the one hand, meat packaging companies need to be able to demonstrate that their products are environmentally sustainable and can be recycled. The challenge here lies in manufacturing innovative packaging that is eco-friendly but also hygienic, while concurrently offering maximum protection to products and consumers.

Nanotechnology is likely to be an important aspect of meat packaging moving forwards as companies look to meet consumer demands for health-focused, environmentally sustainable packaging.

'Investing'​ 

Some of the benefits of nanotechnology in meat packaging include “improved bioavailability, antimicrobial effects, enhanced sensory acceptance and targeted delivery of bioactive compounds​”, according to a year-old report in the Asian-Australian Journal of Animal Sciences.

FMI also said the big players in meat packaging over the next nine years were investing heavily in order to maintain their position at the top of the meat packaging mountain. The key players to watch include Crown Holdings, DuPont, Nuconic Packaging and Toyo Seikan Group Holdings and many were eyeing up acquisitions and mergers to strengthen the end-to-end efficiency of their businesses.

An example here was the US firm Crown Holdings’ acquisition of the Spanish can manufacturing company Mivisa Envases in 2014 for a reported €1.20bn ($1.65bn).