Frost & Sullivan predicts 29% increase in western Europe

Market revenues for flexible food packaging in western Europe are forecast to increase from E1.491bn in 2005 to E1.926bn by 2012, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan. Explaining the 29% increase, the research group said greater demand for processed foods by consumers is supporting the need for plastic packaging with emphasis on multi-layer structures and vacuum packaging.

Frost & Sullivan also said low-weight stand-up pouches are replacing alternatives such as cans and glass jars. There are currently less than 1 billion stand-up pouches in the market, but they are expected to increase with the growing use of pouches in pet food, detergents and processed foods packaging. New plastics products will have to compete with more established resins in the price-sensitive packaging market, it said.

Intensifying competition is increasingly leading to market consolidation and large companies such as Amcor and Alcan have acquired smaller companies with speciality products offering market potential.