Glass Packaging Market Size was worth over USD 45 billion in 2016 and the industry will grow by a CAGR of about 4.5% up to 2024.
Rising beer consumption in emerging countries will drive the global glass packaging market growth as the product is extensively used as beer bottles. Increasing income levels, the influence of western lifestyle, ease of availability, and reduced costs of beers has led to its rising consumption in these emerging economies. Beer consumption in Vietnam and Mexico witnessed the highest increase of approximately 7.5% and 6.5% respectively from 2014 to 2015. India, Columbia, and Romania beer consumption rates increased by around 6% within the same period. Some other countries that have been witnessing a significant increase in beer consumption are Poland, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, France, and Thailand. This increase in beer consumption will positively impact the glass packaging market growth until 2024 as the majority of beers are packed in bottles.
Although metal cans and plastic bottles have been gaining popularity in recent years, glass bottles are still likely to hold a significant share of the beer packaging industry with more than 60% beers being packed in it in 2015. This will augment the global glass packaging market during the forecast timeframe. The increasing availability of beer bottles in various sizes and shapes coupled with innovations in the chemical composition and design has led to the introduction of lightweight and better appealing beer bottles in the market. Increasing promotional events by large-scale beer manufacturers have also led to increased consumption. These factors will contribute to industry growth during the forecast timeframe.
The global glass packaging market may be hampered due to the growing popularity of plastics as a packing material. Some limitations of the product such as brittleness, high cost, and transport related difficulties have led to the adoption of plastics as the preferred packing material in recent years. Global plastic production was more than 300 million tons in 2016 and is likely to increase to more than 350 million tons by 2024. This will impact the industry negatively as most of the plastic produced in the world are used for packaging purposes.
Glass Packaging Market, By Product
The global glass packaging market is segmented based on product into borosilicate, de-alkalized soda lime, and soda lime. Borosilicate contains significant amounts of boric oxide, aluminum oxide, and alkaline earth oxides. It has a high thermal shock and hydrolytic resistance and is used for the construction of laboratory equipment, cookware, and glassware for storing and handling parenteral, non-parenteral, and diagnostic reagents. The borosilicate glass packaging segments growth will be propelled by the rising product demand in pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries.
De-alkalized soda lime glass packaging segment growth will be chiefly driven by its increasing use for packing acidic and neutral aqueous products for non-parenteral and parenteral use. This product type is obtained by inner surface treatment of soda lime glass at high temperatures to improve its hydrolytic and chemical resistance. Better thermal and chemical properties of this product type, when compared to normal soda-lime packing material, will increase its demand and will propel the de-alkalized soda lime glass packaging market during the forecast timeframe.
Glass Packaging Market, By Application
Based on application, the global glass packaging market is segmented into alcoholic beverages, beer, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, and others such as personal care products, cosmetic products, etc. Beer application segment accounted for more than 20% of the overall market. The segment will gain by more than 4.5% CAGR during the forecast timeframe owing to growing beer consumption in emerging countries.
The pharmaceuticals sector is another significant application segment in the global glass packaging market which registered a revenue above USD 3.9 billion in 2016. This segment will grow by a CAGR above 4% from 2016 to 2024 owing to the increasing use of the product in pharmaceutical drugs and medicine packaging. The products inertness and recyclability will drive its demand for pharmaceuticals application and will boost the industry growth till 2024.
Glass Packaging Market, By Region
The Asia Pacific is a key region for the global glass packaging market and accounted for almost 40% of the overall industry share. Rising consumption of alcoholic beverages coupled with high growth in the pharmaceutical industry in this region will boost product demand in the Asia Pacific. China and India are likely to dominate the regional market due to a huge customer base and developments in the hospitality sector in these countries. Increasing disposable income and rising alcohol consumption by youngsters will also contribute to the industry growth in the Asia Pacific.
North America glass packaging market will grow by a CAGR above 3% during the forecast timeframe owing to increasing demand for the product from a well-developed pharmaceutical industry in the region. High per capita alcohol consumption in this region will also boost product demand till 2024. The growing popularity of plastics as a packing material may hamper the North America market in the future.
The global glass packaging market is undergoing intense innovative changes in recent years to be more customer preferable and sustainable. Various technological breakthroughs have allowed the product to become lighter in weight which ultimately reduces the logistics cost for transporting these products. Although plastic packing materials are becoming increasingly popular, glass is still the most preferred packing material due to its non-reacting nature. The product’s growing usage as a food & beverage packing material will also contribute to the glass packaging market growth during the forecast timeframe.
*Source: GM Insights
