The global metal packaging coatings market will grow at a promising 5 percent CAGR over 2020-2030. Premiumization of beverage packaging for better brand positioning in the flourishing food & beverage sector is a major growth lever for metal packaging coating manufacturers. Penetration of e-commerce platforms that thrive on offering wide array of products furthers the demand for metal packaging coatings from food & beverage multi-national corporations (MNC). Glossy colours, high-definition images, and 3D graphics are a few of the many benefits that drive the demand for metal packaging coatings.
Manufacturers are investing in tech-driven advancements in solvent inks such as thermochromic (temperature-activated), photochromic (sun-light activated), glow-in-the-dark, and reveal technologies (where a message is revealed after consumption) to attract a larger consumer base.
COVID-19 Pandemic Opens Potential Growth Prospects
The coronavirus (COVID-19) is disrupting growth trends across industries. Despite the short-term losses due to manufacturing constraints such as lack of workforce, raw materials, and logistics, market players will find remunerative opportunities in the long run. As economies reopen, there are going to be a few favorable changes for metal packaging coatings.
Manufacturers of ready-to-consumer products, cold-storage vegetables, fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages are banking on metal packaging coatings to align with the new normal post the COVID-19 chapter. Metal packaging coating manufacturers are set to witness a burgeoning demand as the world enters the post-pandemic era. The new competitive landscape will be dominated by players that invest in innovative coating materials to serve wide range of applications.
Beverage Cans Continue to Propel Revenue Growth
Capturing over half of overall value, beverage cans will remain the key revenue generator in metal packaging coating market. Metal packaging coatings that enhance the shelf life of beverage products are garner greater consumers’ attention. By leveraging metal packaging coatings, beverage manufacturers are differentiating products based on aroma, texture, and freshness of consumables.
Metal packaging coatings protect freshness of the good within them, while withstanding the wear and tear of long-distance logistics. Aroma-based products such as spices and aromatic beverages are increasingly distributed in metal packaging coatings, as multilayer films constructed with the help of substrates and coatings form impenetrable insulation improve the product shelf-life without compromising the aroma.
Market players are also reaping profits from beer manufacturing on the back of increasing consumption of alcohol, especially among millennials. Europe, the largest beer producer of the world, is a primary source of revenue for major players and will account for over 1/3 of global consumption by 2030. Countries such as Germany, Spain, and Italy are witnessing a surge in demand for canned beverages and food products. This trend is expected to strengthen the demand for metal packaging coatings in Europe in the coming years.
Alcohol brands such as Jack Daniels have launched spirit-based canned cocktails. The new series comes in three famous cocktail variants namely, Jack & Seltzer, Jack & Cola, and Jack, Honey & Lemonade. The whiskey giant is positioning these products as a ready-to-drink (RTD) convenience beverage.
It employs metal packaging coatings on the inside to preserve the taste and freshness of the cocktails, while on the outside, the metal coating offers attractive packaging design that helps in engaging with greater consumer base. Adoption of metal packaging coatings on beverage cans segment will grow at 4% CAGR in the coming decade.
Metal Packaging Coatings Finding Usage in Food Products
Food manufacturers in the US cite the preservative value of metal packaging coatings as the main reason behind their demand. Enhanced food cans support long storage time, prevent chemical migration into food, adhere to the can even after deformation and maintain their organoleptic properties for prolonged duration.
Manufacturers are investing in R&D of coating additives that improve surface slipping, enhance abrasion resistance, as well as perform better as anti-foaming agents, adhesives, and hydrochloric acid scavengers. Moreover, metal packaging coatings are subject to many government regulations.
Stringent Legislations to Hamper Adoption
In the US, polymeric & resinous coatings are covered under 21CFR 175.300. The code list acts as a directive principle for manufacturers. Bisphenol A (BPA) is causes reproductive harm to consumers, as such, the chemical is listed under Proposition 65 of California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).
The European Union (EU) has also imposed omnipresent regulations regarding commonly used coating materials. For instance, diglycidyl ether and its derivates pass through can coatings, and thus, are listed under Commission regulation EC 1895/2005. Similar legislations are in-place in various countries in Europe such as the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, France, and Spain. In France, the use of BPA is completely banned in all packaging, containers, and utensils that will come in direct contact with food items.
Tracing the Path Ahead for Metal Packaging Coatings Market
Manufacturers will find gainful opportunities in the Asia Pacific (APAC), owing to surging consumption of convenience food & beverage products, especially among millennials.
Food & beverage producers are witnessing an unprecedented demand for convenience as a key feature in their products. Demand for convenience food will further be driven by hectic lifestyle.
The metal packaging coating market in APAC is also receiving impetus from rising inclination towards health-centric products. As consumers try to match convenience with healthy ingredients they end up buying canned goods that come with metal packaging coatings to deliver nutritious and long-lasting products.
Moving ahead, Latin America is also offering lucrative opportunities for metal packaging coating manufacturers. The beverage industry in Brazil surpassed the US$ 22 Bn mark in 2019. Industrial automation coupled with high investments in the Brazilian food & beverage industry is fueling the market growth in Latin America. Further, the region will register revenues at a healthy CAGR over the following decade.
Resins will remain a preferable choice of metal packaging coating, accounting for nearly quarter of total market revenue. Fact.MR finds that liquid metal packaging coatings will continue to remain preferred over the powdered forms. Beverage can production will surpass a half-a-billion dollars by the 2030.
The metal packaging coating market is highly concentrated with top three players - Akzo Nobel N.V., Dow, and PPG Industries - garnering around one-third of global sales in 2019.
Yash Pathak is a research consultant at Fact.MR with proven experience in the market research and consulting industry and has been closely working on the chemicals & materials vertical of Fact.MR. Yash is instrumental in developing strategies and providing consultancy at Fact.MR, as well as holds expertise in providing go-no-go decision recommendations, plant feasibility studies, route-to-market, long-term production capacity and utilization planning, sensitivity and plant location analysis, demand projections and price benchmarking among other key skills.
The insights provided in the above questions are based on Metal Packaging Coatings Market of Fact.MR
