The packaging market is undergoing tremendous and dynamic changes. New players are entering the field, established ones are losing ground. This development prepares the ground for active change agents. It is essential to recognize opportunities early on, assess risks correctly, and gain market share through growth strategies in order to secure long-term competitiveness. To do this, it is worth looking beyond Europe or North America – because there is a lot of potential for growth, especially in other international markets. We present the five most exciting global growth markets.
Topics such as sustainability, digitalization, consolidation, skills shortages, inflation, supply bottlenecks, war, raw material shortages and energy crises are turning the world upside down on the one hand, but at the same time opening up great opportunities. The focus is on new business models, new strategies, new solutions – and new markets.
Packaging markets in Europe and North America are only growing very slowly. For instance, forecasts see volume growth in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) averaging only one to two percent in the coming years.
But what about the global growth markets? And where can we find the greatest growth potential for the coming years? We have devoted a great deal of attention to this question. We have consolidated our findings on the most exciting global growth markets of FMCG primary packaging up to 2025 for you in the top 5.
Rank 5: Egypt
With a population of over 103 million and an annual average packaging consumption of 343 packages per capita, Egypt is an exciting growth market. Forecasts see average annual volume growth of 3.3 percent in the coming years.
The segments primarily responsible for the high volume growth are feminine hygiene, spirits and flavored alcoholic beverages. Double-digit growth is expected here in each case. Looking at packaging materials, fiber packaging is leading the expected growth – at 4.2 percent annually.
4th place: Peru
Peru ranks fourth in our selection with annual volume growth of 3.9 percent. The main driver of this development is the above-average economic growth that Peru is currently experiencing. It adds up to around 13.3 percent annually.
In terms of packaging, tubular bags should benefit the most. Average volume growth of over 16 percent per year is expected. The fastest growing end-user market for packaging is Pet Care, with annual growth of around 6 percent.
3rd place: Indonesia
Annual volume growth of 4.3 percent is expected for Indonesia. This is due not least to a population of over 275 million consumers. In all likelihood, the volume of packaging required in the island nation will grow even faster and more strongly than the economy itself, which is growing at 3.7 percent per year.
In terms of materials and packaging types, rigid metal packaging leads the annual growth at 4.8 percent. It is followed by rigid plastic packaging at 4.7 percent.
2nd place: Philippines
In second place in our ranking is the Philippines, with annual growth in packaging consumption of 4.5 percent. Volume growth here is being driven in particular by the end-user market for alcoholic beverage packaging, which is expected to grow by around 9 percent annually.
The frontrunners and main drivers in this segment are beer and cider at 12 percent. According to a report by the International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR), the Philippines is among the countries with the fastest growing alcohol consumption in the world.
1st place: India
With a projected annual volume growth of 6.5 percent, India tops our ranking. Packaging demand is expected to reach 470.3 billion units by 2025. Not only the high growth rates are impressive, but also the absolute volume growth. It is around 127 billion packages for the period 2020 to 2025. This increase is almost as large as the total annual volume of packaging in Germany.
India’s biggest growth sectors are currently in dog care, pasta and noodles, and beer and cider. In all these segments, the annual volume growth of packaging is in double digits.
In terms of materials and packaging types, rigid metal packaging is leading the growth at around 11 percent annually. The main driver here is metal beverage cans at around 19 percent annually.
The further prospects for packaging in India are also bright: with a population of over 1.3 billion, annual economic growth of around 8.9 percent and currently only an average of 277 packages per capita and year, there is still plenty of scope for further volume growth in the country in the coming years.
Conclusion
As explained, there is a lot of growth potential in the international markets. As the name suggests, our Top 5 are just the tip of the iceberg. In Germany, per capita consumption of packaging is currently around 1,700 units per year. If we assume that developing countries will follow this trend, it quickly becomes clear how great the growth potential is.
Are you looking for ways to achieve further growth?
Or do you have any questions?
Let’s talk about it! For decades we have been helping companies in the packaging value chain to grow profitably in the long term – whether through global growth markets, new industries, new products, etc.
Feel free to book (here) a 1:1 call with Karsten, Managing Partner for Growth and Market Insights at B+P Consultants. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
