Page 45 - Packaging News July - August 2019

FLEXIBLE PACKAGING
45
THE VAN DYKE
PRESS PTY. LTD.
Innovative Label & Packaging
Specialists
Aluminium Foils Die Cut Lidding Reel Fed Lidding Proudly manufactured
in Australia
Ph: 02 9938 5666 www.vandykepress.com.au
US$228billion
Current size of global flexible packaging market.
– Smithers Pira
its technical and mechanical performance,” Foster says.
“Generally speaking, products are packed in SUPs because of the level of protection
this format provides, and we cannot just change laminate constructions without doing
vigorous trials, as product safety is under- standably high on the brand owner and
consumer’s agenda.
“The SUP, formerly known as the doypack,
has been around for 54 years and I believe it will remain a popular format, especially as new
recyclable options are brought to market.”
In the report, flexible packaging covers plastic, aluminium foils and papers that are used individually or in combination for the packaging of consumer and industrial food and non-food applications.
The report cites seven key drivers and trends for the flexible packaging industry: sustainability, e-com- merce, product protection, supply chain efficiency, digital printing, economics, and lifestyle.
While sustainability is a key driver, it’s also the sticking point for flexible packaging, in that the most popular type of flexible packaging is plastic, which is currently seeing bad press – particularly for single-use items – due to high levels in the waste stream impacting the environment. Gov- ernments and associations around the world are pressing for plastic packaging to be reduced through regulation and legislation, and some lobby groups are calling for an out- right boycott of plastics, thus potentially reducing demand.
However, suppliers are fighting back by researching a cir- cular economy approach where once a product is used it can be then made into another product of the same material – new materials including rPET and other recyclable plastics.
In coming years, flexible packaging is expected to enter and successfully penetrate new markets. This has been seen with pet foods and baby foods, where flexible packaging is becoming increasingly popular with the consumer over jars and cans. In the last year or two, flexible pouches have entered the motor oil market, and increasing quantities can be found using pouches each year as brand manufacturers bring new products to the market. ■
The Smithers Pira report The Future of Flexible Packag- ing to 2024 can be purchased at https://www.smitherspi- ra.com/industry-market-reports/packaging.