Active, Controlled and Intelligent Packaging for Foods and Beverage

Report Highlights

• The total U.S. market for active, controlled and intelligent packaging for foods and beverages exceeded $34 billion in 2003.
• Rising at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 9.7%, this market will reach more than $54 billion in 2008.
• The rest of the world represents 57% of the market but is growing more quickly at an AAGR of 11.3%.
• Nearly 60% of the market in 2003 was allocated to active packaging (about $7 billion) and controlled atmosphere packaging ($13 billion).
• Intelligent packaging, although it encompasses a wider range than foods and beverages in its purview, represents another $14.8 billion for systems that track food and beverage products throughout the supply chain.

INTRODUCTION

Every product, even organically grown foods, needs some sort of packaging during its existence for protection during transportation, handling, storage and use. This translates into 99.8% of all food and beverage items that, at one time, are encased in some sort of packaging. Food and beverage packaging is accountable for two-thirds of the $120 billion U.S. packaging industry. Over the past decade, active, controlled and intelligent packaging have experienced significant growth and change as new products and technologies have challenged the status quo of the traditional forms of food and beverage packaging. These types of active and controlled packaging represent about 16% of the total U.S. packaging market.

BCC examines the new technologies and techniques that are integral to advanced packaging as they relate to food and beverages. Despite a dicey and fluctuating U.S. economy, it is apparent that this sector of the packaging industry will be minimally affected. In fact, a modest indication of the growth of the sector is that active, controlled and intelligent packaging will increase quite healthily over the next half-decade. This is due to a shift in the ways consumers want their products packed and how retailers can best accommodate these needs.

This study describes some of the more common types of packaging that have been designated as “smart,” (active, controlled or intelligent), their technology, synergy, applications, and forecasts their growth and use over the next five years. This report brings together in one document information about disparate technologies and products that nonetheless work in synergy to create a whole growing and vigorous substrate of the packaging industry.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The report contains:

• A history of the development of active, controlled and intelligent packaging for processed foods and beverages
• Analysis of each type and application in the U.S.
• An examination of the industry structure and competitiveness
• Coverage of government regulations and patent influences
• Trends and developments, including forecasts through 2008
• Discussions of international influence, particularly from Europe.

METHODOLOGY

Sales estimates and projections for each type of active, controlled and intelligent packaging added to foods and beverages, the specific types of applications to which they are added, and what type is best suited for which kind of food and beverage are investigated. Projections were developed from various government, consumer, academic, social, market, economic, regulatory, technical and technological factors exerting influences on consumers, processors and producers of active, controlled and intelligent packaging.

INFORMATION SOURCES

An extensive literature search of secondary source materials-both in hard copy and through the Internet was conducted. The materials included were from trade journals and magazines, trade and professional association publications and Web sites, government and industry sources, academic hard copy and on-line materials, environmental reports, opposition materials, current news articles and company materials. Additional extensive Internet searches were conducted for relevant and current data not included in the print, microform and company literature searches, including many of the leading trade publications as well as technical compendia and government publications. Information for the corporate profiles was obtained primarily from the companies, especially larger, publicly owned firms. Other sources included directories, articles and Internet sites and online industry databases and registers.

In addition to the literature searches one-on-one telephone and personal interviews with personnel in academic, technical, research and development fields were conducted along with interaction with quality control, marketing and sales departments in food and beverage processors, and producers and distributors of active, controlled and intelligent packaging products and systems.

AUTHOR CREDENTIALS

Paula M. Kalamaras and Paul T. Kraly are owners of Scribes Unlimited, LLC, a research and writing company located in Cleveland, OH. Their expertise includes a Master's in Library and Information Sciences (MLS), extensive Internet search experience and many years of researching and writing about a wide range of subject areas. They have written plans, market demographic plans, and grants for health environmental, educational, scientific, medical and projects. They recently published their first Communications Co. reports "Sugar and Sweeteners: Trends and Developments in Foods and Beverages" and "Adding Life to Foods: Trends Techniques and Opportunities in Food Preservation and Shelf-life Extension"