Demand for Meat, Poultry, Seafood Packaging to Jump 3.2% by 2017
Demand for meat, poultry and seafood packaging is forecast to increase 3.2% annually to $9.7 billion in 2017, according to “Meat, Poultry & Seafood Packaging,” a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland, Ohio-based industry market research firm. Gains will be driven by increased meat, poultry and seafood production along with accelerated foodservice revenue increases.
Prospects for packaging will further benefit from the significant shift to case-ready packaging among grocery retailers as well as the growing share of smaller-sized items and items that are further processed for convenience of preparation. Heightened demand for single portion and other smaller-sized products will reflect the significant level of 1- and 2-person households in the United States, as well as efforts among processors and retailers to hold down selling prices, especially in beef. Flexible packaging demand growth will outpace that of rigid packaging as a result of solid prospects for pouches and high barrier film, along with inroads into rigid packaging due to sustainability benefits via reduced material use and significantly lower shipping costs.