Paper & Paperboard Packaging Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Grade, By Product Type, By Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 To 2027

The global paper & paperboard packaging market has been witnessing considerable demand from the past few years on account of the increasing demand from various end-use industries, including food & beverages, personal care & cosmetics, electronics, and others. Moreover, rising demand for eco-friendly packaging is expected to fuel the growth for paper & paperboard packaging in the coming years.

Paper & paperboard packaging material is made up of pulp, which is derived from wood as well as a non-wood source such as straw, bamboos, among others. Wood pulp is available widely and is increasingly generated by the recycling of the paper. Sustainable nature and low cost of the wood pulp makes paper & paperboard packaging an ideal packaging for end-use industries.

Furthermore, plastic-based packaging products are facing stringent regulations across the world on account of their non-biodegradability. Single-use plastic is increasingly being banned across the countries, which is widely being replaced by the paper-based packaging owing to their sustainable nature. Moreover, growing sustainability awareness among the consumers and rising demand for eco-friendly packaging by the end-use industries is anticipated to drive the global paper & paperboard packaging market in the coming years.

The emergence of the e-commerce industry has also been playing a pivotal role in the expansion of the paper & paperboard packaging market. E-commerce companies majorly use corrugated packaging for secondary and tertiary packaging due to its lightweight and low cost. Furthermore, rising sustainability issues of plastic material are forcing e-commerce companies to replace flexible plastic packaging with paper packaging, which in turn expected to augment growth to the paper & paperboard packaging market.

Food products & beverages are largely packaged in the paper & paperboard packaging products due to its low cost, lightweight, excellent printability, sustainability, and non-reactive properties. The global packaged food industry has been experiencing substantial growth in recent years on account of rising disposable income and expansion of the retail network. Thus, the growing packaged food industry is expected to impact positively on the demand of paper & paperboard packaging market over the forecast period.

The global paper & paperboard packaging market is segmented on the basis of grade, product type, and application. The grade is further sub-segmented into coated unbleached ‘kraft’ paperboard, label paper, white line chipboard (WLC), folding boxboard (FBB), solid bleached sulfate (SBS), and others. Coated unbleached ‘kraft’ paperboard accounted for the highest share in the market in 2018 owing to its wide incorporation for the manufacturing of paper bags.

Based on the product type, the market is divided into a corrugated box, boxboard, and flexible paper packaging. Among these, flexible paper packaging accounted for the largest share in 2018. Flexible paper bags are being increasingly utilized as a replacement for single-use plastic bags. Moreover, low cost and excellent printability are key factors attributed to the segments' largest share in 2018.

Based on application, the paper & paperboard packaging market is bifurcated into food & beverages, healthcare, personal care, electronics, home care, and others. Among these food & beverage segments accounted for the largest share in the global market owing to the wide adoption of paper-based packaging products by the food manufacturers. Furthermore, increasing the introduction of various packaged food products coupled with growing consumer preference for such products owing to an increasingly busy lifestyle is expected to favor the growth of paper & paperboard packaging market over the forecast period.

The electronics application segment is anticipated to attain the highest CAGR over the forecast period. The rising global electronics industry owing to growing technological advancement has been expanding the size of the electronics industry, which in turn, anticipated lucrative offer opportunities for paper & paperboard packaging manufacturers in the near future. Furthermore, increasing developments of compact and lightweight electronics are expanding the application scope of the paper packaging products and thus attributing to the anticipated growth of the market.

On a regional basis, the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. Factors such as expanding the population, rising middle-class population, increasing penetration of retail networks are contributing to the steady growth of various end-use industries, which in turn fueling the demand for paper & paperboard packaging in the region.

Europe is also anticipated to grow at a considerable CAGR in the coming years. European Union is aiming to ban single-use plastic by 2021. Furthermore, sustainability awareness among European consumers is substantially high as compared to other countries. These factors are principally augmenting the market growth in Europe.

The key players operating in the global Paper & paperboard packaging market are Amcor Ltd., Cascades Inc., ITC Ltd., DS Smith Plc., Clearwater Paper Corporation, Packaging Corporation of America, Mondi Group, Metsa Group, RockTenn Company, Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd, Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, Smurfit Kappa Group plc, Stora Enso Oyj, International Paper Company, and Sappi Limited, among others. Key players are increasingly manufacturing packaging products by the recycled pulp in order to enhance the sustainability of the packaging. In addition, top companies are expected to acquire small-sized companies to expand their portfolio and clientele.