From: Packaging World

Study points to the shift in consumer preferences toward healthy beverages, primarily water, and outsized gains in developing markets as the drivers for greater cap and closure growth.

Global demand for caps and closures in beverage applications is projected to increase 3.5% annually to 1.5 trillion units in 2021. Among the most significant factors affecting the beverage industry overall is the shift in consumer preferences toward beverages that are healthy and convenient, with bottled water the primary beneficiary in volume terms. According to analyst Mike Richardson, “Premium beverages are also seeing outsized gains in developed markets.” These and other trends are presented in “Global Caps & Closures Market, 9th Edition,” a new study from industry research firm The Freedonia Group.

Among the findings of the study:

● The bottled water market for closures will register the strongest gains among major beverage types, especially in developing areas such as India and Indonesia.

● Sports and energy drinks, RTD coffee and tea, and other niche beverages are expected to register the fastest gains in production worldwide and have a greater tendency to use premium or unique packaging as a marketing tool.

Subpar gains are expected for beer, wine, and carbonated soft drinks (CSDs). The Asia/Pacific region will not only remain the most important regional market for caps and closures in beverage applications, but will also see the fastest advances through the forecast period.

Plastic closures will experience rapid gains, reflecting the continued penetration of PET bottles—which mainly utilize plastic closures—in many beverage applications, particularly the sizable bottled water and CSD segments. However, demand in value terms will be constrained to some extent by the commodity nature of most types of beverage closures.