North America Food Packaging Equipment Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Equipment Type (Filling, Bottling, Case Cartooning, Labeling, and Palletizing), By Application (Bakery & Confectionery Products, Meat & Poultry Products, Dairy Products, Beverages, and Others (Grain, Fruit, and Nut & Vegetable)), and Country Forecast, 2022-2029

The North America food packaging equipment market size was valued at USD 4.18 billion in 2021. The market is projected to grow from USD 4.32 billion in 2022 to USD 5.54 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 3.6% during the forecast period. The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with food packaging equipment experiencing lower-than-anticipated demand across all countries compared to pre-pandemic levels. Based on our analysis, the market exhibited a decline of 1.6% in 2020 as compared to 2019.

Within the food industry, packaging equipment is predominantly used for palletizing, labeling, sealing, and combination operations. The machinery finds applications in diverse industrial markets, including bakery, poultry, dairy, beverage, and meat processing. Rising automation and technological advancements coupled with rising demand for packaged food has fueled the North America food packaging equipment market growth.

COVID-19 IMPACT

COVID-19 Pandemic has Shaped Long-term Opportunities Due to Change in Consumer Behavior

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the global economy including the food packaging equipment industry. COVID-19 has changed consumers’ opinions on plastic packaging, further enhancing the complexities of food waste and package waste management.

Rising cases have pointed out concerns among users regarding food processing, packaging, and delivery methods, while many companies have shut down their operations during the pandemic due to heavy losses. After the outbreak of COVID-19, majority of the key food & beverage players observed a considerable fall in their income and witnessed a decline in their profits. The startling closure of the production facility especially (the meat & cold drink) segment has affected the daily production rate of the food & beverage sector, ready-to-eat food products, and hot drinks have held profit margins for them.

Furthermore, COVID-19 also affected the eating habits of users during the lockdown, and there has been a rise in consumption of ready-to-eat packaged food, snacks, and beverages. This short-term change in habits helped many F&B industries to build a remarkable profit margin. Hence, many manufacturers planned to expand their production capacity during a pandemic to fulfill customer demands. Recent changes in buying behavior of customers have affected online retail and supermarkets, people adopting work-from-home culture has given rise to savings amongst users, while the continued rise in buying groceries for themselves due to restrictions of COVID-19 and health concerns. For instance, according to the Deloitte insights report on the U.S. consumer spending after COVID-19, spending on food and beverages grew by 6.9%, from the previous year’s 1.7% rise. Thus, the rising demand for food & beverage products during and after the pandemic is expected to drive the food packaging equipment market over the forecast period.

LATEST TRENDS

Change in Lifestyle and Demand from Consumers to Propel the Market Growth

Earlier, the usage of synthetic polymer-based readily available single-use plastic in the market has grown rapidly but post-pandemic green plastics have emerged as a good substitute for the consumers to switch to eco-friendly packaging. In addition, this eco-friendly packaging made of plant cellulose is having decent demand due to its smart packaging consisting of QR codes, smart labels, and appealing graphics that can be easily scanned with smartphones to get product details.

Additionally, food processing industries are now adopting this trend very positively and are ready to invest. It is believed that this proactive approach is a worthy appeal to build trust among consumers in the market. For instance, Mondi multinational paper and packaging firm has announced to invest USD 66.2 million to fulfill the growing demand for sustainable pet food packaging solutions.

Over time, consumer eating habits have also changed and made them more concerned, and inclination for a healthy and nutritional diet has grown rapidly. Healthy and nutritional food is becoming the new trend for consumers and demand for such food is also growing with time. As a result, food and beverage manufacturers are investing more in the ready-to-eat and healthy food supplement market with smart packaging solutions, which can fulfill consumer’s rapidly changing demands and attune lifestyle.

DRIVING FACTORS

Capacity Expansions and Improvement in Supply Chains to Drive the Market Growth

Food systems have seen major growth since 1960, which has resulted in reduction of undernourishment as well as increase in agricultural production through improved productivity and yield growth. Additionally, the packaged food manufacturing players are growing their production capacities & warehouses with automation to keep the smooth flow of the supply chain running and acquire larger customer sales. Lack of supply has already impeded the growth of the market during and after post pandemic, which has declined the sales of many food package manufacturers. Therefore, the increasing number of manufacturing plants by major players is enhancing the market growth.

Owing to the above factors, it is anticipated that the pandemic has brought a substantial impact on consumer spending, rise in automation, and production facilities, which is driving the sales of healthy food products such as baked chips, health bars, nutrition cereals, and many more. This will uplift the food & beverage market sales and also aid the food packaging equipment sector to grow further.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

Disturbed Supply Chain and Consumer Sustainability Concerns to Hamper the Market Growth

Supply chain rigidity and bottlenecks in logistics owing to the pandemic significantly impacted the North America food packaging equipment market share. Further, the market is most likely to suffer from finding alternatives to plastics for a few more years due to rising consumer’s consideration toward the environment and sustainable products, which have made manufacturers upgrade their products and look for subsidiary options such as (PVA-based plastic) for non-dis-solving plastic. For instance, according to Kearney, in the 2020 Earth day survey, nearly 48% of consumers said that the outbreak had made them more sympathetic to the environment. While 55% had declared that the experience of COVID-19 had made them more inclined toward eco-friendly products.

SEGMENTATION

By Equipment Type Analysis

Filling Equipment to Hold Highest Market Share Due to Increase in Adoption

Based on equipment type, the market is divided into filling, bottling, case cartooning, labeling, and palletizing. According to Fortune Business Insights analysis, filling equipment will hold the majority of the market share owing to rising need to pack food products in desirable proportion for maintaining standard and quality.

Followed by filling equipment, food labeling equipment is set to hold second highest market share and witness considerable growth in the forecast period due to increasing need to provide nutritional information labels and detailed information about the food being packed Food case cartooning equipment are used to manufacture cartons such as folded cartons, closed cartons or sealed cartons.

Further, bottling packaging will also hold a considerable market share and grow at a decent rate over the forecast period due to rising demand for packaged drinking water as well as other beverages.

Palletizing equipment will also constitute a substantial share of the market due to their ability to stack food products automatically onto pallets. Rising automation in North America has further fueled the adoption of these equipment.

By Application Analysis

Bakery & Confectionery to Dominate the Market Owing to High Demand within the Industry

On the basis of application, the market is segmented into bakery & confectionery products, meat & poultry products, dairy products, beverages, and others (grain, fruit, and nut & vegetable).

Among these, the bakery & confectionery products segment dominates the market as for these food products, packaging is crucial to preserve them from moisture, maintain quality, and improve hygiene.

Further, the dairy products segment also holds a prominent share in the North American market due to increasing consumption of packaged milk and other dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, and butter.

There has been an increasing demand for food packaging equipment in the beverage industry to carry out operations such as bottling, labeling, and palletizing.

The meat & poultry industry in the region also contributes to market growth due to large presence of meat eaters in the region, especially in the U.S. and Canada. Moreover, other industries such as fruits, grains, and vegetables will also showcase decent growth in the forecast period as there is a new trend of packaging vegetables and fruits in developed and developing countries.

COUNTRY INSIGHTS

The report's scope comprises two major North American countries, the U.S. and Canada.

The U.S. food packaging equipment market size was USD 2.96 billion in 2021. The country dominates the market owing to the presence of Pactiv Evergreen in the country. Moreover, there is increasing consumption of ready-to-eat, fast, and convenience foods in the country. This has increased the demand for packaged food thus, helping the food packaging equipment industry to expand. Technological advancements and rise in automation have also accelerated the market growth.

As per the report, the market in Canada will also showcase decent growth rate over the forecast period owing to increasing urbanization, increasing demand for packaged foods, stringent government regulations regarding food packaging, and transition of food & beverage companies toward convenient food packaging.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Key Players are Focusing on R&D to Develop Better Packaging Solutions

Pactiv Evergreen Inc., Tetra Pak, Krones AG, GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft, and others are considered among the prominent and high performers players in the market. They have been covering majority of the market share owing to their solid presence in the North American market with their diverse product portfolio and strong interconnected supply chains in the region. In addition, these companies are focusing and investing heavily on R&D activities in order to develop innovative, convenient, and advanced food packaging solutions, which will have features such as portability, easy opening and handling, resealability, and micro perforation.

LIST OF KEY COMPANIES PROFILED:

• Pactiv Evergreen Inc. (U.S.)


• Tetra Pak (Switzerland)


• Krones AG (Germany)


• GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft (Germany)


• Amcor plc (Switzerland)


• MULTIVAC (Germany)


• American Packaging Corporation (U.S.)


• I.M.A. INDUSTRIA MACCHINE AUTOMATICHE S.P.A. (Italy)


• nVenia LLC (U.S.)


• Syntegon Technology GmbH (Germany)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• September 2022: Amcor increased its strategic investment in ePac Flexible Packaging by up to USD 45 million, which will increase Amcor’s minority shareholding in ePac Holdings LLC.


• October 2021: Pactiv Evergreen acquired Fabri-Kal, a foodservice and consumer brand packaging solution manufacturer to strengthen its position in the foodservice and consumer packaged goods businesses, and thus enhance their position in the market.


• September 2021: IMA Group signed an agreement to acquire majority stake in CDE-Packaging GmbH with an objective to mainly expand the know-how in the FFS area within the group.


• February 2021: Krones synergized all its operations related to its brewery business under Steinecker GmbH to position itself as one-stop supplier for the brewing and beverage industry.


• November 2020: Tetra Pak acquired eBeam device development and manufacturing operations from Comet AG, a Switzerland-based technological firm accelerate its progress toward more sustainable packaging lines.

REPORT COVERAGE

The North America food packaging equipment market research report provides a detailed analysis of the equipment type, application, and country. It provides information about the leading companies and their business overview, and leading applications of the product. Besides, it offers insights into the competitive landscape, SWOT analysis, and current market trends and highlights key drivers and restraints. In addition to the aforementioned factors, the report encompasses several factors that have contributed to the market's growth in recent years.

Report Scope & Segmentation