Europe Bioplastic Multi-Layer Films Market for Compostable Food Service Packaging – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2029

Europe Bioplastic Multi-Layer Films Market for Compostable Food Service Packaging Analysis and Insights

Inclination towards the consumption of convenience food and the rising popularity of flexible packaging solutions are expected to drive the demand for the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging. However, high costs associated with biodegradable films and the availability of substitute products may further restrict the market's growth.

Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging is expected to reach the value of USD 68,192.31 Thousand by 2029, at a CAGR of 7.6% during the forecast period. "Starch blends account for the largest material segment in the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging. The Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging report also covers pricing analysis, patent analysis, and technological advancements in depth.     

Market Definition

Bioplastics originate from a renewable resource, are biodegradable, or are both. Materials derived from renewable resources and biodegradable polymers are bioplastics, such as starch blends, polybutylene adipate terephthalate, polylactic acid, and PBS, among others. In multi-layer film technology, two or more materials with specific and complementary properties are combined, thus improving the overall performance of the bioplastic. The materials offer competitive performance in terms of flexible and rigid packaging while minimizing the negative impact of conventional petroleum-based plastics.

In food service packaging, compostable multi-layer films offer excellent protection to both fresh products and dry foods. The end-use packaging products from this material can be easily printed using traditional and digital printing technologies. The compostable multi-layer films allow food service providers to move away from conventional packaging and be at the forefront of the drive to create a circular economy.

Europe Bioplastic Multi-Layer Films Market for Compostable Food Service Packaging Dynamics

Drivers

• Inclination towards the consumption of convenience food

Convenience food items include pre-washed, cooked, mostly packaged, ready-to-eat foods. Western culture strongly influences consumers due to tight schedules. Moreover, fast-paced lifestyle changes have increased interest in health and wellness, and changing consumer needs have increased the demand for cooked meals. People want to reduce the number of times they visit grocery shops which influence them to buy frozen food products and different beverages in bulk and store them in flexible packaging to maintain the shelf life of the food and beverage products. Furthermore, convenience food requires the perfect temperature to protect the food from biological contamination and physical damage. As a result, this raises the demand for bioplastic multi-layer film packaging products.

• Rising popularity of flexible packaging solutions

The packaging industry is adopting smart and sustainable solutions to make product packaging more consumer-, brand-, and environmentally friendly, allowing the packaging industry to develop smart packaging involving the internet of packaging, active packaging, and nanotechnology. Flexible packaging products made of bio-plastic films are lightweight and convenient, allowing hassle-free movement, and are cost-effective. The materials used to manufacture flexible packaging enable packing products of any shape, design & color scheme, size, and volume. Compostable flexible packaging is comprised of cellulose or other plant-derived materials. These bio-based plastics, or bioplastics, are plant-based materials that replace traditional plastics derived from petroleum.

• Shifting consumer preference toward the hygienic food packaging products

Food packaging serves multiple purposes as it protects food from getting contaminated or spoilt, makes the package look attractive, and enables the transportation of goods. Packaging retains the freshness of the product and prevents it from exposure to chemical or biological contamination. Food packaging uses various materials such as bioplastic, films, and aluminum, which protect food from different types of exposure, including sunlight, gases, and moisture. A packaging material made of bio-plastic films protects food from pathogens and chemicals. Biological packaging materials include plastic and cushioning materials, which prevent food from dislodging and getting crushed during packing, transport, and shelving.

• Growing trend toward the elimination of the single-use plastic

The increasing amount of non-recyclable plastics has created a huge amount of landfill across the world. This kind of waste has been polluting the earth's natural resources to the extent where the aquatic ecosystems face its adverse impact, apart from the other palpable ill effects of the chemicals in it. Multi-layer bioplastic materials are widely used in packaging food products so that the products can be taken from one place to another. Multi-layer bioplastic materials are used for flexible packaging, including plastics and polymers from which different types of flexible packaging are made, such as bags, envelopes, pouches, cellulose, and aluminum foils. The increasing population in regions and the ban on single-use plastic products result in the increasing demand for the packaging of bioplastic materials.

Opportunities

• Growing demand from the e-commerce sector

Various factors such as internet penetration, the rise in smartphone users, social media influence, and government initiatives have boosted the e-commerce sector. The growing adoption of e-commerce platforms highlights the importance of online retail sales to the modern economy. Shipping boxes from major online retailers and other retailers symbolize e-commerce. They also represent one of the most important sources of demand growth for bioplastic multi-layer film packaging. There is also an increasing trend toward making bioplastic multi-layer film packaging attractive and enjoyable for enhancing the consumer experience on e-commerce platforms.

• Surge in innovative packaging solutions with new design

New innovative packaging solutions such as digitally printed packaging offer considerable potential savings over other printing processes and low setup costs. Manufacturers can dispense with bulk orders with large print runs and stock holding. The advanced packaging solution allows packagers more freedom in personalization and customizing options than mechanical processes like typesetting. Many top product brands have explored personalized packaging and found a significant return on this innovative marketing investment. Thus, adopting new and advanced printing technologies is on the rise to offer consumers personalized packaging solutions. This has helped the businesses to increase their brand value in the market and enhance customer engagement with the product packaging.

Restraints/Challenges

• High costs associated with biodegradable films

The cost of manufacturing bio-plastic film-based products depends on the amount of raw materials used for production since environmentally friendly raw materials are costlier than conventional materials. Also, factors such as size and product features of the packaging products influence the price of the products used in the food packaging sector. Due to the limited amount of good biodegradable packaging in the world, any biodegradable packaging product will be a bit more expensive than standard packaging products. Bio-plastic bags are more expensive than traditional plastic because raw materials are more expensive, less readily available, and manufacturing processes cost more with smaller batches.

• Availability of substitute products

Conventional plastics are the third most commonly-used petroleum derivative that can be used instead of bio-plastic materials and are known as fossil fuel plastics. Due to its relatively low cost, ease of manufacture, versatility, and imperviousness to water, it is used in many products. It has been a good replacement for wood, leather, and paper, among others. On the other hand, bioplastic products are materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, and recycled food waste, which are more expensive than conventional products. In addition, at low temperatures, the production of bioplastics can be affected by the usage of different hard chemicals, which disturbs the products' flexibility.

• Issues related to biodegradable films

Bioplastics have increased use to create packaging products that perform better than traditional plastics in many applications. Bioplastics often end up in landfills, and due to the absence of oxygen, they release methane, which is a greenhouse gas. Whenever bioplastics are not discarded properly, they contaminate recycled plastic batches and harm the recycling framework. Different biopolymers used for packaging products have disadvantages such as high-water vapor permeability, oxygen permeability, fragility, low thermal resistance, low mechanical properties, vulnerability to degradation, and low processability. These, in turn, decrease the demand for bioplastic film-based packaging products. Furthermore, bioplastic films have low barrier properties to air, water, and oxygen and low resistance to heat compared to conventional plastic films.

• Uncertainties in production processes and end-of-life options for bioplastics

Manufacturing units of bioplastic film packaging products are characterized by short product lifecycles with greater product variations and quick response times to customer demands. To meet the customer requirements, manufacturers need greater flexibility in their production processes which leads to higher levels of complexity and uncertainty. This requires effective planning and scheduling of various production activities, and hence a rigid plan is no longer valid to meet all the constraints and changes in the manufacturing process. Moreover, the lack of technological development and reduced capital investment for manufacturing bio-plastic film packaging products are further decreasing the demand for these products in developing countries.

COVID-19 Impact on Europe Bioplastic Multi-Layer Films Market for Compostable Food Service Packaging

COVID-19 impacted various manufacturing industries in the year 2020-2021 as it led to the closure of workplaces, disruption of supply chains, and restrictions on transportation. Due to the lockdown, the bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging has experienced a significant impact on the import and export of bioplastic multi-layer film products in the past few years.

However, the growth of the bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging post-pandemic period is attributed to the opening up of food joints and increasing spending by consumers. Food service providers are making various strategic decisions to bounce back post-COVID-19. The players are conducting multiple research and development activities to improve their services through hygienic food packaging products.

Recent Developments

• In June 2022, BASF SE and Confoil (an Australian food packaging manufacturer) collaborated to develop a certified compostable and dual oven-able paper tray for preparing ready-to-eat meals. The trays extend the end-of-life options for paper-based packaging by being organically recyclable. They can be commercially composted with the organic waste collected in organic waste bins. This will help the company to get recognition in the Australian market
• In November 2021, Transcontinental Inc. acquired H.S. Crocker Co., Inc., a leading die-cut lids manufacturer for the food industry and labels for the pharmaceutical industry in North America. This acquisition will strengthen the packaging solutions portfolio, especially in the dairy, coffee lids as well as shelf stable and chilled desserts markets, and provide significant cross-selling opportunities

Europe Bioplastic Multi-Layer Films Market for Compostable Food Service Packaging Scope

The Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging is segmented on the basis of material, end-use packaging, and end-user. The growth amongst these segments will help you analyze major growth segments in the industries and provide the users with a valuable market overview and market insights to help them make strategic decisions for identifying core market applications.

Material

• Starch Blends
• Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate
• Polylactic Acid
• PBS
• Others

On the basis of material, the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging is segmented into starch blends, polybutylene adipate terephthalate, polylactic acid, PBS, and others.

End-Use Packaging

• Pouches & Sachets
• Clamshell
• Cups
• Trays
• Others

On the basis of end-use packaging, the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging is segmented into pouches & sachets, clamshell, cups, trays, and others.

End-User

• Chain Restaurants
• Non-Chain Restaurants
• Chain Café
• Non-Chain Café
• Delivery Catering
• Independent Sellers & Kiosks
• Others

On the basis of end-user, the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging market is segmented into chain restaurants, non-chain restaurants, chain café, non-chain café, delivery catering, independent sellers & kiosks, and others.

Europe Bioplastic Multi-Layer Films Market for Compostable Food Service Packaging

Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging is analyzed, and market size insights and trends are provided by country, material, end-use packaging, and end-user, as referenced above.

Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging covers countries such as Germany, U.K., Italy, France, Spain, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, Belgium, Netherlands, Rest of Europe.

Germany is expected to dominate the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging due to the increasing focus of the consumers on hygienic food packaging products. Many European corporations have shifted their focus to niche markets with high quality and added value in the products.

The country section of the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging report also provides individual market impacting factors and domestic regulation changes that impact the market's current and future trends. Data points such as new sales, replacement sales, country demographics, disease epidemiology, and import-export tariffs are some of the significant pointers used to forecast the market scenario for individual countries. Also, the presence and availability of Europe brands and their challenges faced due to large or scarce competition from local and domestic brands and the impact of sales channels are considered while providing forecast analysis of the country data.

Competitive Landscape and Europe Bioplastic Multi-Layer Films Market for Compostable Food Service Packaging Share Analysis

Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging competitive landscape provides details of the competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, solution launch, product width and breadth, application dominance. The above data points are only related to the companies' focus on the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging.

Some of the major players operating in the Europe bioplastic multi-layer films market for compostable food service packaging are BASF SE, TIPA LTD, Biome Bioplastics (A subsidiary of Biome Technologies plc), BioBag International AS., Transcontinental Inc., and Parkside Flexibles Ltd, among others.

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