The changing face of food packaging industry in Australia

The Changing Face of Food Packaging Industry in Australia
The packaging industry has become an important part of the modern lifestyle and the
implications have been growing each year. While packaging today has become an efficient
process, we have moved on from just being able to wrap items to attaining the goals of
protecting, preserving, containing and informing. The Australian packaging industry is valued
at $AUD 10.5 billion and more than 30,000 people are directly employed in the process.
The common packaging materials for Australia include metals, glass, paper (corrugated / plain)
and plastic (PVC / PET / HDPE / polystyrene / Polypropelene). Paper packaging itself
constitutes more than 36% of the packaging market while plastic packaging stands at 30% and
is also the fastest growing sector. Metal packaging using steel and aluminium has been losing
its market application in the past few years but still accounts for 20% of the business. Glass
packaging stands at 10% while the remainder is filled up by other kinds of materials.
For the Australian food packaging market, consolidation and concentration has been a major
factor in the industry. This is reasoned by the fact that the biggest clients of the packaging
service providers are big multinationals and companies with a significant export market.
Consolidation is however still functional in the plastic packaging sector that provides for
numerous smaller operators. Despite these facts, the competition in the industry remains
intense and manufacturers are continually researching to create new packaging materials.
Convenience packaging
End users of the food packaging industry are demanding a grater product range that is highly
segmented (by flavour, size, etc). For example, quick preparation food items require smaller
single serve packaging. On the other hand, smaller, ready to consume and pre-portioned food
products are also becoming increasingly popular and pallet wraps seem to be the perfect
solution. Food packaging that takes longer to be opened up in the dining table will further
require packaging that can support the journey from shelf to the fridge and if required to the
oven before being cut through. Convenience packaging serves the purpose of food preservation
without harming the quality of the food. Industrial packaging suppliers in this case offer a
range of products including salad kits, microwave products, modified atmospheric packages and
zippered pouches.

The marketability of food packaging
Packaging doesn’t just protect the food but also add to the marketability of the product. From
bubble wraps to Doculopes, packaging has been changing its course, depending upon the
lifestyle changes, competition and product differentiation. Food packets are adding to the sales
appeal – look and quality of the product. A highly versatile product presentation also brings in
the opportunity of expression and personally addressing the changing and complicated
demands of the end users. In the future, there will be a higher demand for advertising and
graphics and other promotional activity on the packaging products.
Other elements that are being addressed by food packaging include freshness, tamper
evidence, labelling, information (ingredients / certifications / approvals, etc), eco friendliness
(recycling of packaging materials) and ease of use.
The pressure and demand upon the Australian food packaging industry will not abate in the
foreseeable future. For companies engaged in the supply chain, adoption of technology and
efficiency is the key to success.