Market Trends of United Kingdom (UK) Corrugated Board Packaging Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the UK Corrugated Board Packaging Market according to our research experts:
E-commerce Industry Expected to Stimulate Demand
- The e-commerce industry has emerged as a significant sector in recent years in the United Kingdom. Prominent e-commerce companies, such as Amazon, have been using corrugated board boxes for the principal packaging and relying on plastic packaging for individual items. According to GWP Group, e-commerce accounts for more than 20% of the total businesses in the United Kingdom, and 90% of e-commerce orders are shipped in corrugated boxes.
- According to the Office of National Statistics of the United Kingdom, the country's e-commerce revenue stands at GBP 129 billion (USD 177.47 billion) in 2021. On a sectoral basis, wholesale and manufacturing were the two leading industry sectors that generated the most e-commerce sales in the same year
- Another factor allowing corrugated boxes to overtake paperboard cartons is the introduction of e-commerce-ready packaging, which replaces lightweight and easy-to-open cartons with boxes that can withstand shipping rigors. Corrugated boxes used for e-commerce are more likely to be printed with high-quality graphics and customized to fit packaged contents to save on costs and increase the aesthetic impact during unboxing.
- Key vendors are introducing new products in response to the growing demand for corrugated board packaging solutions from the e-commerce industry. In September 2022, VPK Group launched its new European brand fit2size for Fanfold corrugated packaging solutions in response to its growth strategy to develop Fanfold corrugated packaging solutions across Europe. The company has launched a new product based on the latest Fanfold innovation to meet the increasing demand for e-commerce and logistics packaging and further strengthen its ambition to supply excellent sustainable packaging solutions.
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Fresh Food and Produce Industry Expected to Gain Significant Traction
- The food industry is rapidly moving toward eco-friendly packaging by adopting corrugated board packaging solutions. The increasing concern for hygiene in food packaging has mandated several standards for the packaging industry and stimulated the adoption of eco-friendly packaging solutions in the country.
- The EU Regulation 1935/2004 on food contact materials and Regulation 2023/2006 on good manufacturing practice (GMP) are the laws applicable to corrugated packaging used in food applications in the EU. Hence, this poses several challenges in acquiring hygienic and sustainable packaging solutions for the food industry. In November 2021, the European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO), which represents the corrugated packaging industry across Europe, including the United Kingdom, released its corrugated packaging recyclability guidelines aimed at optimizing recyclability via design parameters for paper and board packaging.
- Fruit packing necessitates extreme caution due to the product's fragile and perishable nature. Regarding rigid fruit transport packaging, corrugated fiberboard (CFB) is the most environmentally friendly solution. Corrugated boxes have recently gained a significant demand from fruit exporters owing to their improved adaptability for air, sea, and road transport.
- Several solution providers on the market are adopting recyclable packaging solutions. For instance, in January 2022, Oumph! One of the rapidly growing plant-based food producers from the UK announced plans to phase out plastic in its food product packaging by using recyclable cardboard packaging in all of its markets.
