Biodegradable Plastic Packaging Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Ingredient, By Source, By Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 To 2027

The global biodegradable plastic packaging market is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Rising environmental concerns about plastic usage that comprise toxic pollutants that are harming people, animals, and plants are driving the use of biodegradable plastic substitutes. Furthermore, stringent regulatory standards coupled with growing environmental concerns have driven plastic producers to improve biodegradable plastic.

In addition to this, the growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions across various application industries including pharmaceuticals and food and beverage is surging the demand for the industry, thus strengthening the growth of the global biodegradable plastic packaging market.

Biodegradable packaging offers naturally degradable protection when used majorly for the packaging and presentation of the products from the time the manufacturing procedure begins until the product is administered or consumed. Moreover, biodegradable packaging considerably varies from traditional non-biodegradable packaging. It degrades simply and rapidly and as a result, biodegradable packaging generally does not require the support of an external catalyst for degradation.

Most of the key packaging players are now changing their focus towards biodegradable packaging to attain more customer satisfaction. Additionally, to distinguish their products from that of the competitor many producers are now altering towards biodegradable packaging. The industry is anticipated to exhibit the fastest growth than that associated with the plastics packaging market. The biodegradable plastic packaging market is a comparatively novel market however; it is projected to capture the existing market share of the non-biodegradable plastic packaging market.

Technological innovation, increased integration, and advanced manufacturing processes have resulted in the fastest growth in the industry. This in turn has boosted the growth of the biodegradable plastic packaging market globally. This progress is likely to be the highest in the established economies of North America and Europe, particularly owing to rising consumer awareness and hence volumes produced and consumed. Favorable demographics and a huge population in these regions are key drivers behind this growth.

Even though biodegradable plastic packaging is gaining popularity all over the world. However, the road of biodegradable plastics is not free from hindrances. The main restraint of the biodegradable plastic packaging market is the high cost to the end-user compared to conventional plastics. Biodegradable plastics are around 20% to 100% more expensive than conventional plastics. Moreover, currently, low prices make biodegradable plastics difficult to achieve competitive pricing when compared to conventional plastics.

Consumers in the market are demanding cost-effectiveness, convenience, and better features in the products. Biodegradable plastic packaging is in great demand worldwide. Besides, growing requirements for convenience among consumers, new packaging material development, increasing awareness of environmental issues, and the adoption of new regulatory requirements are going to be the key growth drivers for the future of the business.

On the basis of type, the market is segmented into starch-based, PLA, PBS, PBAT, PHA, and others Starch-based emerged as the biggest and fastest-growing type over the forecast period. The increasing use of biodegradable plastics in food packaging is the major driver for this segment.

Furthermore, the PHA segment second-fastest-growing segment owing to its primary usage for medical applications like drug encapsulations and medical implants. Other medical uses include meshes, tissue, surgical films, and surgical sutures. Other than medical, PHA is also used in the production of compost bags, agriculture, packaging, consumer goods, and products for the marine environment.

Based on the application, the biodegradable plastic packaging market is segmented into food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal/homecare, and others. Increasing packaged food products coupled with changing lifestyle pattern demand is expected to drive the food & beverage industry. This in turn is anticipated to increase biodegradable paper and plastics packaging demand in the Asia Pacific region in the near future.

The industry is anticipated to show a double-digit growth rate by 2019. This market is stimulated by the huge populations of China, India, North America, and Europe, that undergoing proactive switching from traditional non-degradable packaging to biodegradable packaging materials, rising contract manufacturing activities, and augmented government interest in supporting the use of these products by offering certain incentives for the use of the same in certain regions.

The biodegradable plastic packaging market is fragmented as the global players are moving towards developing new technologies to manufacture plastic packaging material from various easily available natural resources. Huge investments in research and development by the players in order to develop an innovative product is giving a high competition in the market. Key players are Tetra Pak International, Plastic Suppliers, Kruger, etc.