From:Packaging News

The number of food packaging units sold globally rose 3% to 1.9 trillion in 2014, with 2 trillion packs forecast to be sold worldwide in 2016.

Market research company Euromonitor International said the stand-up pouch is clearly one of the fastest growing plastic packing used in the food industry.

As stand-up pouches continue to become part of many brands’ packaging portfolios, Euromonitor International said it is forecast to increase at a 6% average yearly growth between 2014-2019.

Notable pouch launches from 2014 include Kellogg’s cereals in France, Heinz ready meals in Germany and Green Giant’s sweetcorn.

“The stand-up pouch is one of the success stories from this year’s packaging research data,” said Rosemarie Downey, head of packaging research at Euromonitor. “The pouch  is gaining a stronger presence, being used as a microwaveable pack solution in ready meals, rice and pasta, a share pack in biscuits, confectionery and sweet and savoury snacks and a single-serve pack consumed directly from the pouch in ice cream, yoghurt and baby food. The stand-up pouch ticks all the boxes.”

China and India are set to contribute 58% of all food packaging growth in 2015. The Asia-Pacific region alone recorded 5% growth last year, translating into 320 billion additional packs.

“China and India are the indomitable powerhouses in the global food packaging industry,” added Downey. “Rising levels of urbanisation and disposable incomes combined with a continuing shift in buying habits from unpackaged to packaged, makes these important countries for development.”