From:Packaging News

The EU food & beverage glass container packaging industry has turned into a ‘very stable business’ compared to other packaging materials, according to a new report.

The Rabobank report ‘Flexible Glass Packaging? The Glass is (still) half full for the European Glass Container Industry’, found that other materials featured little growth and still relatively high margins.

It found however that the industry is facing a number of growing challenges specific to glass packaging, of which the most significant are the changing landscape in the beer sector and a growing risk from substitute materials

This competitive environment has been forcing—and continues to force—industry players to adapt in order to remain competitive in the long term. Although the EU industry has responded by profoundly concentrating itself in the past 10 to 15 years, Rabobank expects further consolidation to occur.

Innovation and an adapted product mix (for example, with more premium products) also represent viable options when dealing with the challenges at hand.

Susan Hansen, Rabobank global f&a supply chains strategist, said: “All in all, we believe that the outlook for the glass container industry will remain stable, yet challenging going forward. Focusing efforts on increasing flexibility and considering innovation as an ongoing process are key. Despite glass bottles/containers being a traditional or preferred packaging material for specific products like beer, spirits, wine or olive oil, there is no guarantee that this will not change in the future.”