82% of Consumers Are Willing to Pay for This Type of Packaging
The impact of packaging waste on the environment has become a topic of global concern. The importance of sustainable packaging is becoming increasingly prominent. As consumers' demand for sustainable packaging solutions continues to grow, the food and beverage industry has rapidly adopted sustainable packaging.
A recent report from "Fortune Business Insights" estimates that the global sustainable packaging market size reached 310 billion US dollars in 2022, is expected to reach 330 billion US dollars in 2023, and will reach 518 billion US dollars by 2030.
This growth reflects the increasing attention of consumers towards sustainable packaging solutions. The development of the sustainable packaging market is driven by changes in consumer preferences and the evolution of regulatory frameworks.
Consumers' preference for sustainable packaging
Studies show that consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging. 82% of consumers worldwide are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly packaging. A study by the aluminum packaging company Trivium indicates that the majority are willing to do so. In Trivium's "2023 Report on Purchasing Green Products", 82% of respondents stated that they are willing to pay more for products with sustainable packaging. This proportion has increased by 4% compared to 2022 and by 8% compared to 2021. 90% of Gen Z consumers are inclined to do this.
Furthermore, in a survey of 9,000 people in North America, South America and Europe, 63% of them indicated that they were unlikely to purchase products with environmentally harmful packaging.
Government regulation and the impetus from enterprises
Some government regulations have also begun to encourage consumers to reduce their use of plastic.
For instance, the European Union has introduced a "plastic tax", which is actually not a traditional form of taxation but rather a sum that member states pay based on the amount of non-recyclable plastic packaging waste they generate each year. Australia announced the "National Plastic Plan" in 2021, aiming to ban the use of disposable plastics by 2025. The US Environmental Protection Agency is working on formulating the "National Plastic Pollution Strategy", with the aim of reducing the use of plastic materials and increasing their recycling rate, in order to promote positive development in the economy, society and environment.
Businesses are also being motivated by consumers to adopt more sustainable packaging strategies. This includes sharing best practices for waste disposal and recycling with consumers, removing unnecessary packaging components to reduce waste, avoiding excessive packaging, and actively seeking sustainable alternatives to plastic.
Large food and beverage enterprises have all set a goal of achieving 100% recyclability of packaging materials by 2025. Currently, the recyclability rate of packaging materials for brands such as Mondelez, Coca-Cola, Mars, and PepsiCo is around 90%.
Driven by this trend, it is expected that the application of materials such as paper packaging, metals, and glass in food and beverage packaging will increase, gradually replacing traditional plastic materials. In the future, we will continue to see companies in the entire industry shift to using compostable and sustainable packaging alternatives.