The global thermoform packaging market size is expected to reach USD 55.13 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 4.7% over the forecast period. according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Factors including increasing demand for electronics, pharmaceuticals, and personal care & cosmetics products, on account of growing penetration of retail sector and rising disposable income, have been driving the demand for thermoform packaging over the past few years.

Increasing incorporation of novel packaging technologies such as modified atmosphere packaging by food manufacturers, to extend the shelf life of packaged food products, is anticipated to fuel the demand for thermoform packaging over the coming years. Moreover, the lower weight of the thermoform packaging has also been the key factor for their wide-scale adoption by the food & beverage and pharmaceutical industries.

Thermoform plastic molding process offers multiple advantages, including lower tooling and prototype development cost and extensive design options over the other processes such as rotational and injection molding. Besides, the thermoforming reduces the wastage of material, and thermoform packages are also easier to customize; due to this, food & beverage manufacturers primarily prefer to thermoform packaging.

An increasingly aging population, especially in the European countries, has been fueling the pharmaceutical industry from the past few years. This trend has resulted in increased demand for pharmaceutical blisters, hence driving the market growth in the region. Moreover, growth of the global pharmaceutical industry, on account of the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and lifestyle-driven health disorders, is expected to propel the demand further for thermoform packaging in the pharmaceutical end-user industry over the coming few years.

Further key findings from the report suggest:

  • Among material categories, PET dominated the market with a revenue share of nearly 45% in 2018, attributable to the increasing demand for thermoformed PET packaging solutions in the food & beverage sector worldwide
  • The containers product segment is expected to dominate the overall market, projected to grow at a CAGR of over 4%, during the forecast period
  • The pharmaceuticals sector accounted for a share of 20.7% in terms of revenue in 2018, owing to large incorporation of thermoform blisters by the pharmaceutical companies for unit dose packaging
  • The food & beverage application segment is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2019 to 2025 owing to wide scale adoption of thermoform packages by prepared and packaged food manufacturers
  • Asia-Pacific market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2019 to 2025 on account of rapid penetration of retail and coupled with increased spending on processed food and consumer products
  • Market participants across the globe compete principally based on product differentiation and services offered. Pactiv LLC emerged as the market leader in the thermoform packaging market in 2018 on account of its wide scale offerings, especially, for food & beverage industry.