Latin America Protective Packaging Market

Latin America Protective Packaging Market Analysis

The Latin America Protective Packaging Market is expected to register a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period.

• Latin America is one of the growing regions, which is expected to witness a significant share of the e-commerce market during the forecast periods. According to mobile payments today, in 2019, 155.5 million people in the region are expected to buy goods and services online, which is a dramatic increase from 126.8 million in 2016.
• Also, according to fintech times, the region's e-commerce sales are predicted to rise to USD 79.7 billion in 2019 from USD 49.8 billion in 2016. The local growth of consumer preferences, rise in internet and smartphone usage, and the entrance of many MNC e-commerce players such as Amazon and Alibaba have disrupted the traditional market and leveraged e-commerce to access small and medium-sized clients. Such factors cater to the major demand for protective packaging in the region.
• Furthermore, Smurfit Kappa has used its eSmart service to enable the leading Latin American egg provider to enter the eCommerce channel successfully. The fragile nature of eggs was a key factor in this project. They took a data-driven approach and used their eSmart service tools to design a fit-for-purpose and attractive packaging solution. It is expected that the demand for molded pulp might increase significantly with such addition in online sales.
• Foam is used as protective packaging due to its unique shock absorbing abilities, and players such as Sonoco Protective Solutions and Nefab Group in Mexico provide various molded foam as a protective packaging material.
• During the COVID-19 crisis, the supply chains are under unprecedented pressure, but sealed air has enabled its protective packaging products to be transported quickly and safely to end-users such as food, medicine, and other critical products that need the items most with quality and safety. Moreover, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the market for protective packaging is witnessing significant growth owing to a rise in demand from e-commerce, pharmaceutical, and other end-user industries.

Latin America Protective Packaging Market Trends

Food and Beverage Industry to Drive the Market Growth

• Brand owners are increasingly looking to packaging converters to design secondary packaging solutions that will prevent shipping-related damage. Moreover, for beverages made of glass bottles (most fragile items), packaging airbags are used nowadays. If any of the multiple chambers loses air in airbags, the balance remains inflated to provide continued protection. Airpack provides this solution to various e-commerce companies.
• Demand for insulated shipping containers will be driven mostly by increased online sales of perishable foods and are widely used for shipping food such as candies, pies, cakes, seafood, steaks, and chocolate. The polystyrene foam containers majorly come in a corrugated cardboard box and offer maximum protection for perishable items.
• Thermal bubble mailers are another option for food in containers. These food bags are tough enough to take on long without risk of penetration. Insulated protective envelopes are an innovative design that protects against impact and sharp air temperature changes during transit.
• Players are majorly focused on a sustainable packaging solution for protection. Recently, in October 2020, Smurfit Kappa Group launched the BanaBag packaging solution made from cellulose. This product is largely used for banana cultivation, acting as a natural insulator against hostile temperatures. It is also used by banana producers to transport the fruit to markets.

Brazil Holds Significant Market Share

• In countries such as Brazil, players are focused on the recycle activities, as in packaging company SIG is encouraging Brazilians to recycle packaging by offering food products in exchange for their recyclable waste. This also includes the bubble wraps, which are majorly being used in the e-commerce platform in the country.
• Further, Paper and packaging company WestRock is building a new plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to meet the growing regional demand for corrugated packaging. It will invest more than USD 125 million to build the facility and will serve all industry segments and markets in Sao Paulo and other areas in southeastern Brazil. Such instances signify the greater adoption and demand for corrugated packaging for the protection of goods.
• Further, the recycling companies in the region are putting significant efforts to minimize the use of plastic packaging in the sector. For instance, TriCiclos has set a target of 11,000 metric tons of plastic collection by 2025 in Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Brazil region.
• Alos, Boomera has more than 200 points of plastic waste collection around Brazil, and their commitment is to double this number in 2019, 2020, 2021. Such an initiative might lower the adoption of the plastic protective packaging and increase the usage of paper packaging.

Latin America Protective Packaging Industry Overview

The Latin America protective packaging market is moderately fragmented and consists of various vendors providing these products and solutions. Players in the market focus on product innovations and strategic initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions and partnerships to capture the market share. Some of the recent developments in the market are:

• January 2020 - Sealed Air announced to launch a new version of BUBBLE WRAP brand packaging material that is made with at least 90% recycled content. It offers the same level of protection and air retention as the original invention yet enables a circular plastics economy, reduces carbon footprint by 30%, and serves as a resource-efficient packaging solution. Such innovation will cater to market growth in Latin American countries.
• December 2019 - Storopack unveiled new raw material for protective packaging made from 100% rEPS. The rEPS includes 100% recycled expanded polystyrene (EPS) or polystyrene (PS) collected from post-consumer goods. The company will launch the product in the first half of 2020.

Latin America Protective Packaging Market Leaders