ACCIÓ, the Catalan agency for business competitiveness, has just published its sectoral report on packaging with data updated to February 2026. The document provides an x-ray of the world market and the forces that are reshaping the sector on a global scale.

Here are the most relevant elements for amec members.

A large, stable and steadily growing market

Packaging is one of the world’s most resilient industrial sectors. With a global market reaching $1.28 trillion in 2025, it has grown at an annual rate of 4.4% over the past decade and is expected to maintain growth of 3.16% per year until 2035, when it will approach $1.75 trillion.

It is not a cyclical sector in the strict sense: its demand is linked to the consumption of basic necessities, which gives it a structural stability that few other industrial sectors can match.

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The geographic distribution of consumption

Asia leads in total volume and continues to gain weight (+2 points since 2015), driven by the growth of its middle class and the expansion of modern trade. North America leads in per capita consumption, with twice as much as Europe. Africa, with the lowest consumption in the world, is emerging as the region with the greatest structural growth potential in the coming decades.

Europe, on the other hand, loses relative share (-2.4 points since 2015), although it remains the most regulatory demanding market and one of the most attractive for investment.

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The client sectors that drive growth

Food continues to be the sector’s driving force, accounting for almost half of global consumption. But the fastest growing segments are others:

• Health: 5-7% annual growth, driven by the aging population and the expansion of biotechnology. This is the most dynamic segment of the sector.
• Pet food: 5-6%, with humanization and premiumization of products as key levers.
• Foodservice: 4-5%, linked to practical and mobile consumption.
• Beverages: 3-4%, with innovation in premium formats and refill systems.
• Beauty and wellness: 3-4%, with an increasing trend towards glass and refillable containers.

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For packaging machinery manufacturers, these data have a direct reading: the fastest growing segments are precisely those that require more sophisticated packaging solutions, with higher technical requirements in terms of barriers, hygiene, precision and traceability.

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Materials: plastic resists, but the system changes

The report offers a nuanced reading on the evolution of materials, away from simplistic headlines about the end of plastic. Plastic remains the dominant material for objective reasons: competitive price thanks to the abundance of virgin polymers, unsurpassed technical versatility in many critical food and beverage applications, and (counterintuitively) a carbon footprint that is often lower than alternatives such as paper, glass or metal.

However, actual substitutions are observed in specific categories:

• Packaged bread: from plastic to paper bags (-9 percentage points)
• Frozen prepared meals: from plastic to paper trays (-2 pp)
• Canned fish: from metal cans to pouches and mixed packaging (-5 pp)
• Powdered infant formula: from rigid paper to flexible pouches (-5 pp)
• Soft drinks: from metal cans to plastic bottles (-3 pp)

Cartonboard and flexible packaging are the biggest beneficiaries of these transitions and will see the greatest growth in value up to 2030.

Europe, a magnet for global packaging investment

Between 2020 and 2025, the European Union attracted 132 foreign direct investment projects in the packaging sector, with a total investment of 2,309 M€ and the creation of more than 6,200 jobs. The data reveal who is betting on Europe and where:

Main investor countries (by capital):

• U.S.A. – 702 M€.
• Switzerland – 267 M
• Germany – €160 M
• Canada – 158 M
• Japan – €138 million

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Main destinations (by capital city):

• Germany – €602 million
• Spain – 449 M
• France – 311 M
• Poland – 259 M
• Austria – €144 million

The U.S. invests more than twice as much in Europe as the second-ranked country, reflecting the attractiveness of the European market for large global players in the sector.

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The eight trends that are reshaping the industry

The report identifies eight forces that are transforming the packaging business on a global scale. We take a critical look at them:

• High concentration in the sector. Big mergers are creating unprecedented giants: Smurfit Kappa + WestRock, International Paper + DS Smith, Amcor + Berry. These groups have scale to compete on price, volume and R&D capacity simultaneously. For mid-sized companies, this reinforces the need to differentiate by specialization or service, not volume.
• Market polarization. The gap between large global players and local companies is widening, but each customer segment has different purchasing criteria. Multinationals prioritize innovation, guaranteed supply and total cost. Leading national brands value design capability and flexibility. SMEs and regional retailers are looking for agility, customization and local service. This polarization is, paradoxically, an opportunity for those who know how to position themselves clearly.
• Sustainability as a commodity. Sustainability has ceased to be a differentiating element and has become a market entry requirement, especially in Europe. What is relevant in the report is the data on the end consumer: in none of the markets analyzed (not even in the most advanced European markets) does sustainability appear among the top three purchasing criteria. Consumers continue to prioritize food safety, product shelf life and ease of use. It is regulations, not consumer demand, that are forcing change.
• Competition in access to recycled materials. The demand for quality recycled materials already exceeds the available supply, which generates pressure on prices and is leading large groups to vertically integrate into recycling. Companies such as Alpla, Amcor and Coca-Cola are investing directly in recycling capacity to secure their supply. Post-consumer plastic recycling is growing at an annual rate of 9%.
• Increased complexity in demand. Constant innovation in formats, the proliferation of SKUs, shorter runs and different channel requirements (retail, e-commerce, foodservice, pharmaceutical) are putting pressure on production planning and demanding greater flexibility. For machinery manufacturers, this translates into a growing demand for modular solutions, with quick format changeovers and the ability to adapt to short runs.
• AI and digital tools. Artificial intelligence has concrete and already operational applications throughout the process: from packaging design and recipe optimization to predictive maintenance, machine vision defect detection, supply chain management and business development. For machine builders, digitization also opens up a path to recurring revenue models based on digital services.
• Growing competition from low-cost countries. China now accounts for 35% of global packaging machinery production (up from 20% in 2019) and has become the sector’s third largest export powerhouse with more than $6 billion in international sales in 2024, driven by government programs to support advanced manufacturing. Germany holds 25% of global production and Italy 15%. Chinese competition is no longer limited to the low-cost segment: it is escalating towards increasingly advanced technology.
• New business models. Incipiently, servitization models are emerging in both packaging manufacturers (returnable packaging management, deposit systems) and machinery (pay-per-use, remote monitoring, digital upgrades). The European PPWR Regulation, with its requirements on reusable packaging and return systems, can significantly accelerate this process.