Candy
and confectionery products depend on eye appeal to an unusual degree, due to
their status as impulse items and as products often marketed to children. At
the same time, candy is subject to supply price pressure for sugar, cocoa and
other ingredients, as well as flexible film. Converting techniques that
maintain graphic appeal while cutting costs, such as alternatives to
reverse-print lamination, will continue to grow in importance.
Ready-to-eat
(RTE) cereal in the U.S. is a $7.7 billion business. The top three players
share nearly 75% of the market, but private label continues to gain. And the
reason isn’t just lower price. Packaging now provides a point of
differentiation and, possibly, preference.
More
than 60% of American households have pets, and the owners buy more than $14
billion worth of pet food a year. Pet food packaging has made great strides in
convenience, with easy-open features, single-serve formats and portable,
eat-anywhere containers.
Once again, Coca-Cola Co. has made its way to the top as Food &
Beverage Packaging’s No. 1 beverage packager in the world. You probably
expected that. However, to be a worldwide player requires constantly
being in the game. Coca-Cola is the world’s largest carbonated soft
drink manufacturer, responsible for 1.5 billion beverage servings
consumed worldwide daily. It’s no easy feat to stay on top: The
non-alcoholic beverage industry is highly competitive.
Though the company is known more for its food products, Nestlé is a
major player in the beverage market. As the No. 1 bottled water company
in the world, Nestlé owns 15 brands of water, including Nestlé Pure
Life, Poland Spring, Arrowhead, Deer Park, Ice Mountain, Ozarka and
Zephyrhills, as well as imports brands such as Perrier and S.
Pellegrino.
InBev is a company where good things come in threes. The company has
spent the last couple years climbing up our list of beverage packagers
to hit the No. 3 spot. Its three long-term objectives-which focus on
execution in the marketplace, brand-building and consumer
insight-generated innovation-are intended to strengthen its standing.
Up-and-comers will need a lot of spunk to compete in the Energy Drinks market. This includes brand marketing powerhouses Coca-Cola (Full Throttle and Burn) and PepsiCo (Amp Energy, SoBe Adrenaline Rush and No Fear), as well as underdogs Rockstar and BooKoo Beverages. Category leader Red Bull is going to ride the bull until someone dares to knock them off.