Pick your favorite word to describe 2020: challenging, unprecedented, unimaginable, once-in-a-century — you name it — the packaging industry experienced it. Taking a deeper dive, let’s look at how certain segments of the packaging industry fared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Food & Beverage industry saw dramatic impacts from the pandemic. Meat packing was adversely affected by the pandemic in the short term, resulting in some consumer shortages. At the same time, fast-food outlets saw an increase in demand. Aluminum shortages from the closing of recycling operations and flavoring shortages affected soda companies. From the food services sector, when arenas and sporting venues closed, demand for food packaging declined. As large offices and manufacturing plants closed, company cafeterias likewise were shuttered.