In 2015, a study by Freedonia Group (freedoniagroup.com) projected that demand for tube and stick packaging in the U.S. would advance 4 percent per year to $2.1 billion in 2018, with stick packs making up the lion’s share of that growth relative to tubes. The study foresaw opportunities boosted by the further development of new applications and continued favorable prospects in several existing stick pack user niches, including pharmaceuticals. Customization and cost, the study presciently proclaimed, would also be driving growth factors, as product differentiation, portability and material savings compared favorably to conventional single-portion packaging types.
Moreover, a study released last fall by Technavio (technavaio.com) increased stick packaging’s projected year-on-year market growth to 6 percent, and cited North America as responsible for more than 40 percent of global market share. In this study, markers cited included the attractiveness of stick packaging’s high-barrier product protection as well as the format’s conduciveness to utilizing eco-friendly resins in these sustainability-conscious times.