Food Cans Market Trends

Market Driver - Rising Demand for Sustainable Packaging, as Metal Cans Are Highly Recyclable

The increasing awareness among consumers about the environmental impact of packaging is driving the demand for more sustainable options. Metal food cans are considered one of the most eco-friendly packaging formats available in the market today owing to their high recyclability and infinitesimal chances of leakage. Cans are made from steel or aluminum, both of which can be recycled endlessly without loss of quality. In fact, steel cans have one of the highest recycling rates across all packaging types with estimates showing that over 70% of all steel food cans consumed annually in developed markets like North America and Western Europe are eventually recycled.

The fully enclosed nature of metal cans also means there is essentially zero risk of products spilling or leaking out during transportation or storage as compared to other flexible formats. This leads to less wastage throughout the production and consumption cycle. Additionally, metal cans are highly durable and don't degrade over multiple recycling cycles like some plastic or paper-based alternatives. Manufacturers have also optimized can designs to reduce material usage without compromising on strength and protection of contents. All these properties make metal food cans one of the most sustainable choices for consumers who want packaging that creates minimum environmental footprint.

Growing awareness about issues like plastic pollution, climate change and sustainable consumption is compelling many big brands as well as smaller companies to switch to metal cans or give more prominence to canned ranges of products over other options. Eco-labels and certifications highlighting recyclability are also finding more traction among environmentally conscious buyers.

Market Driver - Increased Demand for Packaged and Ready-to-Eat Foods

With people's lifestyles becoming progressively busier, the demand for convenient packaged food options that save time has seen steady growth over the past decade. Metal food cans prove ideal for various ready-to-eat and on-the-go foods due to their sturdiness and hermetic sealing properties. The sealed container format keeps products fresh, sterile and safe from external contamination for extended periods without any special equipment or infrastructure. For consumers struggling with tighter schedules, cans present a reliable solution requiring minimum preparation or cooking efforts.

Working professionals, students and young urban populations have been opting more for canned soups, meals, fish or meat dishes and other perishable products that can be easily stored and consumed straight from the package. Cans have also gained traction for breakfast items like oats and for snack variants of nuts, fruits, vegetables and ready mixes. Foodservice providers and catering companies are leveraging canned formats for sandwiches, pasta salads and other packed lunch options targeted at time-starved demographics. Even traditional multi-cook meal categories are witnessing higher canned variants launched by major brands.

The rising dominance of nuclear families and one-person households farther encourages convenient portable packaging of foods. With amenities like microcooking gaining popularity for limited space living, cans complement these trends as ideal for compact storage and single-serve heating. As more people join the workforce and dual-income becomes commonplace, the dependence on easy packaged options preserving nutritional value will continue propelling the demand for metal food cans.

Market Challenge - High Raw Material Costs (steel, aluminum) Increase Product Pricing

One of the major challenges being faced by the food cans market is the high and volatile prices of raw materials used for can production such as steel and aluminum. Steel and aluminum prices have been on an upward trend over the past few years due to rising demand from various end-use industries and supply constraints. Steel is a primary raw material for making two-piece food cans while aluminum is used for making three-piece food cans. In 2021, steel prices increased by over 30% compared to the previous year due to supply chain bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic along with rising demand from the construction industry. Similarly, aluminum prices have also seen an upward trend over the past five years driven by demand-supply dynamics. The rising raw material costs have put pressure on food can producers to increase the selling prices of canned food products in order to maintain margins. However, higher product prices make canned foods less competitive against flexible packaging solutions for certain food categories. This raw material price inflation can limit the growth in demand for canned foods if producers transfer the higher costs completely to consumers. Managing input costs efficiently while optimizing production is critical for food can manufacturers to sustain profitability in the current volatile market environment.

Market Opportunity - Growing Food Processing Industry, Especially in Developing Countries, Driving the Demand for Canned Foods

The food processing industry has been growing rapidly across many developing regions of the world such as Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Countries like India, Indonesia, Brazil and Egypt have witnessed strong growth in the food processing sector over the past decade as consumption patterns shift towards more processed and packaged food categories. The expansion of the middle-income population segment coupled with rapid urbanization in these developing economies has boosted the demand for convenient packaged food options such as canned foods. Canned foods offer advantages of long shelf life and portability making them popular substitutes for fresh produce. This has encouraged many food manufacturers in developing countries to invest in new cannery production lines to cater to the evolving needs. The growth in food processing augurs well for the canned foods market as volume sales as well as new product innovations pick up pace in developing country markets. If this trend continues, cans will become an increasingly important packaging format for various food categories beyond just fruits, vegetables and seafood in the future.