FEATURED ARTICLE

Glass and organics make a good team

Glass, one of the oldest and simplest packaging materials, has experienced a slip in share of unit volume sales as alternative packaging has become more popular and technologically appropriate. Its decline can be attributed to its characteristically heavy composition, thus requiring significant raw materials and increasing transportation costs of the packaging itself, as well as the final product. In addition, glass is breakable, causing product waste and a safety hazard.

Despite these disadvantages, glass packaging retains some distinct benefits. It continues to carry a premium image, in part because of the higher costs and in part because of the way it allows customers to see the product inside clearly. Glass can be shaped, colored, embossed and textured to give a wide range of brand recognition options. Likewise, the weight of glass provides a sense of substance that many consumers associate with quality. It offers excellent barrier protection without any concern about potentially dangerous chemicals leaking into the product. Finally, the material is easily recyclable and is considered a necessary ingredient for making new glass packaging.

These benefits dovetail well with organic products, a small, but growing component of the packaged food and beverage market. Organic products are generally sold at higher price points than standard products and are positioned as premium, allowing manufacturers to recover the greater cost of glass packaging. Consumers who opt for organic products often care about the purity of their products and the sustainability of their consumption habits, making glass preferable because it is easily recyclable. With such closely aligned priorities and goals, glass packaging and organic products are quickly becoming a common match.

The strong performance for organic products should benefit glass packaging as well. In the developed world, organic products have experienced significant value sales growth over the past several years. Even through the recession, such products have performed well. According to Euromonitor International data, global CAGR for organic packaged food was 13% and 15% for organic beverages over 2003-2008. While Euromonitor International notes that the forecast for the next 5 years is expected to slow, they still expect to see a significant CAGR of 6% and 4%, respectively. Thus far, the demand has been generated mainly from developed nations, but developing countries are beginning to opt for organic products as well, signifying that there is a lot of room for organic products—and glass packaging—to grow.