Today, the halls of ExCeL London opened to London Packaging Week, which comprises four converging events: Packaging Première, PCD (Perfume & Cosmetics), PLD (Luxury Drinks), and Food & Consumer Pack. The event brought together over 190 exhibitors, more than 70 industry speakers, and an expected 5,000-plus packaging professionals
This year’s edition marks 15 years since the first London Packaging Week made its debut. Since that time, the packaging sector has evolved into a trillion-dollar global market shaped by four trends: sustainability, the rise of e-commerce, shifting consumer habits, and tightening regulation. That’s according to a new report by Smithers, compiled with show producer Easyfairs, titled “Packaging Market Trends.”
The report, produced to mark the show’s 15th anniversary, examines how these four trends have evolved and how they continue to reshape the global packaging landscape. It highlights the structural changes underway across materials, design, and regulation, while offering a forward-looking view of the innovations expected to define the next decade of growth.
A resilient, expanding global market
When London Packaging Week debuted in 2010, the global packaging landscape looked markedly different. That year, packaging sales in Western Europe were valued at $193.4 billion, according to historic Smithers data. E-commerce was still an emerging segment, and sustainability was a niche topic, largely championed by smaller brands and retailers.
Fifteen years later, the industry has transformed into a trillion-dollar global market that continues to demonstrate resilience amid economic and supply-chain disruption. According to Smithers, packaging today offers growth opportunities across all major substrates. Paper and board retain the largest market share at 38.9% (2023), PET remains the most widely used rigid-plastic material, and polyethylene (PE) continues to drive flexible packaging, particularly in mono-material formats. Meanwhile, rapid innovation in molded fiber has made fiber-based packaging more durable, versatile, and cost-effective than ever before.
The report notes that global packaging value is forecast to keep rising, underpinned by population growth, urbanization, and ongoing technological advancement. Notes the report, what began as a period of cautious optimism in 2010 has evolved into a decade defined by innovation and structural change, laying the groundwork for the four megatrends explored throughout the rest of the report.
E-commerce: from emerging segment to global powerhouse
In 2010, e-commerce was still in its infancy. Amazon’s UK sales stood at just $3.9 billion, and online shopping accounted for only a small fraction of total retail. Packaging at the time was designed mainly for shelf appeal rather than doorstep delivery.
By contrast, the report shows that in 2025, global retail e-commerce sales are valued at $6.4 trillion, representing over 20% of all retail and growing faster than brick-and-mortar trade. This surge has spurred an entire sub-industry: the e-commerce packaging market, worth $81.6 billion in 2025 and forecast to exceed $100 billion by 2028.
Corrugated materials now account for around 81% of e-commerce packaging, reflecting both performance and recyclability advantages. Meanwhile, the rise of on-demand meal delivery services—almost nonexistent in 2010—has accelerated demand for specialty paper products, including wraps, bags, and lightweight disposables tailored to convenience foods.
Consumers and the demand for convenience
Back in 2010, packaging strategies were still largely oriented around bulk purchasing and traditional retail. Notes Smithers, online grocery services were rare, and single-serve convenience packaging was mainly associated with niche urban markets.
Fifteen years later, the picture is vastly different. The report highlights that more than half the global population now lives in urban areas, with rising disposable incomes, especially across developing regions, driving sustained demand for packaged goods.
Key behavioral shifts identified by Smithers include:
· A growing number of single-person households, spurring demand for smaller package sizes and ready-to-eat formats.
· Convenience has become paramount. Notes the report 83% of consumers say it matters more now than it did five years ago.
· Sixty-six percent of millennials expect one-hour delivery in cities, and 70% expect retailers to minimize packaging.
These changes have pushed suppliers to design smarter, space-efficient, and easy-to-use packaging solutions, which is a stark contrast to the one-size-fits-all designs that dominated in 2010.
Sustainability becomes standard practice
In 2010, sustainability in packaging was often limited to small, eco-focused brands or pilot projects, with little regulatory pressure to change. It was seen as a “nice to have,” not a market driver.
By 2025, the Smithers × Easyfairs report identifies sustainability as one of the most powerful and defining trends in the global packaging industry. Sustainable packaging is now designed to minimize environmental and social impacts across its entire lifecycle, reducing dependence on fossil-based inputs, and integrating post-consumer recycled content wherever possible.
According to the report, Europe leads the shift, driven by regulation and consumer demand. Per 2023 data, fiber-based materials, including paper, board, and molded pulp, represent 39.8% of total global packaging consumption, and molded pulp is expected to show the highest growth to 2034.
Easyfairs
While plastics still account for a significant share of the global packaging market, Smithers notes that the transition away from fossil-based polymers remains gradual outside Europe. Many regions, particularly in Asia, Latin America, and parts of North America, continue to depend heavily on conventional plastics due to lower raw-material costs, limited recycling infrastructure, and slower adoption of circular-economy policies.
In these markets, economic priorities and supply-chain realities often outweigh sustainability goals, slowing the uptake of bio-based or fully recyclable alternatives. By contrast, Europe’s regulatory landscape has accelerated investment in renewable materials, collection systems, and closed-loop recycling.
As a result, while global demand for packaging continues to grow, the pace of material transition remains uneven, with sustainability leadership concentrated in regions where regulation and consumer pressure are strongest.
Legislation: redefining market priorities
In 2010, environmental regulation in packaging was fragmented, with voluntary initiatives and national recycling targets but little coordinated global action. Since then, policy has become one of the most powerful forces shaping industry behavior.
The report describes 2025 as a turning point. PPWR, which came into effect in February 2025, introduces binding requirements for waste reduction, universal recyclability by 2030, and increased use of recycled content.
Complementary frameworks, including EPR and Deposit Return Systems (DRS), are accelerating this transformation by assigning the costs of waste management to producers and encouraging the recovery of high-value materials like rPET.
Together, these measures represent what Smithers calls “the biggest regulatory change ever seen in the packaging industry.” For many companies, compliance is now inseparable from innovation.
Future outlook: growth with regional shifts
From 2010’s regional fragmentation to today’s globalized value chains, packaging markets have grown broader and more interconnected. Smithers forecasts that the global market will grow at a CAGR of 3.8%, reaching $1.43 trillion by 2028, before moderating to 2.1% through 2050 as mature markets stabilize and growth migrates toward emerging economies.
High-income regions will lead in innovation, sustainability, and premiumization, while developing markets will focus on affordability and functionality. By 2050, the industry is expected to be more sustainable, efficient, and consumer-centric, balancing technological progress with environmental responsibility.
Adapting for the next decade of sustainable growth
The contrast between 2010 and 2025 underscores how rapidly packaging has evolved. What began as a fragmented market defined by cost and convenience has become a global ecosystem driven by sustainability, digital commerce, and regulation.
The Smithers × Easyfairs report positions sustainability, e-commerce, consumer behavior, and legislation as the cornerstones of the industry’s next phase. Companies that align innovation with responsibility, the report concludes, will define the future of packaging over the coming decade. PW
