2021 Executive Forecast:

On trends/challenges/
opportunities in 2021

Source: Euromonitor International Passport Data - based on the number of packaging units sold to consumers through all retail channels. Courtesy of FPA

Growth Rates in Selected Market Segment Categories

Across the last eight months, consumers turned to products they were confident were safe and also were affordable. Part of that confidence has to do with Amcor’s packaging, underscoring our long-held position that packaging has a role to play in making brands successful in the marketplace. The industry may be challenged by the possibility of escalating material costs. This is something that we continue to monitor. For our part, we believe our broad global footprint and industry-leading purchasing power will help reduce the risk of cost increases to our customers, which is always a focus for them.

The healthy growth of HP Indigo labels and packaging printing experienced in 2020 is expected to continue in 2021. Some verticals such as food, beer and cleaning products experienced especially high demand. While the pandemic will be over sooner or later, it has accelerated several mega trends providing tailwind to digital print, especially the need for agile supply chain, fast time to market and a versatile digital press.

This year we also saw a doubling of the use of applications in PrintOS for managing and optimizing production, ensuring the right technical skills and training for their teams, and completing complex processes such as installations and remote services. No less importantly, we saw the importance of collaboration and the support of the community, with so many of our customers and Dscoop stepping up to help their communities and each other. Looking ahead to 2021, we believe that these trends will remain, and likely continue to accelerate. In fact, PSPs will see capabilities like automation, smart manufacturing and diversity of applications move from “contributing factors” to their competitive advantages to capabilities that are business critical.

Keeping our employees and healthy and safe will be our key priority in 2021. In addition, the ability to accelerate efforts around cost-effective sustainable packaging will be a key opportunity for the industry in 2021. I also feel like the industry will need to manage through much more inflation in 2021.

Because of the current global situation, it is quite difficult to envision what 2021 will bring. I am sure that a growth in our industry will be a result. There will be a significant re-distribution of the global production resources for flexible packaging, especially the high-end one, as self-sufficiency will be an important target for most countries and regions. New product opportunities will be offered to converters as a result of the need for improved hygiene and consumer protection. We just have to hope that governments on a global scale will act in the interest of people and businesses to carry over to the post-COVID era.

COVID-19 also generally provided a pause in the policy measures that will impact the industry, such as single-use plastic bans and recycling and recycled-content mandates. These drivers will all be back in 2021, however, with the industry projected to see packaging legislation in at least five states. This legislation will focus on extended producer responsibility schemes, where packaging fees will go toward increasing the collection and recycling of all packaging types. As many industry and government coalitions are working on the issue, FPA is particularly interested in those schemes that provide an “on ramp” for flexible packaging, which has very limited collection and recycling opportunities today and a lack of a variety of end-markets. The right schemes could enable needed investment in current and advanced recycling infrastructure for all flexible packaging in the future.

As 2020 comes to a close, we will continue to monitor the changing economic and health landscape to assist us in making the right decisions for our customers and our employees. When a vaccine is released, we will plan to re-evaluate our current processes, while keeping safety for all our top priority. By recognizing the importance of sustainability as a global issue, not only is Sun Chemical supporting the packaging industry, but we’re also aligning our goals with those of the United Nations in its Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We have therefore identified a number of the 17 UN goals on which the actions we’re taking to help to develop a more sustainable packaging industry will, we believe, have a positive impact.

See what the Executives Say

Use the arrows to continue to the next section, or click on theme below:

On 2020 overall/challenges

On trends impacting the industry/customer trends and opportunities

On the importance of industry collaboration

On the impact of e-commerce

On the consumer shift to sustainability

On trends/challenges/opportunities in 2021

Cover and feature illustrations by FORGEM / iStock via Getty Images Plus and Antikwar / iStock via Getty Images Plus