Flexible packaging for meat, poultry and seafood was valued at $1.9 billion in 2013 in the United States and is growing about 1 percent per year, according to “North American Flexible Packaging Market to 2018,” a report published by PCI Films Consulting, Ltd. Materials typically involve multilayer film laminations and/or coextrusions in formats such as shrink barrier bags, shrink barrier wrap, cook-in-bags, vacuum bags, thermoformable film and lidstock.
Case-ready products have experienced a shift with the once rapidly growing modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) segment losing market share to vacuum packaging. In fact, the report estimates MAP market share slipped about five points to 13 percent in 2013 and vacuum packaging rose considerably to about 18 percent. The report attributes the shift to consumer preference for the familiar overwrapped tray packaging long used by retailers, which tends to be equated with freshness, and a perception that MAP packaging looks “mass-produced.” The report estimates the lion’s share of the case-ready segment remains with overwrap with polyvinyl chloride holding 40 percent and stretch overwrap at 25 percent. Other formats account for the remaining 4 percent.