To reach the optimum level of satisfaction by looking into the future has always been a provocation and challenge but only for those who plans’ because future always belongs to those who plan. In recent times, the world economy has proved to be most delicate with growth in developed countries, which means the new sources or markets needed to see the sights in developing countries for new volumes and consumptions. But, the new market's exploration are the significant point to know the growth and spending of existing developed markets because they are the primary accelerator to setup the growth in developing markets.

Top 10 National Packaging Markets

To know the growth of national markets; first, we need to make ourselves aware with a global turnover of the packaging industry. In 2003, the global packaging industry proceeds were around $450 billion which includes the contribution of various industries such as healthcare, food and drink, cosmetics, and other consumer goods. In 2009, the packaging market of USA was the leader regarding consumption and market share which accounted for almost $125 billion, while the figures were showing the amount of $115 billion for 2003, clearly ahead of its counterpart Europeans and Asian markets in that particular period of 6 years. In this race, Japan ranked second with sale volume of $49 in 2003 and $59 in 2009. The most densely inhabited country China stood at third place with $32 billion in 2003 and almost $50 in 2009, which means the growth rate of the Chinese market, was higher than USA and Japan. While other than USA, Japan, and China, next top packaging markets are Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, Canada, and Spain. Except from top 3, the growth rate was slow but still growing steadily. In 2003, the sale volume of both Germany & France was more than $20 billion while other markets were merely touching the psychological figure of $15 billion.

Key Influential Factors on Packaging Demands

There are so many aspects and dynamics in a modern world that to do a profitable business is become a skill now. In the case of packaging business, numerous factors are influencing the chain of demand and supply. Some of these factors are:

• The increase in world population with vigorous growth rate.
• The modern lifestyle so changes that it’s become a trend now for lesser households.
• The lifestyle has changed, so is the customer’s requirements and they tend to become more and more ease oriented.
• The busy and monotonous routines of customer’s made a trend of on-the-go lifestyle which means customers have less time now to do more.
• In these days, the trend of small pack sizes is becoming popular which means families are not eating together at dinner tables and this trend is becoming less common now.
• The awareness of environmental issues, and the espousal of new regulatory requirements on packaging and its process of recycling.
• The awareness and growing needs about the enhancement of brand are becoming more demanding for businesses in a very competitive market environment.
• The customers are becoming more conscious and aware about their health that they can’t bear the low-quality packaging at any cost.
• The development of new packaging material is also a major factor in influencing the packaging demands.

Apart from all of the above dynamics, the most dominant reason for the growth of packaging business is customers’ awareness about health related issues. On another side, the factor which has the least impact on overall packaging demands and growth is growing numbers of the world population. In all such scenarios, the thing which remains in customer’s mind is your brand which has the capability of affecting masses, because brand power is the thing which can drive the market performance on the whole and also enhance the overall business value.

Global Consumption of Packaging by Sectors

Packaging business is one of the highest growth industries because of the contribution of many segments like Paper and Board, Rigid Plastics, Metal, Flexible Plastics, Glass, and other materials. Packaging is a combination of all these sectors and contribution of every industry is very significant for the overall growth. Every division is contributing its part, but obviously, some have more influence than others. That is why paper and board is considered to have the largest share of global packaging market in 2009 which is 38% of the total. Rigid plastics accounted for 21% of total consumption with flexible plastics accounting for 13%, the market share of metal was 16%, and packaging consumption of glass had 6% market share. In the case of other packaging materials and products, they also shared 6% of the packaging market, and that other packaging material includes wooden pallets and some textile-related materials.

Regarding fastest growing packaging sectors from 2003 to 2009; paper and boards are market leaders especially in top three packaging markets USA, China, and Japan. In 2009, paper and boards market value were $50.53 billion with annual growth rate of 4.2%. While Chinese paper and boards market was standing at $30.12 billion and Japanese market worth was $23.46 billion. Other countries also enjoyed the increase in demand of paper and boards, and especially European and Asian markets were all almost and above $5 billion in 2009.

Packaging – A Brand Communicator

Packaging can play a significant role in brand promotion without spending millions of dollars. As we experienced that, packaging consumption is steadily growing and so is the promotional expense of companies. That is why businesses need to focus more on the effectiveness of packaging; as it is the first interaction of your brand with end-users. First-class packaging with remarkable pictorial aesthetics surely creates a center of attention for prospective customers. Most of the people don’t care about what material and how much effort you put in for packaging because they always rush to have the product they desired. So, packaging must need to be involved at a personal level that customers always think about packaging first before having the product. For example, the customers get maximum relevant info about your brand, its products, and services through the packaging. Get personal doesn’t mean that you put all the data on the packages, but only those facts which need representation and be specific. Many studies proved the aspect of brand promotion with the help of your packaging. Packages displaying pictures or a description of the product can directly exchange a few words about your brand and also be the reason of change of brand values and beliefs.