What Is Significance of Can Coatings for Food and Beverage Industry?
“The roughly 4.5 billion low-income people in developing countries collectively spend more than $5 trillion a year… They spend $2.3 trillion a year on food and beverages alone.” These stats by the World Bank clearly reflect a bright future for the global food and beverage industry. Moreover, as per a recent article in Forbes, amid the falling consumer spending during the COVID-19 pandemic, non-alcoholic beverages and food were among the goods that saw a rising demand, mainly because of the lockdown frenzy making people stockpile such goods at homes.
With the growing food and beverage industry, P&S Intelligence expects the can coatings market revenue to increase to $2,588.9 million by 2023 from $2,100.6 million in 2017, at a 3.5% CAGR between 2018 and 2023. This is because cans are one of the most-common food and beverage containers, being widely used for soft drinks and beers, sauces, processed meats, raw ingredients, such as olives and tomatoes, pet food, baby food, energy drinks, chips, and spices. Thus, with the growing population and its disposable income, the consumption of processed foods is rising, which is driving the demand for cans and, ultimately, can coatings.
With more people becoming part of the workforce, the sale of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products is increasing. Working for more than 10 hours every day, many people simply don’t have the time to cook. This is why the sale of canned food products is rising, as many of them are extensively processed, therefore can be consumed right out of the can. Plus, many people who have the time to cook prefer using readymade condiments and spices, rather than making their own, which is another factor boosting the demand for coated cans in this industry.
Other than for food and beverages, there are general-line cans, aerosol cans, and those used for packaging pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and customized products. Aerosols are important in many industries, as well as households; perfumes and deodorants are aerosol-based products. With the increasing focus on being presentable, men and women are using a lot of deodorants and perfumes, which is creating an immense demand for cans.
According to Cosmetics Europe, in 2020, the spending in the region on personal care and cosmetic products stood at EUR 76.6 billion. With the increasing influence of social media, lifestyle magazines, corporate culture, and general peer pressure, people are becoming more aware of how they look and appear in public, which is why they are using more of such products, many of which are available in cans.
Similarly, aerosol-based paints, automotive products, and mold-release agents are witnessing an increasing usage. A variety of coatings are used on the interior and exterior surfaces of all such cans. They are used more on the interior surface as the contents need to be prevented from coming into contact with the can metal, which could lead to chemical reactions and diminish the usability of the product; on the other hand, a corrosive liquid could eat up the can if a protective coating hasn’t been applied on the interior surface. The usage of coatings on the exterior of the can serves the purpose of protecting it from the elements, such as moisture (rust) and heat.
Presently, North America is the largest can coatings market because of its growing food and beverage sector. Some of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, including PepsiCo., The Coca-Cola Company, The Kraft Heinz Company, Conagra Brands Inc., and Archer Daniels Midland Company, are headquartered in North America. Moreover, many medium-scale companies have their food and beverage processing plants here, which creates a massive requirement for coated cans and, in turn, can coatings.
Hence, with the rising demand for processed food and beverages and personal care items, the usage of protective coatings inside and outside cans will burgeon.