Considerations on glass packaging – Data 2012

NUMBERS AND TRENDS Glass packaging has managed to reinvent itself in recent years thanks to a decisive orientation toward product customization and significant reductions to average weight per application.

In early 2000, the offer of customized glass bottles and jars represented approximately 40% of this sector’s production; but today the ratio has been inverted to the point that six or seven of every 10 products are made ad hoc on the basis of the customer’s specific requirements.
The market is thus increasingly oriented toward product customization, and packaging is increasingly being used as a marketing and communication tool.
These results have been made possible by the steady progress of production processes.
Customizing glass containers is by no means a novelty - just consider the perfume sector - but the real innovation lies in the fact that the concept has infiltrated markets where standardization had formerly reigned supreme, namely mineral water, wine, non-alcoholic drinks, food preserves…

The Italian market
The glass packaging offer includes a wide variety of formats and fields of application. The “classic” category includes bottles, jars, flacons and tube glass (vials and small bottles). In 2011 (the most recent year for which there is consolidated statistical data available), the Italian glass packaging sector recorded a production of 3,590,000 t, while, according to an initial estimate, 2012 ended with a contraction of approximately 5%: negative growth resulting from the economic crisis that affected the Italian economy and also other EU countries.
Foreign trade, which represents on average 11-12% of production, is thought to have dropped by approximately 3%.
Imports, which usually accounts for 15% of consumption, should have gone up slightly in 2012.
Domestic consumption, after +1.5% in 2011, should have seen a 4-5% drop (approximately) in 2011.
By packaging type, 88% is made up of bottles, 7% by jars, 4% by hollow glass and 1% by tube glass vials and flacons.

Consumption by sector
Bottles and jars have applications mainly in the area of food liquids and food preserves. Flacons, which include small jars, bottles and flacons, are used in the pharmaceutical and perfume/cosmetics sectors. Tube glass packaging is used primarily in the pharmaceutical sector.

Hollow glass bottles. In terms of the food liquid sector (which includes numerous different product types) and the specific use of hollow glass bottles newly put on the market, the numbers vary considerably.
The main field of application for hollow glass bottles is represented by the area of alcoholic beverages (71.5%).
In this area, wine holds the greatest share, although here the glass bottle must compete with other packaging types. However, this privileged position owes much to strong exports and a consumer oriented toward high range wines that require a glass bottle.
Still in the sector of alcoholic beverages, the glass bottle is also widely used for beer (where it is in competition with cans and kegs) and spirits/vermouth, where glass is “king”.
In non-alcoholic drinks, bottles account for 14.5%: the main sector of use is that of mineral water (approximately 10%), where glass’s main competitor is the PET bottle, which has now reached a share of approximately 80%. Worth note, in any case, are the many innovations achieved by glass packaging manufacturers in terms of bottle customization.

Another important area of use is that of fruit juices, where the single dose bottle dominates; unfortunately, however, glass tends to lose out both in competition with cellulosic polylaminates and especially with PET bottles, whose growth is encroaching on both other packaging types.
Finally, the olive oil sector (5.5%): here the glass bottle predominates in the domestic market, while in exports it must compete with tin cans and PET bottles. Other fields of use for glass bottles (with a total of 8.5%) are vinegar, tomato sauces, syrups, etc.

Jars. Approximately 52% are used for packaging vegetable preserves, including ready sauces and pickles in oil and vinegar.
29% of jars are used in the important sector of baby food, an area that is largely unaffected by the current crisis in consumption.
6% of them are used for fish preserves, where glass tends to grow in terms of market share.
The remaining 13% is divided among myriad other food products, (olives, spices, chocolate creams, jams, etc.).
Their main competitor remains the tin or aluminium can, although in recent years polylaminate board containers and converted flexible polylaminate pouches are gaining ground. It is estimated that they will become the most competitive alternatives in the years to come.

Flacons and tube glass. There are two main outlet sectors: cosmetics/perfume and pharmaceuticals, which account for approximately 84.5% and 14.5%, respectively; 2% is destined for other areas of use. As for tube glass destined for packaging, its main area of use is pharmaceuticals, with a share of over 80%.                            

Plinio Iascone
Istituto Italiano Imballaggio