PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2011

BOTTLE MAKING 12 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 06/11 www.petpla.net The future of beer in PET packaging A major new study from Pira International*, The Future of Beer in PET Packaging - a multi-client study for brewers, brand owners, packaging converters and suppliers, pub- lished in May 2011, provides data on quantitative market sizes, segmented by barrier technology, bottle size, region and country. Production is expected to rise to 7.7bn bottles by 2015, led by emerging markets, but growth will be slow in most established regions. Technological developments are likely to help the growth and acceptance of PET packaging of beer. The 152-page study also provides technology and market forecasts to 2015. Demand for PET packaging con- tinues to rise across a number of dif- ferent categories, including juices and nectars, ready-to-drink (RTD) teas, functional drinks, flavoured waters and beer. However many brand owners continue to be reluctant to use PET packaging for beer. While it has not taken off on a large scale in many traditional beer-drinking countries, there is still a lot of interest in the potential for beer in PET and its per- ceived advantages. The emergence of new technologies is helping to challenge some negative perceptions and create opportunities for brewers, brand owners, packaging converters and suppliers. Nick Waite, Head of Market Research at Pira International says: “PET is increasingly used for the packaging of beer sold at outdoor events in mature markets. PET is more suitable than glass here for safety reasons, more than anything, as it is unbreakable, but it is also easy to carry around. Safety and conveni- ence elements may, in time, lead to PET bottles being used in nightclubs – although it has not made significant inroads there to date.” Global PET beer bottle consump- tion is forecast to grow during the period 2010-15 at a CAGR of 5.3%, to reach 7.7 billion bottles. Central & Eastern Europe, the dominant market for PET beer bottles, will show good growth for beer in PET going for- ward, but growth rates are expected to be lower than during the 2003-08 pre-recession era, largely because of growing market maturity and higher taxes on beer in Russia and the Ukraine. In Asia-Pacific, China will lead demand for beer in PET but, here, PET beer bottle growth has generally been lower than was originally antici- pated. Western Europe is forecast to grow PET beer bottle consumption at a relatively low rate; North America and South & Central America are forecast to show growth during the period 2010-15, but from a very low base. Nick Waite says: “Russia and other former Soviet countries are something of a special case. There was a signifi- cant reduction in glass bottle capacity in Russia at the time of Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol crusade in the 1980s and the effect was that glass bottles were reused repeatedly. The result was that glass lost some of its cachet and Rus- sian consumers were a bit more open to the idea of PET.” Home consump- tion is very much the norm in Russia, with purchases in the past being direct from breweries and packed in bulk plastic bags. Thus, switching to 1-2 litre PET bottles made perfect sense. “Consumers like the convenience of PET. The way the market has devel- oped in Russia/CIS is very different to other countries”. Global beer in PET demand will be spurred by the growing events market, faster growth in off-trade beer sales in most countries, and developing barrier technologies. In the absence of any major new beer brands entering the market or further marketing initiatives by brewers to promote beer in PET, growth is expected to be relatively modest. Forecasts also assume that there are no further initiatives taken to favour plastic beer bottles by national or local governments in an attempt to promote ‘safe drinking’ in public places 28% 17% 10% 45% Multilayer Monolayer blends Coated monolayer Standard non-barrier PET Refillable 0% Global PET beer bottle consumption by technology type, 2015 (millions of bot- tles). Source: Pira International BARRIER PET BOTTLES