Americans have always been enamored of European design—in fashion, in cars, in furniture. And that love even extends to packaging, as European consumer-goods producers and their converting suppliers continue to devise new container and material innovations. It is just these kinds of breakthrough developments that are helping to maintain the growth of flexible packaging in Europe despite a laundry list of trends that otherwise point downward—particularly in Western Europe.

For example, flex-pack demand in that part of the continent is expected to grow less than 1 percent a year through 2010—clearly a mature market, says Michael Cronin, chairman of Flexible Packaging Europe (wwwflexpack-europe.org), based in Düsseldorf, Germany. Cronin spoke on March 1 as part of the Flexible Packaging Association's 2007 annual meeting program (www.flexpack.org).

Continued overcapacity despite industry consolidation will mean more plant closures as CPGs and converters move operations to serve the burgeoning Central and Eastern European markets instead—where flex-pack sales are forecasted to climb 7 percent a year. European demand overall should reach $14.2 billion in 2010, Cronin says.

The market shares of major converters are tied to the shifting fortunes of West- versus East-European CPGs and their respective consumers. The top three converters—Alcan Packaging, Amcor Flexibles and Constantia—command one-third of the total flex-pack market (see chart at right). US powerhouses Sealed Air/Cryovac and Bemis together hold a respectable 7-percent share of business, according to FPE estimates.

On the plus side, several market moves bode well for flex pack's future—especially in Western Europe. Converters are starting to focus on new near-to-market packaging plants for perishable and seasonal foods, higher value-added products for medical and pharmaceutical markets, and sophisticated materials to replace simpler, traditional packs. Typhoo Tea's metallized, resealable, box-shaped pouch, converted by Printpack, to replace a folding carton (above left) is only one example.

Other trends shining on European flex packs: Sustainability is being driven by consumer demand and government regulation more than by the “Wal-Mart Effect;” new forms of retailing (French cybermarkets similar to Peapod in the US) are springing up that cry out for lightweight, collapsible packaging rather than rigid, returnable containers; and the general enlargement of the European Union (now 27 countries in all).