Supplier partner POV: What’s ahead for the beverage market

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Dr. Robyn McMillan, global beverage segment manager at PPG Packaging Coatings, and first appeared in the Metal Packager on December 22, 2022 (LINK)

Sustainable packaging landscape

Today’s global beverage market continues to expand, adapt, and evolve at an accelerated rate. A recent?study ?by Market Research Future estimates that the US beverage can market alone will reach $32.93 billion by 2028. So, what’s expanding the beverage landscape? Consumer demand for new drink concepts is one market growth driver. Some of these include ready-to-drink products (RTD), non-alcoholic beers, mocktails, coffees, energy drinks, and nutrient- and herb-infused beverages. This boom also drives innovative packaging solutions that offer a distinctive design and sustainable packaging to stand out in a crowded shelf space.

New packaging formats

As little as five years ago, the standard 12-ounce aluminum can was the only format consumer beverage brands could choose. Today, various diverse metal packaging choices, such as beverage can sizes, designs and functions capture consumer attention. Additionally, unique finishes on the beverage can offer a unique opportunity for brands to feature their personality.

As a result, more brands turn to specialty finishes such as matte and satin, as well as tactile and elaborate labels to bring their vision to life. Energy drink brands are pioneers in this space. The energy drink sector effectively uses diverse can sizes with a visual and textural surface to provide appealing visual and touch elements that create a memorable consumer experience. For instance, Monster Energy was one of the first to widely use a tactile finish, which is growing in popularity throughout the industry today. This is a great example of how a brand turned to packaging to differentiate its products and tell its story to consumers.

Coatings enable brands’ sustainability journey

Brands turn to metal packaging because aluminum cans already have a higher recycling rate and more recycled content than competing packaging types. The Aluminum Association estimates that nearly 75 percent of all aluminum produced in the US is still in use today. Metal Packaging Europe reports that no other beverage packaging can reach such high recycling rates while using so little primary material, resulting in product circularity and carbon emissions reduction.

The growing shift in aluminum beverage cans is only made easier by the innovations in can coatings. Interior coatings advancements preserve flavor stability, minimize beverage or coating migration, and comply with all global food contact standards. The external coatings advancements prevent damage during transit with abrasion resistance, enable complex can forming processes and support industry trends toward a wider array of shapes and customized printing options to ensure products stand out despite increasingly crowded shelf space. These innovative coatings must allow easy and reliable application in varying temperatures, humidity, and plant conditions.

Understanding the global regulatory environment

The packaging industry must closely monitor the ever-changing global regulatory environment, specifically for bisphenols, to ensure compliance. Bisphenols, like bisphenol-A (BPA), have been a critical ingredient in epoxy coatings for metal packaging for more than 50 years. However, a growing body of global regulations is restricting bisphenols. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has proposed a new Tolerable Daily Intake (the amount of a substance in food or drinking water assessed as safe on a long-term basis) that essentially bans BPA from use in Europe.

While these regulations have arrived sooner than many in the industry expected, greater industry collaboration and ongoing coatings innovation will prepare the beverage can industry for what’s ahead. For example, major brands and can makers are converting to PPG Innovel PRO non-BPA technology. The complete removal of bisphenol starting substances from food-contact coatings aligns with PPG’s decades-long non-bisphenol strategy. Today, the technology has coated more than 220 billion cans in 40+ countries.

The industry also continues to monitor per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are a large and diverse chemical family used in important products for vital sectors, including telecommunications, alternative energy, healthcare, and packaging. PPG’s iSense family of external coatings offers a solution to comply with ongoing changes in PFAS regulations. PPG’s iSense coatings also help products stand out on the shelf while providing greater ease of use, efficiency, and durable finishes. PPG also prescribes its PPG SafeAssure product development programme for screening starting chemicals and those that could affect the packaged food or beverage to assure the longevity and sustainability of new packaging technologies.

Find the right coatings partner

An experienced regulatory and technical coatings partner remains critical for can makers and beverage brands. A strong partner keeps track of global regulatory developments to bring back to the lab to incorporate into new coatings solutions. The coatings technical service experts work closely with customers to transition to these regulatory-compliant products. For instance, PPG’s technical services team works with customers in trialing and optimizing new coatings on their lines for an efficient and smooth transition. The regulatory and technical experts team also provides the appropriate documentation to verify compliance and reassure beverage brands.

The beverage market continues to boom with new drink concepts, creating an even greater demand for metal packaging, and differentiated beverage can designs to strengthen brand stories. Therefore, it will remain important for can makers and major beverage brands to partner with the right coatings manufacturer to solve today’s challenges and plan for the future.

McMillan, PhD, has earned numerous accolades in her 34-year long career, including five US patents. She?has played a leading role in the growth of PPG’s innovative packaging coatings products, including iSense external coatings and Innovel non-BPA internal coatings for beverage cans. Packaging coatings business creates effective coating solutions for nearly all metal packaging end-use in the beverage, food, cosmetics, and personal care industries. To learn more, visit?www.packagingcoatings.com .