UPM Biofore Magazine 1-2018

New eating habits and the rapid rise of the middle class in emerging markets are fuelling growth in food labelling.

eing part of the same food chain, both food packaging and the labelling industry are driven by global population growth, economic expansion, and rising consumption levels. In the emerging markets, rapid population growth remains the main driver of packaging demand.

For example, in China, by 2020 the percentage of middle-class consumers will have increased by 400million from the 2009 level.

“Middle-class consumers are buying packaged foods from supermarkets and

The future of food labels

increasingly from convenience stores. Brand owners are expected to gradually showmore interest also towards lower-income consumers, so we’re looking at major growth potential here,” explains Pascal Oliveira , Director of Global Business Development in the food segment at UPMRaflatac. In the western world, food packaging growth is powered by the changing demographic structure and new cooking and eating habits, notes Oliveira. The proportion of single-person households is rising, which is driving demand for smaller package sizes and overall growth in packaging and labelling. “Meanwhile, the whole scenario of cooking and eating is shifting as people have less time to prepare their food. Consumers are buying more ready meals but also pre-packaged fresh food like salads and fruits.”

TEXT Vesa Puoskari   PHOTOGRAPHY UPM Raflatac

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