United States Contract Packaging Market Trends

Market Trends of United States Contract Packaging Industry

Rapidly Growing Pharmaceutical Industry is Driving the Market

• The United States has emerged as the largest market for drugs and accounts for almost half of the R&D spending in pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets. Hence, contract packaging organizations play a critical role in this market and have invested in new facilities and technologies to cater to a wide range of outsourcers. For instance, According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) trade group that represents the leading biopharmaceutical research companies in the United States, in 2021, the research and development (R&D) expenditure of its member companies reached some USD 102 billion worldwide.
• The escalating adoption of innovative packaging methods to satisfy rapidly changing consumer preferences and rising environmental concerns have stimulated the demand for contract packaging in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. In addition, the increasing penetration of automation in pharmaceutical contract packaging has minimized the risks of human handling errors, thereby catalyzing market growth in the region.
• The United States also dominates the pharmaceutical market, both in consumption and development. According to STAT, prescription drug spending in the nation is considered to add up to USD 600 billion by 2023, up from an estimated USD 500 billion in 2019, which is further expected to drive the United States contract packaging market.
• The industry has been witnessing increasing investments in the country owing to profitable business and growing demand. For instance, in January 2022, Eli Lilly and Company planned to invest over USD 1 billion to create a new manufacturing site in Concord, North Carolina. The new facility would utilize the latest technology to manufacture parenteral (injectable) products and devices and increase the company's manufacturing capacity.

Food Industry is Expected to Hold Major Share

• In the United States, with the rising demand and changing preference of food production firms toward contract packagers and the food companies increasingly focusing on cost optimization and their core business, most of them have been outsourcing their packaging services activities to third-party contract food packagers, owing to the demand in the market studied.
• Food manufacturing companies are increasingly focusing on cost reduction and core competencies. Furthermore, incorporating nanotechnology into the production of convenience foods has considerably improved critical processes such as preservation, package design, and finished goods processing. This technology is expected to significantly increase businesses' need to outsource their goods' packaging to organizations that provide contract packaging services in the United States.
• With the increasing demand for contract packaging services for pouches, bags, boxes, clamshells, etc., many companies are ensuring that their products comply with FDA regulations in the United States. Any health or nutritional value claims printed on the contract packaging along with the packaging must also align with FDA regulations. For instance, ActionPak has its new 175,000 sq ft packaging facility in Camden, New Jersey, to do both primary and secondary packaging of food and OTC products under strict SQF and FDA guidelines.
• Also, with the outbreak of COVID-19, many working professionals and others have been depending on packaged food for safety purposes, which owed food manufacturing companies to outsource their packaging services to contract packagers for safety and health concerns. According to International Food Information Council, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, around 36% of Americans claimed to have purchased the same amount or more packaged foods during the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.