The Future Of Glass In The Middle East

Rising consumer demand for safe and healthier packaging helps glass packaging grow in different categories. Also, creative tech for embossing, shaping and adding artistic finishes to glass make glass packaging worthy among end-users. Furthermore, factors such as the increasing demand for eco-friendly products and the rising demand from the food and beverage market are reviving the growth of the market especially post-pandemic.

According to Arabian Business, the Middle East packaging materials industry posted a demand gain of about 10 percent last year, fuelled by the pandemic-induced large-scale switch in consumption patterns and a steep rise in e-commerce sales.

The recyclable nature of glass makes it environmentally the most desired packaging type. The lightweight glass has been posited as a significant innovation, offering the same resistance as the older glass materials along with higher stability, reducing the volume of raw materials and CO2 emitted.

Should one take a look at emerging markets like India and China they too are witnessing a high demand for beer, soft drinks, and ciders due to consumers’ increasing per capita spending and increasingly changing lifestyles. The escalation in operational costs and upward trends in usage of substitute products, such as plastics and tin, however, is said to curb market growth.

With the plastic packaging market relegated to the background, other alternatives have sprung up. The key challenges for the market now stem from growing competition from aluminum cans for example. These are lighter in weight than the heavier glass, and has been gaining popularity among manufacturers and customers because of the lower cost involved in their transportation.

Glass packaging was considered an essential industry by most countries during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the fact that glass containers, especially for food and beverages, can be recycled. The industry is witnessing increased demand from the pharmaceutical sector as well. With the increase in the number of vaccines and storage for the same, glass is a known choice. Apart from this, there has been a surge in demand for glass packaging from the F&B and pharmaceutical sectors, as the COVID-19 pandemic has led to greater demand for medicine bottles, food jars, and beverage bottles. In March 2021, a new factory in Abu Dhabi planned to manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine from Chinese Sinopharm under a joint venture between Sinopharm and Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42 (G42). The plant that was built in the Khalifa Industrial Zone of Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), was planned to produce 200 million doses a year with three filling lines and five automated packaging lines. Similar expansion trends and investments are expected to demand glass packaging solutions in the regional pharmaceutical industry significantly.

Moreover, during the pandemic, consumers ensured there were sizable benefits of the sustainable benefits of glass packaging. In a survey of over 10,000 consumers from 10 countries by industry experts, glass and paper-based cartons were considered the most sustainable, and multi-substrate packaging was viewed as the least sustainable.

Glass is one of the most preferred packaging materials for it is made from all-natural, sustainable raw materials. Glass packaging preserves the product's taste or flavor and maintains the integrity or healthiness of food and beverages. The market study comprises the glass packaging solutions for various end-users, such as Food, Beverage, Personal Care, Healthcare, Household care, and others.

Recycled glass is substituted for up to 70% of raw materials. Manufacturers benefit from recycling in several ways—it reduces emissions and consumption of raw materials, extends the life of plant equipment, such as furnaces, and saves energy.

Should one look at the glass packaging in the alcoholic beverage industry there is intense competition from the metal packaging segment in the form of cans. However, it is expected to maintain its share during the forecast period due to its usage of premium products. The growth is expected across different beverage products, like juices, coffee, tea, soups, non-dairy beverages, and others.

Among alcoholic beverages, beer, in particular, witnessed upward trends in the past few years. The majority of beer volume is sold in glass bottles, driving the need for increased production rates in the glass packaging industry. The growing demand for premium variants in alcoholic drinks is driving the growth of glass bottles.

Returnable glass bottles are an inexpensive alternative for companies to deliver their products. This form of packaging is used mainly in the non-alcoholic beverage industry. About 70% of the bottles used for natural mineral water are made of plastic. The choice for bottled-water packaging material is increasing, considering environmental considerations. Speaking at a conference in February earlier this year, Lulie Halstead, CEO of Wine Intelligence, said, “Consumers are not looking at the wine category and thinking this is unsustainable and not an environmentally-conscious category.”

Beverage companies like Coke and PepsiCo are trying to avoid plastic packaging at all costs. PepsiCo is looking to prevent the use of 67 billion plastic bottles through 2025, and the alternative for that is expected to be glass bottles.

The introduction of growlers and sustainable glasses/ mugs has enabled taprooms and microbreweries to increase their sales from delivery and takeaway. It helps connect with the audience through unique and quirky packaging.

Dairy companies such as Milk & More and Parker Dairies have also seen an upsurge in demand for glass bottles as consumers are willing to pay a little extra for the service rather than the plastic in their efforts to help the environment.

The global dairy industry has been witnessing a shift from plastic to glass bottles, driven by consumer demand for environmentally friendly milk.

According to statistics, the United Arab Emirates has the highest consumption rates of bottled water in the world. According to ITC Calculations based on Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority & UN, the import value of glass has been increasing year-on-year since 2018 with USD 81224 thousand. Consumers in the country use glass to preserve food and beverages for hygienic purposes, as well as to protect the environment against plastic bottles. Moreover, the citizens in the country prefer to drink juices, and other beverages from glass bottles. Glass containers can be reused for many purposes, as compared to other materials.

The future is bright for glass manufacturers and especially those invested in sustainable packaging. The idea is for the manufacturers to go ahead and work on the Middle-East and African glass packaging market which is segmented by Products (Bottles, Jars, and Vials), and end-user industries (Pharmaceuticals, Medical, Personal care, Household care, and Agricultural). In each of these industries glass plays a key role and the more opportunities one finds in this particular segment the closer we will be to a sustainable circular economy.