Sachet packaging revenues reached $7.7bn USD worldwide last year, with 855 billion units sold in 2018, and the pharmaceutical market is a particular target for manufacturers.
The rise of “on-the-go” culture has boosted sachets owing to their convenience, according to a report by Future Market Insights, which also found that alternative flexible packaging solutions including stick packs and pouches are a threat to sachets’ growth due to lower raw material requirements.
“Launching small-sized, one-time use product sachets has helped brands survive the retail revolution over the recent years.
“With technology innovations in packaging machinery are making a strong attempt to overcome the longstanding drawbacks facing the packaging industry, such as poor productivity, the study finds that sachet packaging is rapidly emerging as a way to increase profit margins, as it requires lesser volumes to be filled in packages,” the report said.
The sachet market is forecast to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around six per cent over the next eight years, with pharmaceutical products emerging as an area of opportunity; the study found that single-unit-use sachets for pharmaceuticals can effectively overcome the challenges of shorter shelf life and inaccurate dosage.
“With increased healthcare expenditure and growing need for effective packaging which are child-resistant and senior-friendly, sachet packaging will have more ground to cover in the pharmaceutical sector.
“Sensing the potential growth opportunities, market players are focusing on investing in pharmaceutical machinery for sachet packaging format to facilitate ease of use and improved medicine management,” it said.
There is a note of caution, however – while single-unit packages can give access to high-quality products at low prices, according to the study, they also fill landfills and oceans with waste.
“Several ‘zero-waste’ groups have been promoting innovative solutions to brands to replace sachets, while huge sections of demographics in developed regions in North America and Europe continue to prefer bottles and large pack sizes,” the report said.
The Sachet Packaging Market report is available at Future Market Insights.
