Smaller households in China deemed as good news for the packaging sector

14-Oct-2013 - Last updated on 14-Oct-2013 at 14:03 GMT

Increasing disposable income and smaller households are turning the Chinese cosmetics packaging industry into a juggernaut, according to a report by Euromonitor.

Data from the market research firm shows that production in the industry grew by almost 40% from 2007-2012 as large numbers of Chinese customers gained access to consumer goods.

An interesting point is that, apart from the usual suspects of a growing economy and increased disposable income, smaller households and a faster pace of life are also believed to be benefitting the market.

Joy Huang, analyst at Euromonitor told CosmeticsDesign-Asia.com: “The packaging industry is highly related to the development of relevant product industries.”

And that; “The rising disposable income, ongoing urbanization as well as new generations’ consumption habit changing are boosting the development of packaged products’ industries to take over shares from unpackaged products.”

Eco-friendly and convenient designs a winner

A major factor in the rise of the packaging industry is the changing structure of Chinese society. Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that household size is shrinking in line with declining fertility.

Huang commented: “Within the packaging industry, small households are driving smaller packaging, which also increased the demand for more packs.”

“Premiumization trends are also driving the demand for packaging because consumers not only see premium from product itself but also from the sophisticated packaging.”

Other trends highlighted include eco-friendly packaging, which is gaining “increased acceptance” in Chinese households, and multipacks, which are available to greater numbers due to their higher purchasing power.

Multipacks and smaller packs of consumer products are also easier to use on the move - an important aspect in the increasingly fast-paced Chinese life.

The numbers are good for PET packaging…

Boosted by consumer trends, the industry grew astonishingly well in every category.

In total, the amount of colour cosmetics packaging produced grew by nearly 39% in the time period analyzed, with a particular standout being PET jars with 122%.

Glass, plastic and squeezable plastic products were also winning percentage wise, growing by between 58 and 75%.

All in all, 100 million more packaging units were produced in 2012 than in 2007.