Why Is Extrusion Coating Important in Food and Beverage Sector?

Compared to $8,830.307, the average person earned $11,428.57 in 2019, as per the World Bank. With the increasing per capita income, people’s purchasing power is rising too, which is being reflected in the growth of numerous industries, especially food and beverage. With more money to spend, people in developed and developing countries are not only eating out more often, but also purchasing packaged food, which is more expensive than fresh food.

This is additionally leading to the expansion of the food and beverage processing and packaging industry, thereby leading to a rising demand for various packaging materials, such as aluminum, polymer films, and paper and paperboards. While packaging, the container surface mustn’t come in contact with what is inside, as well as the environmental forces outside. Thus, owing to the growing food and beverage packaging sector, the extrusion coating market, which valued $3,703.8 million in 2017, is predicted to expand at a 4.2% CAGR during 2018–2023, to reach $4,759.3 million by 2023, says P&S Intelligence.

During extrusion coating, a thin layer of a molten plastic, most commonly polyethylene (PE). Ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), and polypropylene, is applied to the above-mentioned substrates. The film protects the substrates against moisture, aroma, oxygen, and grease, as well as enhances their sales appeal, by imparting luster and other pleasing-to-the-eye attributes. Among all the substrates, the rate of extrusion coating is expected to rise the fastest for polymer films in the years to come. This would be due to the growing demand for flexible packaging solutions for personal care, food and beverage, and healthcare products, to guard them against vibration, shock, and surface abrasion.

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Presently, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is the extrusion coating material of choice, as it is vastly used on bags, sacks, folding cartons, sealant layers, cup stocks, and lamination and packaging material. LDPE is preferred because it does not melt even under temperatures of 80 °C. In the coming years though, the popularity of PP for the process would rise the most rapidly, due to its flexibility, toughness, and ability to be used as a fiber, as well as plastic, in various applications. Moreover, PP is more recyclable than both forms of PE, and since the packaging sector generates the highest amount of plastic waste, the demand for PP extrusion coatings is increasing.

The key application areas of extrusion coating are flexible packaging, liquid packaging, photographic, and commercial, among which liquid packaging has seen the widest usage of this technique up till now. Packaged milk, ketchup and sauces, juices, and various other beverages are rising in popularity all over the world. Even in developing countries, where these products didn’t have much of a market 10–15 years ago, are rapidly making inroads, with the increasing purchasing power of people. Additionally, with the expansion of supermarket/hypermarket chains, these products have become more readily available than before.

Around the world, Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the most lucrative extrusion coating market, owing to the increasing number of manufacturing plants and growing disposable income of the inhabitants. For instance, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the Indian food processing industry in 2019 generated around 32% revenue in the country’s overall food and beverage sector. Along with industrialization, the government of Japan, China, South Korea, and India is focusing on health, food safety, and hygiene, which is leading to innovations in packaging materials and technologies.

Thus, as food and beverage packaging trends continue to be shaped by the increasing purchasing power of people and focus on health, hygiene, safety, and recyclability, the adoption of the extrusion coating process will rise too.