Packaging Industry

The global industry engaged in packaging, the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale and use, covering the design, evaluation and production of packages as an integrated system supporting transport, warehousing, logistics and end use. Packaging serves functions including physical protection from damage, barrier protection against environmental factors, containment of liquids and powders, information transmission through labeling, marketing appeal, tamper security, convenience and portion control. As of 2003 packaging represented about 2 percent of gross national product in developed countries, with roughly half of that tied to food packaging, and by 2019 the global food packaging market alone was valued at about 303.26 billion dollars, growing at a compound annual rate of 5.2 percent.