Egg Cartons - Demand and Sales Forecasts, Market Share, Market Size, Market Leaders

Demand for egg cartons is forecast to increase 3.6% per year to $612 million (equivalent to 4.7 billion units) in 2024. Sales growth will be driven by:

• rising consumption of eggs sold at grocery stores, supermarkets, and other retail outlets, especially in the near term as shoppers boost at-home baking
• increasing demand for eggs among consumers looking for healthy ways to increase protein
• expanding use of higher cost cartons, particularly those with premium graphic capabilities or sustainability advantages

Demand for Eco-Friendly Packaging to Support Molded Pulp Cartons

Molded pulp egg cartons will see their market share grow slightly at the expense of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam due primarily to their superior sustainability (molded pulp containers are recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable in certain locations). Sales will also be supported by expanding recognition of the cushioning benefits of molded pulp cartons – a key factor for the transport of fragile food items like eggs – as well as their lower cost per unit.

Rigid plastic egg cartons – made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) – will also outperform EPS cartons due to their recyclability and premium image (which is important for higher value egg types such as organic and cage-free). Going forward, PET is expected to take share from EPS in the egg carton market on these strengths as well as above average growth in the sales of the premium egg types with which these cartons are commonly used.

Expanded Polystyrene Foam Remains Most Commonly Used Carton Material

Despite a lack of environmental friendliness, EPS foam will remain the leading material used for egg cartons. EPS has a number of advantages over other egg carton materials:

• Compared to molded pulp, EPS has better graphics capabilities, superior cushioning and insulating properties, and greater production efficiency.
• Foam egg cartons are also significantly lower cost than PET types.

Egg Carton Industry Faces Pressure During COVID-19 Pandemic

During the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, “crisis induced shopping” led consumers to buy significantly more eggs than usual – a trend that put significant pressure on the domestic supply of egg cartons. To help ease the shortage of eggs in grocery stores, the US Food and Drug Administration:

• relaxed certain packaging and labeling requirements for retail shell eggs, allowing some product information to be displayed at the point of purchase (rather than on the egg carton)
• temporarily extended age restrictions on grading eggs
• enabled producers that typically distribute to egg processors to begin selling their inventory of shell eggs to supermarkets and other retail outlets