Food Packaging Consumer Insights

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Food Packaging

Consumers are increasingly considering the way their food is packaged, particularly with an eye toward the amount and utility of packaging. Considerations for packaging go beyond quantity: packaging serves a variety of functions, from the core purpose of protecting food from damage, tampering, and premature spoilage to the ability to improve convenience via cook-in-packaging or resealability. Sustainability of packaging is also increasingly on the minds of consumers, as climate change and waste issues receive more media attention.

Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic led to more people eating more of their food at home and the amount of packaging waste involved became even more evident:

Food purchased for home consumption via retail outlets uses more packaging per serving because it is sold and shipping in smaller quantities.
Consumers who are eating more food at home as opposed to having their meals prepared by others are interacting with packaging more often during the course of their daily lives.

While food suppliers are also interested in packaging that attracts consumers’ eyes as they walk through retail stores, consumers generally are not consciously aware of it.

COVID-19 Pandemic Drives Changes in Food Shopping & Consumption Patterns

The COVID-19 pandemic had a notable impact on the food packaging market in 2020, both in terms of the foods being packaged and the types of packaging used. Sharp declines in foodservice sales and stay-at-home recommendations led to a shift away from restaurants and an increase in cooking at home. Interest in food that can be stocked in a freezer or elsewhere became a higher priority for more consumers. An increase in snacking and heathier eating also changed the types of food purchased and corresponding packaging needs.

Sustainability Is Increasingly Important to Consumers

Sustainability continues to be one of the highest profile stories in the food packaging market, with producers of the different types of packaging jockeying to be seen as the most environmentally friendly choice. This is driven in part by consumer awareness of the amount of waste generated by their household food consumption, coupled with increased media coverage of sustainability challenges.

However, the definition of sustainability continues to be problematic and often is focused on only one or two packaging parameters instead of total lifecycle environmental cost. While consumer awareness of this complexity is increasing, the issues involving waste – how the packaging is disposed of – and how it protects the food remain in the front of consumers’ minds.

Recycling & Minimizing Waste

While most people (74%) think it is important to recycle, a smaller share (59%) actively try to minimize their unrecyclable waste. Recycling has come to be a common practice in many households at least for the items that can be recycled easily (e.g., via a curbside pickup or a central bin in an apartment building), but waste reduction is a newer concept that has not yet reached the same level of adoption.

There are some distinctions for these attitudes among particular demographic groups:

Belief in both the need to recycle everything one can and to minimize unrecyclable household waste is highest among those with higher incomes. However, the biggest jump is between those with household incomes less than $50,000 and those with household incomes above $50,000 so it is not only about being wealthy, but perhaps also about the time to sort waste and access to recycling services.
Those who live in urban areas are the most interested in household waste reduction (64%), likely to due to the greater visibility of waste when there is less room to store it.
In general, interest in recycling everything one can rises with age. However, interest in unrecyclable waste reduction peaks in the middle years and is lowest among the senior population. While recycling has achieved widespread adoption, the concept of waste reduction is newer and likely more familiar to younger people.

Environmental Attitudes Over Time

Environmental concern and awareness has been increasing over the past several years. For instance, the number of people who agreed that climate change is a serious threat rose from 66% in 2015 to 72% in 2021. Conversely, the number of people who think worry about climate change is an overreaction has fallen from 34% in 2015 to 24% in 2021, with the sharpest decline happening between 2020 and 2021. Media attention to the issue, coupled with a variety of corporate pledges for cleaner operations and more sustainable production and shipping have put climate change in view to more people over this time period.

Similarly, the belief that action is needed is also increasing. For instance, the number of people who believe that the government should be paying more attention has risen from 75% in 2015 to 79% in 2021. Personal interest in finding out how to do more to help the environment has been high, but with slower change over the same period. In 2015, 66% of respondents wanted to find out more, but while that share reached 70% in 2020, it dipped again to 68% in 2021. The return to more normal living, working, and school conditions for more people in 2021, along with the rise of other concerns (e.g., rising prices and periodic shortages for some key consumer goods), likely distracted at least some people from environmental action.

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Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. COVID-19 Trends

COVID-19 Health Trends & Concerns

Negative Personal Effects of the Pandemic

Even More Report Negative Effects on Friends/Family

COVID-19 Effects on Work

COVID-19 Effects on Eating & Shopping

Consumer Concerns About Food Safety Rising in Wake of Pandemic

Home Cooking & Baking

Eating Habits Changed

Coronavirus Frozen Food Trends

3. Recycling & Sustainability Attitudes

Recycling & Minimizing Waste

Recyclable & Recycled Content in Packaging

Environmental Attitudes Over Time

COVID-19 Pandemic Household Waste Generation

Packaging Sustainability

Packaging Materials Ranked by Perceived Eco-Friendliness

Conventional Plastics: Perceived Eco-Friendliness

Bioplastics: Perceived Eco-Friendliness

Sustainable Packaging Features Particularly Sought

Attitudes About Recycling & Biodegradability

Curbside Recycling Services: Consumer Access

Drop-off Recycling Services: Consumer Usage

Frequency of Use: Recycling & Composting Services

Plastic Containers Recycling

Glass Containers Recycling

Paper Recycling

Paperboard & Corrugated Recycling

Plastic Film & Bag Recycling

Composting for Packaging

Paying For Waste Services

Willingness to Pay for Expanded Curbside Recycling & Composting Services

Who Should Pay For Waste Services

4. Packaging Features

Priority of Features in Food Packaging

Flexible Packaging: Features & Functions

Awareness of Packaging & Changed Packaging

Willingness to Pay More for Certain Foods or Delivery Options

5. Consumer Groups

Families with Children

Environmental Attitudes

Eco-Friendly Priorities in Packaging

Packaging Preferences

Vegans, Vegetarians, & Flexitarians

Population & Characteristics

Packaging Preferences

6. Appendix

Scope

Freedonia Methodology

Study-Specific Methodology

Related Studies & Reports

Macroeconomic Assumptions

Economic Environment

Demographics

Consumer Spending

Retail Sales

List of Tables

2. COVID-19 Trends

Table 2-1 | Personal Coronavirus Concerns: "The coronavirus has negatively affected my...", 2020 (percent of consumers who selected any agreement response)

Table 2-2 | Coronavirus Concerns for Friends & Family: "The coronavirus has negatively affected...", 2020 (percent of consumers who selected any agreement response)

Table 2-3 | Coronavirus Effect on Work: "Because of the coronavirus, I...", 2020 (percent of consumers who selected any agreement response)

Table 2-4 | Coronavirus Concerns about Food Safety: "Because of the coronavirus, I am...", 2020 (percent of consumers who selected any agreement response)

Table 2-5 | Home Cooking & Baking Activity, 2014 - 2021 (percent of respondents who noted they agreed completely with the statements)

Table 2-6 | Coronavirus Eating Habits: "Because of the coronavirus, I am eating...", 2020 (percent of consumers who selected any agreement response)

Table 2-7 | "Because of the coronavirus, I am buying more frozen..." by Gender & Age Group, 2020 (percent of respondents)

3. Recycling & Sustainability Attitudes

Table 3-1 | Consumer Attitudes About Recycling: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of total respondents who agree with the statements)

Table 3-2 | Consumer Attitudes About Recyclable & Recycled Content in Packaging: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of respondents who agreed with the statements)

Table 3-3 | Environmental Attitudes, 2015 - 2021 (% of respondents who agreed, strongly or somewhat, with the following statements)

Table 3-4 | COVID-19 Pandemic Household Waste Generation Trends: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of respondents who agreed with the statements)

Table 3-5 | Consumer Perspectives of Eco-Friendliness of Packaging Using Conventional Petroleum-Based Plastics (e.g., Jars, Bottles, Bags, & Pouches): By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of total respondents)

Table 3-6 | Consumer Perspectives of Eco-Friendliness of Packaging Using Plant-Based Bioplastics (e.g., Jars, Bottles, Bags, & Pouches): By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of total respondents)

Table 3-7 | Features Consumers Especially Look for When Considering "Sustainability" or "Eco-Friendly" Packaging: By Gender, Age Group Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% total respondents)

Table 3-8 | Consumer Attitudes About Recycled Plastics & Biodegradability: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of total respondents)

Table 3-9 | Access To Curbside Recycling at Home by Product Type: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% total respondents)

Table 3-10 | Access To Curbside Composting Services At Home By Product Type: By Gender, Age Group, Rural vs. Urban Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% total respondents)

Table 3-11 | Usage of Drop-Off (At a Store, Community Bin, Waste Management Facility, etc.) Recycling Services in the Last 12 Months by Product: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of total respondents)

Table 3-12 | Usage of Drop-Off (At a Store, Community Bin, Waste Management Facility, Etc.) Composting Services in the Last 12 Months by Product: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of total respondents)

Table 3-13 | Plastic Container Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of respondents with access to plastic container recycling services)

Table 3-14 | Glass Container Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of respondents with access to glass container recycling services)

Table 3-15 | Paper Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of respondents with access to paper recycling services)

Table 3-16 | Paperboard & Corrugated Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of respondents with access to paperboard & corrugated recycling services)

Table 3-17 | Plastic Film & Bag Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of respondents with access to plastic film & bag recycling services)

Table 3-18 | Frequency of Composting for Packaging: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of respondents with access to composting for packaging services)

Table 3-19 | Willingness to Pay for Expanded Curbside Recycling & Composting Services: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of total respondents who agree with the statements)

Table 3-20 | Who Should Pay for Waste Services: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, & Household Income Bracket, 2021 (% of total respondents who agree with the statements)

4. Packaging Features

Table 4-1 | Consumer Insights: Packaging Features, 2020 (% of total respondents)

Table 4-2 | Consumer Insights: Awareness of Packaging & Impact on Purchases, 2020 (% of total respondents)

Table 4-3 | Packaging Consumer Insights by Gender & Age Group, 2020 (percent of respondents who selected strongly or somewhat agree)

Table 4-4 | Willingness to Pay More For Certain Food Types or Delivery Options by Age Group, 2021 (% of respondents who agreed)

5. Consumer Groups

Table 5-1 | Environmental Attitudes Among Households with Children, 2021 (% of respondents who agreed with the statements)

Table 5-2 | Packaging Preferences Among Households with Children, 2020 (% of respondents)

Table 5-3 | "Currently, Which of These Diets/Eating Philosophies Do You Primarily Follow?" by Age Group, 2021 (percent of respondents)

Table 5-4 | Packaging Preferences Among Vegetarians & Vegans, 2020 (% of respondents)

6. Appendix

Table 6-1 | Macroeconomic Indicators, 2010 - 2025 (billion 2012 dollars)

Table 6-2 | Population & Households, 2010 - 2025 (million persons)

Table 6-3 | Personal Consumption Expenditures & Retail Sales, 2010 - 2025 (billion dollars)

Table 6-4 | Nondurable Goods Retail Sales, 2010 - 2025 (billion dollars)

List of Figures

1. Executive Summary

Figure 1-1 | Food Packaging Consumer Insights Summary

2. COVID-19 Trends

Figure 2-1 | Consumer Baking Frequency, 2020 (percent of respondents)

3. Recycling & Sustainability Attitudes

Figure 3-1 | Packaging Materials Ranked by Perceived Eco-Friendliness, 2021 (% total respondents)

Figure 3-2 | Features Consumers Especially Look for When Considering "Sustainability" or "Eco-Friendly" Packaging, 2021 (% total respondents)

Figure 3-3 | Recycling Frequency by Type of Packaging, 2021 (% of respondents with access to recycling for each type)

4. Packaging Features

Figure 4-1 | Priorities of Features in Food Packaging, 2020 (% of respondents selecting each option)

5. Consumer Groups

Figure 5-1 | Priorities When Thinking About Eco-Friendly or Sustainable Packaging by Presence of Children in the Household, 2021 (% of respondents who said each element or feature was a priority)

Food Packaging Consumer Insights

Featuring 39 tables and 7 figures – now available in Excel and Powerpoint! Learn More

COVID-19 Pandemic Drives Changes in Food Shopping & Consumption Patterns

Sustainability Is Increasingly Important to Consumers

Recycling & Minimizing Waste

Environmental Attitudes Over Time

Purchase Food Packaging Consumer Insights by the Section

Food Packaging Consumer Insights

1 Executive Summary

Figure 1-1 | Food Packaging Consumer Insights Summary

2 COVID-19 Trends

2.1 COVID-19 Health Trends & Concerns

2.1.1 Negative Personal Effects of the Pandemic

Table | Personal Coronavirus Concerns: “The coronavirus has negatively affected my…”, 2020

2.1.2 Even More Report Negative Effects on Friends/Family

Table | Coronavirus Concerns for Friends & Family: “The coronavirus has negatively affected…”, 2020

2.2 COVID-19 Effects on Work

Table | Coronavirus Effect on Work: “Because of the coronavirus, I…”, 2020

2.3 COVID-19 Effects on Eating & Shopping

2.3.1 Consumer Concerns About Food Safety Rising in Wake of Pandemic

Table | Coronavirus Concerns about Food Safety: “Because of the coronavirus, I am…”, 2020

2.3.2 Home Cooking & Baking

Table | Home Cooking & Baking Activity, 2014 - 2021

Figure 2-1 | Consumer Baking Frequency, 2020

2.3.3 Eating Habits Changed

Table | Coronavirus Eating Habits: “Because of the coronavirus, I am eating…”, 2020

2.3.4 Coronavirus Frozen Food Trends

Table | “Because of the coronavirus, I am buying more frozen…” by Gender & Age Group, 2020

3 Recycling & Sustainability Attitudes

3.1 Recycling & Minimizing Waste

Table | Consumer Attitudes About Recycling: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.2 Recyclable & Recycled Content in Packaging

Table | Consumer Attitudes About Recyclable & Recycled Content in Packaging: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.3 Environmental Attitudes Over Time

Table | Environmental Attitudes, 2015 - 2021

3.4 COVID-19 Pandemic Household Waste Generation

Table | COVID-19 Pandemic Household Waste Generation Trends: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.5 Packaging Sustainability

3.5.1 Packaging Materials Ranked by Perceived Eco-Friendliness

Figure 3-1 | Packaging Materials Ranked by Perceived Eco-Friendliness, 2021

3.5.2 Conventional Plastics: Perceived Eco-Friendliness

Table | Consumer Perspectives of Eco-Friendliness of Packaging Using Conventional Petroleum-Based Plastics

3.5.3 Bioplastics: Perceived Eco-Friendliness

Table | Consumer Perspectives of Eco-Friendliness of Packaging Using Plant-Based Bioplastics (e.g., Jars, Bottles, Bags, &Pouches): By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.5.4 Sustainable Packaging Features Particularly Sought

Figure 3-2 | Features Consumers Especially Look for When Considering “Sustainability” or “Eco-Friendly” Packaging, 2021

Table | Features Consumers Especially Look for When Considering “Sustainability” or “Eco-Friendly” Packaging: By Gender, Age Group Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.5.5 Attitudes About Recycling & Biodegradability

Table | Consumer Attitudes About Recycled Plastics & Biodegradability: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.6 Curbside Recycling Services: Consumer Access

Table | Access To Curbside Recycling at Home by Product Type: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

Table | Access To Curbside Composting Services At Home By Product Type: By Gender, Age Group, Rural vs. Urban Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.7 Drop-off Recycling Services: Consumer Usage

Table | Usage of Drop-Off (At a Store, Community Bin, Waste Management Facility, etc.) Recycling Services in the Last 12 Months by Product: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

Table | Usage of Drop-Off

3.8 Frequency of Use: Recycling & Composting Services

Figure 3-3 | Recycling Frequency by Type of Packaging, 2021

3.8.1 Plastic Containers Recycling

Table | Plastic Container Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.8.2 Glass Containers Recycling

Table | Glass Container Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.8.3 Paper Recycling

Table | Paper Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.8.4 Paperboard & Corrugated Recycling

Table | Paperboard & Corrugated Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.8.5 Plastic Film & Bag Recycling

Table | Plastic Film & Bag Recycling Frequency: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.8.6 Composting for Packaging

Table | Frequency of Composting for Packaging: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.9 Paying For Waste Services

3.9.1 Willingness to Pay for Expanded Curbside Recycling & Composting Services

Table | Willingness to Pay for Expanded Curbside Recycling & Composting Services: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

3.9.2 Who Should Pay For Waste Services

Table | Who Should Pay for Waste Services: By Gender, Age Group, Urban vs. Rural Setting, &Household Income Bracket, 2021

4 Packaging Features

4.1 Priority of Features in Food Packaging

Figure 4-1 | Priorities of Features in Food Packaging, 2020

4.2 Flexible Packaging: Features & Functions

Table | Consumer Insights: Packaging Features, 2020

4.3 Awareness of Packaging & Changed Packaging