Frozen Food Packaging

Report Overview

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This study analyzes the market for frozen food packaging. Historical (2009, 2014 and 2019) data and forecasts to 2024 are presented in current dollars.

Shifts in demand for frozen food packaging from year to year are determined by a number of factors, primarily:

• the production of and demand for frozen food, which in turn are driven by:
  • consumer spending and food preferences (e.g., demand for enhanced convenience)
  • demographic trends such as age, average household size, and levels of disposable income
  • restaurant and other foodservice industry revenues
• competitive variables determining the mix of packaging types used, including raw material and conversion costs and trends toward smaller portions such as single-servings and multipacks
• environmental and regulatory factors, including a growing emphasis on source reduction and recyclability

Applications covered include:

• frozen specialty foods:
  • appetizers
  • breakfast foods such as waffles, pancakes, French toast, and toaster pastries
  • breakfast sandwiches
  • entrées
  • frozen dinners
  • hand-held entrées
  • plant-based meat alternative products
  • pizzas such as pizza pies, slices, flatbreads, pizza pockets, and pizza rolls,
  • side dishes
  • soups
  • whipped toppings
• meat, poultry, and seafood, including fresh, unprepared item as well as further processed types, such as breaded poultry and seafood:
  • meat (including beef and veal, pork, and lamb) as well as meat products marketed as breakfast meats
  • poultry (chicken, turkey, and other products such as goose and duck)
  • seafood (all fish and shellfish)
• frozen baked goods, including:
  • bagels
  • biscuits
  • bread rolls and loaves
  • cakes, cheesecakes, and cake bites
  • cheese and sweet rolls
  • cinnamon rolls
  • cookies and brownies
  • dough and batters (cookie, pastry, filo)
  • eclairs and other pastries
  • flan, custard, crème brûlée
  • muffins
  • pie and pizza crusts
  • pies
  • rolls
  • tarts
  • tortillas
• fruit, vegetables, and juice:
  • plain vegetables and fruit products
  • prepared frozen vegetables, such as breaded onion rings, mushrooms and eggplant, veggie pastas, and mashed cauliflower
  • juice concentrates – including 100% juice concentrates and juice drink concentrates (e.g., lemonade and fruit punch)
  • French fries, which are considered a potato product
• ice cream and other frozen desserts:
  • hard and soft ice cream
  • hard and soft frozen yogurt
  • sherbet
  • sorbet
  • gelato
  • frozen custard
  • flavored ices
  • ice cream cakes
  • ice cream novelties (i.e., single-serve units of any of the above)
  • other frozen foods, including (e.g., sauces, baby food, pet food, cocktail mixers, nondairy creamers, liquid eggs, herbs, drink mixes)

For the purposes of this study, entrées are distinguished from dinners in that they do not generally contain a complete meal. Excluded from this segment are hand-held entrées, which are included in the Other Frozen Specialties segment.

Excluded from the scope of this study are:

• packaged ice
• frozen carryout
• meal delivery program foods
• shelf-stable products that are frozen after purchase

Packaging product segments covered include:

• aluminum foil packaging:
  • including containers as well as lidding
  • excluding laminated foil and paper bags – such as those used for frozen bread—which are in the paper segment
• bags
• boxes (e.g., folding cartons – also known as folding paperboard boxes – corrugated boxes, gable top cartons)
• chubs
• lidding film:
  • including plastic film lidding (typically made from one or more layers of plastics such as PET or PP), paper lidding, and aluminum foil lidding
  • excluding paper and plastic lids sold together with accompanying paper or plastic containers as well as plastic overwrap and shrink wrap
• paperboard sleeves, including paperboard sleeves used as outer packaging and paperboard susceptor sleeves
• plastic containers:
  • including clamshells, domed containers, two-piece plastic containers, cans, pails, bottles, and jars as well as lids sold with the container
  • excluding composite cans (which are considered a rigid paper and paperboard product for the purposes of this study) as well as plastic tubs, cups, bowls, and separately sold lids
• pouches, including:
  • flat (e.g., pillow, four-side seal, and three-side seal)
  • stand-up, including round-bottom/Doyen, K-seal, corner-bottom, flat-bottom
• trays:
  • rigid plastic trays, made from such resins as polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and crystallized polyethylene terephthalate (CPET)
  • trays produced via thermoforming plastic film
  • trays made from paperboard or molded pulp (i.e., molded fiber)
• tubs, cups, and bowls:
  • including round and square-round tubs, cups, and bowls for retail packaging as well as larger tubs, such as those used to package ice cream for foodservice establishments
  • including lids that are sold with the unit, but excluding those sold separately
• vacuum skin packaging (VSP)
• wrap:
  • including foil wrap, paper wrap and overwrap, as well as plastic film wrap and overwrap, including stretch and shrink film/wrap and thermoforming film
  • excluding lidding films, chubs, brick packs, vacuum seal packaging (VSP), and vacuum sealed bags
• other packaging formats, including cans made of materials other than plastic, paper interleaving, corrugated circles for pizza and baked goods, and paperboard tubes for ice cream novelties

Corrugated boxes used as primary packaging are included; however, corrugated boxes for secondary packaging with case quantities are excluded, as are shipping containers and retail-ready packaging.

Also excluded are separately sold lids, caps, and closures.

Demand for frozen food packaging is forecast to increase 3.5% per year to $8.8 billion in 2024, driven by:

• strong consumer demand for convenience foods
• frozen food product innovations and a continuously expanding range of healthy and premium options, which often use different and higher value packaging
• a continued reliance on frozen foods in the foodservice industry due to their longer shelf life, lower cost, and ease of preparation
• the use of higher value packaging – including stand-up pouches, susceptor trays, and folding cartons with high-quality graphics – to help differentiate products
• expanded availability of products in portion-controlled sizes, with smaller servings resulting in higher packaging use per product

Frozen Specialty Foods & Frozen Meat to See Fastest Growth for Packaging

Frozen specialties (e.g., dinners, pizza, breakfast foods, and entrées) are expected to remain the largest market for frozen food packaging – and see the fastest annual growth – through 2024. Sales growth in this category will be driven by increased at-home meal preparation as well as by an expanded range of available specialty foods and packaging innovations, which improve the quality of the final product and increase the value of packaging demand. 

Demand for packaging of frozen meat, poultry, and seafood is also expected to increase at a healthy pace, supported by rising production volumes, the popularity of new convenience products, and the favorable price and quality of frozen meats. In addition, gains will result from high volume requirements in the foodservice sector as restaurants recover from closures and capacity restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Pandemic Boosts At-Home Cooking & Reliance on Convenience Foods

Increased work-at-home and remote learning activities during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid expansion of at-home meal preparation, which, in turn, prompted consumers to stock up on convenient, long-lasting frozen foods. In addition, panic buying and supply chain issues for fresh and shelf-stable foods encouraged increased purchases from the freezer aisle. Heightened sales of frozen foods are expected to carry forward – supporting related packaging demand – as consumers become increasingly accustomed to the convenience of frozen foods and as they become more familiar with the quality and variety of frozen dinners, entrées, and other available items.

Frozen Food Packaging Suppliers Invest in More Sustainable Alternatives to Plastic

Negative perceptions about the sustainability of plastic have increased interest in alternative packaging materials with environmental profiles that are perceived to be more environmentally friendly, including paper, molded pulp, and bioplastics. In addition, many companies have pledged to meet specific sustainability goals through the increased use of recycled post-consumer content in their packaging products.