Winning Through Tinning – Canned Food Market
From a departmental store to a supermarket or a convenience store, consumers find shelves stacked with multiple brands of canned food irrespective of the kind of store they go in. The canned food market has experienced significant growth in recent years and is expected to grow further in the coming years. Canning is a preservation method for food and storing it in airtight containers. It is a three-step process of processing the food, sealing the food into cans, and then heating the cans to prevent spoilage. The canned food is easy and handy snacking and meal option for the consumers. The various types of food available in canned packaging in the market include fruits and vegetables, seafood and meat, sweets, soups, and sauces, ready-to-cook meals, spices, drinks, and more.
These are appropriate and convenient to use, consume, and store. There is a growing acceptance of canned food among consumers across the globe due to the wide availability and long shelf lives. The canned food is also a healthy choice because of its ability to retain nutrients, color, and flavor. Most minerals, proteins, carbs, fat, and vitamins A, D, E, K are retained.
Key Drivers of the Market
The market is expected to grow due to the rising urban population and their increasing disposable incomes. Consumers, nowadays, are willing to pay a premium price for these high-quality, healthy canned products. The inclining canned food market growth is also owed to the rise in the working population especially working women that now have a busy lifestyle and are looking out for a convenient solution in form of these ready-to-go and ready-to-eat products.
There is greater awareness among the consumers regarding the disadvantages of conventional plastic packaging, the harm done to both nature and human bodies. So, there is a watch for a sustainable solution out of this bizarre problem. Furthermore, there is an increasing acceptance and adoption of recycling and reusing which is further fuelling the demand for these canned products packaged in aluminum and tin cans.
Also, consumers are now becoming increasingly health-conscious and would choose these canned products that can retain essential nutrients over other packaged food. The young, millennial population is readily accepting these canned products due to the increasing western influence and the emergence of new products by well-known brands.
In recent years, e-commerce platforms have bloomed tremendously making these canned food products just a click away from the consumers. This is also one of the reasons for the increasing demand seen by these products.
There has also been a rise in the different kinds of retail stores and their presence, even in remote areas, making canned food widely available, further increasing the market size for these products.
Hurdles Along the Way
The cans made of aluminum and tin, though recyclable, are non-biodegradable, further harming the environment. Due to this reason, there is a reluctance on the part of both the consumers and the governments. Regulations and bans are imposed in certain regions due to environmental concerns hampering the growth of the market. Additionally, the manufacturers of these products are extensively dependent on the raw material suppliers for their packaging.
That said, a lot of companies in the canned food market are investing heavily in the Research and Development for alternate substitute packaging causing less, preferably, no harm to the environment. This opens gates of opportunity for new entrants to enter the otherwise crowded market with innovative packaging. The canned packaging has a huge room for innovation. Recently, in January 2021, Grupo Calvo, a Spanish company, announced to have found a revolutionary way of canning Tuna through a Real Peel technology through which the company can balance oil usage. And, it easily facilitates the disposal of the product entirely through a flexible aluminum lid.
Furthermore, there is a rising awareness about the advantages of fresh food among consumers across the globe. This proves to be a challenge for the growth of the canned food market due to the use of preservatives and the high amounts of salts and sugar present in the products. Though, companies have realized this and so are venturing into different, innovative categories like the canning of organic products.
Impact of Pandemic
The Pandemic has grappled the global markets with its shackles. The supply chains both local and international have been completely disrupted due to the lockdown imposed by several countries to curb the spread of the virus. This has had a multifold impact on the canned food manufacturing companies. On one side, the acquisition of raw materials has become difficult and on the other side, the distribution channels are disorganized. Furthermore, the disposable income of people has drastically decreased forcing them to restrict themselves to the essential commodities resulting in falling demand for the canned food.
However, on the brighter side, the E-commerce platforms have further flourished and have received increased usage leading to wider availability and presence for the products.
Geographical Landscape
Canned food market size is expected to increase in both the developed and emerging economies. However, the market is dominated essentially by two regions of North America and Europe. In North America, the markets in countries like us, Canada, and Mexico have the presence and headquarters of global giants who have been researching and investigating extensively about the canned food market, facilitating the local producers. The acceptance of canned food is also more in the region owing to the soaring working population, their busy schedules leading to the increasing demand for these convenience goods. The growth in the region is also owed to the presence of good infrastructure in the region, facilitating supply chains.
The market is witnessing an inclining growth trend in the region of Europe because of the high consumer base for canned food in the countries Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and the UK. Not just individual consumption, but the growth of the market in the region can also be attributed to the restaurants and food joints using canned food in their preparations.
There is an expected rise in the demand for canned food in the Asia-Pacific market in countries like China, Japan, India, and Korea essentially due to the influence of Western culture and the increasing working population. The huge population, rapid urbanization and rising internet exposure, and an increasing number of retail stores have created a high consumer demand in the region. That said, the region facilitates more through the production and exports.
The Middle East and African region are set to experience low but steady growth due to the changing food habits and dietary preferences. The usage of canned vegetables and meat in the Middle Eastern Cuisines will further drive the growth of the canned food market in the region.