Folding Cartons Market Size | Share and Trends 2024 to 2034

Folding Cartons Market Size and Growth 2024 to 2034

The folding cartons market size accounted for USD 177.73 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 276.01 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2024 to 2034.

Folding Cartons Market Key Takeaways

• Asia Pacific led the global market with the highest market share of 40% in 2023.
• By end use, the food & beverage segment segment has held the largest market share of 36% in 2023.
• By end use, the electronics and electrical segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR over the projected period.

Asia Pacific Folding Cartons Market Size and Growth 2024 to 2034

The Asia Pacific folding cartons market size was estimated at USD 68.03 billion in 2023 and is predicted to be worth around USD 110.40 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 4.7% from 2024 to 2034.

Asia Pacific dominated the global folding cartons market in 2023. The changing lifestyle, rising demand for packaged food, and rising personal disposable income of the consumers are some of the major factors that drives the growth of the Asia Pacific folding cartons market. The presence of huge population, presence of top manufacturers of various industries, and the growing demand for online shopping among the youth are the prominent drivers of the Asia Pacific folding cartons market. The emerging nations like India, China, Indonesia, and South Korea are expected to drive the demand for the folding cartons owing to the rapid industrialization in the region. Furthermore, the rising penetration of the organized retail chains in this region is spurring the market growth.

The Middle East and Africa is estimated to be the most opportunistic market during the forecast period. The rising penetration of e-commerce, growing demand for packaged food, and rapidly growing population are some of the major driving forces. The growing penetration of the industries and surging penetration of the e-commerce in this region is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the market.

Folding Cartons Market Growth Factors

The surging demand for the sustainable packaging solutions across the globe is boosting the demand for the folding cartons over plastic packaging. Folding cartons are a biodegradable packaging material which promotes sustainability. The rising concerns over the accumulation of plastic wastes across the globe, rising government initiatives to promote sustainability, and shifting focus of the manufacturers towards eco-friendly packaging are the major drivers of the folding cartons market. The rising consumer awareness regarding the deteriorating environmental conditions due to the plastic wastes is fueling the demand for the eco-friendly folding cartons packaging across the globe. Plastic is a major cause of water pollution. The wide availability of the folding cartons and the low cost of the folding cartons are the most prominent factors that boost the growth of the global folding cartons market. Furthermore, the folding cartons are available in different sizes that foster its adoption across a wide range of end use industries. The surging demand for the folding cartons across various end use verticals such as household, food & beverages, healthcare, and electronics is positively contributing towards the growth of the global folding cartons market. The folding cartons are lightweight, convenient, and portable packaging solutions that serves the need for the flexible packaging.

The surging penetration of the e-commerce across the globe is another factor that is expected to drive the growth of the global folding cartons market. The rapid growth of the various e-commerce platforms such as Pepperfry, Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, and Wal-Mart and the growing adoption of these platforms among the consumers has resulted in a burgeoning demand for the folding cartons. The folding cartons are popularly used as a packaging material that serves the e-commerce and logistics in the transportation of various products. The rising investments in the development of telecommunications and IT infrastructure, rising penetration of internet, and rising adoption of smartphones are driving the sales through e-commerce platforms, which in turn fuels the growth of the folding cartons market. The folding cartons offer several benefits such as flexibility, rigidity, and printability that makes it a popular choice as a packaging material in the consumer goods and food and beverages industry. Moreover, the governments in many countries have banned the single-use plastics and surged the awareness regarding the harmful effects of the single-use plastics on the environment. This has augmented the demand for the folding cartons market across the globe. Furthermore, the latest anti-counterfeit technology like embedded barcode and RFID can easily be incorporated in the folding cartons. The rising adoption of the anti-counterfeit technology among the sellers across the globe is significantly boosting the growth of the global folding cartons market.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 had a positive effect on the global folding cartons market. The lockdown restrictions and travelling ban regulations during the pandemic has significantly surged the demand for the online shopping of various consumer goods, food & beverages, medicines, and groceries. The rapid demand for the online shopping platforms during the pandemic has significantly boosted the consumption of the folding cartons across the globe.

Market Scope

End Use Insights

Based on the end use, the food & beverage segment dominated the global folding cartons market accounting for a market share of around 36% in 2023. The increased adoption of the folding cartons among the food & beverage processing companies across the globe has fueled the growth of this segment. The rapidly growing demand for the food and beverages along with the growing global population and rising disposable income of the consumers is expected to further boost the usage of the folding cartons in the food & beverage industry. Moreover, the changing lifestyle of the consumers and growing demand for the convenient and packaged food is a major factor that has significantly driven the growth of this segment in the past years. The rising participation of the women in the workforce has significantly fueled the demand for the ready-to-eat food products, which is a significant driver of the folding cartons market.

On the other hand, electronics and electrical is estimated to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This is attributed to the surging demand for the consumer electronics across the globe. The proliferation of technologies has encouraged the development of various electronic products across the globe. The rising demand for the latest advanced consumer electronics is driving the growth of the electronic products. The electronic manufacturers are increasingly adopting the folding cartons for the packaging of the electronic products. Moreover, the safety and security owing to the anti-counterfeit technology is fueling the demand for the folding cartons across the globe.

The personal care and cosmetics segment has been gaining rapid traction in the recent years. Folding cartons serves as a popular packaging material for the cosmetics and personal care products. The growing geriatric population and rising demand for cosmetics among the youth population is fueling the demand for the personal care products, which in turn fuels the growth of the folding cartons market.

Folding Cartons Market Companies

• Westrock Company
• AR Packaging Group AB
• Sonoco Products Company
• Huhtamaki Oyj
• KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp
• Mayr-MelnhofKarton AG
• Stora Enso Oyj
• Georgia-Pacific LLC
• Rengo Co., Ltd.
• Oji Holdings Corporation

Key Market Developments

The folding cartons market is moderately fragmented with the presence of several local companies. These market players are striving to gain higher market share by adopting strategies, such as investments, partnerships, and acquisitions & mergers. Companies are also spending on the development of improved products. Moreover, they are also focusing on maintaining competitive pricing.

Segments Covered in the Report

By Material Type

• Solid Unbleached Board
• Whitelined Chip Board
• Folding Box Board
• Solid Bleached Board

By Structure Type           

• Straight Tuck End
• Reverse Tuck End
• Tuck Top Auto-Bottom
• Tuck Top Snap-Lock Bottom
• Full Seal End Cartons
• Double Glued Sidewall
• Others

By End Use

• Household
• Food & Beverages
• Frozen Food
• Fresh Food
• Bakery and Confectionary
• Ready to Eat Meal
• Baby Food
• Pet Food
• Other Food
• Beverage
• Electrical & electronics
• Healthcare
• Personal Care & Cosmetics
• Others

By Order Type

• Standard
• Customized

By Wall Construction

• Single-Wall Corrugated Sheet
• Double-Wall Corrugated Packaging
• Triple-Wall Corrugated Packaging

By Geography

• North America
• U.S.
• Canada
• Europe
• U.K.
• Germany
• France
• Asia-Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Latin America
• Brazil
• Rest of Latin America
• Middle East & Africa (MEA)
• GCC
• North Africa
• South Africa
• Rest of the Middle East & Africa