In recent years, Japan has experienced a significant shift in packaging trends, driven by growing environmental awareness and a focus on sustainability. This shift has led to efforts to reduce the weight of containers, simplify packaging materials and prioritise recyclable options.
In Japan, small pack sizes are increasingly gaining market share across various packaging categories, with flexible plastic playing a key role in the packaging of chilled and frozen processed meat, seafood and meat substitutes. While flexible plastic packaging has traditionally had the highest unit volumes in meat substitutes, it was chilled processed seafood that saw the most significant increase in its share of overall flexible plastic packaging unit volumes in 2023.
In 2023, flexible plastic continued to dominate as the preferred packaging format for frozen pizza, thanks to its practicality and consumer-friendly features. One key advantage of this packaging is its transparency, allowing consumers to visually inspect the pizza inside, which helps build trust in the product’s quality.
In 2023, the non-alcoholic drinks market in Japan saw a notable resurgence in demand for smaller pack sizes, driven by the revival of on-the-go consumption and impulse purchases as people spent more time outside their homes post-pandemic. Retailers and manufacturers are capitalising on this trend by introducing compact pack sizes that suit consumers’ increasingly mobile lifestyles.
In Japan, the use of PET bottles in alcoholic drinks packaging recorded a decline in retail volume share in 2023, with significant drops in categories like spirits (notably brandy and cognac) and wine. While PET bottles are lightweight, shatterproof and recyclable, they are often viewed as less premium than glass; a key consideration for product areas that prioritise quality and luxury.
To improve the recyclability of its toothpaste tubes, NICE Group collaborated with Dow and Amcor to eliminate the aluminium layer while maintaining the high barrier performance essential for toothpaste packaging. Traditional toothpaste tubes typically use a thin aluminium or plastic layer, combined with an inner polyethylene layer for product protection, created through an extrusion process that heats and shapes the materials into a tube.
In Japan, the 350ml and 400ml pack sizes dominate surface care packaging due to their convenience and practicality. These sizes are lightweight, easy to handle and ideal for everyday cleaning tasks.
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Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Packaging industry in Japan with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
Data and analysis in this report provides further detailed coverage dedicated to a comprehensive range of packaging types.
If you're in the Packaging industry in Japan, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
Packaging
This report originates from Passport, our Packaging research and analysis database.
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