The global caps and closures market made little strides in terms of volume gains amidst the economic slowdown. However, it has grown considerably in the last few years and is anticipated to grow at a rapid pace in the near future. Factors such as growing consumer preferences towards consuming convenient packaged food & beverages, personal care products, and pharmaceutical are helping the caps & closures industry to grow. Increasing innovations in the industry help to drive down the cost and launch new closure types. This acts as an important driver for the market, as per Research and Markets.

The global market volume was 1,826 bln in 2012 and is projected to reach 2,312 bln by 2018, growing at a CAGR of 4% from 2013 to 2018, as per BCC Research. The end-use sectors are exhibiting buoyant growth driven by rising population and disposable incomes. The caps & closures market was dominated by the beverage segment both in value and volume terms. Plastics (polyethylene and polypropylene) were the most dominant raw materials used for caps and closures. The global caps & closures market is largely driven by the volume growth in its end-use industries. The penchant for consumption of packaged products such as food & beverage, personal care, and pharmaceuticals is resulting in the growth of this industry. Consumers' push for convenient packaging would result in the growth of pouches, sachets, bags, and other types of flexible packaging. These novel pack types with varying sizes and innovative closures are expected to gain momentum in the near future. Advent of closure-less pouches may restrain further growth in the industry.

As per RnRMarketResearch.com, the primary factor driving the growth of caps & closures market is their direct relation growing to the downstream industries such as food & beverage, personal & home care, pharmaceutical, and industrial chemicals. Caps & closures is an imperative segment of the packaging industry as it aids in protecting and extending the shelf-life of end-products. In terms of end-use, beverages remain the leading market for caps & closures. The pharmaceutical market is set to exhibit the strongest unit volume increases, followed by personal & household care products. Functional & light weight closures such as child-resistant, tamper evident, and dispensing caps which offer efficient dosing, will stimulate the growth in these markets. On the other hand, the growing usage of simplified packaging formats without closures and blister packaging will act as key restraints hindering the growth of the market. The companies enjoying substantial market share are Berry Plastics Corporation (US), Bericap (Germany), Global Closure Systems (France), Crown Holdings (US), Silgan Holdings (US), and Reynolds Group Holdings (New Zealand). The key industry players are increasing their business presence by launching novel caps for different pack types and by mergers and acquisitions in latent markets. Top six players in the caps & closures industry held a market share of around 17.5% signifying participation of a large number of players in this market. This fragmented industry structure is primarily due to the availability of number of pack types, sizes and raw materials used for caps & closures. Polypropylene and polyethylene are the important plastic resins used for making wide variety of caps. Metal caps & closures are projected to grow at slower pace through 2018. Penetration of metal caps is still high in the developing countries and these are expected to witness sluggish growth in the years ahead due to the adoption of plastic closures. Other materials used for caps & closures are glass, elastomers, rubber, cork, paperboard, etc. which together account for a very low share and are expected to grow at a meager pace in the future. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for the biggest share both in terms of value as well as volume and continues to hold that position due to its thriving end-user industries. Latin American, Middle East & African countries are also steaming up at a fast pace. Factors such as increase in the income levels, trend towards urbanization, move towards smaller pack sizes, etc. will boost the demand for caps & closures. The European & North American markets are expected to show a modest growth trend, owing mainly to the saturated end-use markets in the region. East European nations are expected to show healthy growth in the coming years.

As per Markets and Markets, the caps & closures market is estimated to grow from US$42.7 bln in 2012 to US$56.6 bln by 2018 with a CAGR of 4.8% through 2018. Asia-Pacific led the global market followed by North America and Europe in terms of revenue in the year 2012. Caps & closures is a dynamic sector in the packaging industry with various stake holders such as raw material suppliers, processors, packaging manufacturers, and end-user industries such as manufacturers of food, beverage, personal care products, and pharmaceuticals. As opportunities to grow in these end-use markets are immense, players are competing to launch innovative products and diversifying their product portfolio. Rise in the consumption of packaged products offers a strong customer base for the caps & closures market. Packaging is essential to preserve the quality of the product and it also prevents it from chemical reactions endangering the consumer's health. Hence, an efficient and suitable packaging is imperative for every product driving up demand for closures. The important materials used in Caps & Closures Market are plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene), metal (aluminum, tin), paper, rubber, and cork. These raw materials are converted using various molds to manufacture different types of closures to be used in end-use applications. Consumer preferences, product characteristics, and material compatibility are essential in determining the type of material to be used. Plastic is the dominant raw material used due to its characteristics and various cost benefits offered. The adoption of plastic closures has been high and is highly penetrated in the important end-use applications. Asia-Pacific has the highest market share and is estimated to grow with the fastest CAGR during the period under review. Europe is growing at a modest rate, and is driven mainly by the East European countries. ROW is also expected to experience growth in the caps & closures market in the future. The ROW is projected to exhibit rapid growth during the period under review. The four most potential nations for this market are India, China, Russia, and Brazil which are poised to exhibit the fastest growing trend. Pharmaceutical end-use is the fastest growing market during the forecasted period. Due to the increased awareness for public health, increasing product processing units, convenience packaging, and rising consumption of generic drugs, the pharmaceutical packaging industry is exhibiting strong gains. Following it, the personal & home care segment is estimated to be the second fastest growing market in 2013. Growing awareness, higher disposable incomes, and changing lifestyles drive the market for end-use applications ramping up the demand for closures.