The global beverage packaging sector is expanding rapidly, particularly for PET, at the expense of both glass and aluminium, which are losing market share to innovative forms of packaging. PET is gaining an increasingly firm grip on the global beverage packaging market. The material has enjoyed so much success in recent years that it now accounts for almost 40% of the global pack mix and is nearly twice as popular as its nearest rival.
PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) is a strong but lightweight form of clear polyester. It is used to make containers for soft drinks, juices, alcoholic drinks, water, edible oils, household cleaners, and other food and non-food applications. Bottles now represent the most significant use of PET molding resins.

Consumption of beverages packaged in PET containers has increased spectacularly across all sectors, most conspicuously for packaged water. The global packaged water market has grown at a phenomenal rate and, as the sector’s leading pack type, PET has benefited greatly. Beer, nectars, still drinks, iced/RTD tea and coffee and energy drinks have all seen volumes increase by over 50% since 2000.

Strong gains have also been made in each major region of the world. The largest market by beverage volume for PET is Western Europe. The trend is akin in North America, where PET finally dislodged cans as the most widely used material in 2004. Eastern Europe, although the smallest market in terms of volumes, has been the region to witness arguably the most impressive performance for PET- with PET enjoying more than 50% of the pack mix.

Cartons and pouches/sachets have also performed well, buoyed by juice and nectars and fruit powders respectively, whilst bottle can volumes have risen sharply albeit from a very small base.

Despite its decline, glass is still by far the second most popular material. Beverage volumes packed in glass have only decreased slightly during the last four years. However, market share of glass has been surrendered due to the fact that growth of traditional strongholds such as beer, carbonates and juices have not matched the explosive growth seen in packaged water. In 2004, only around 13% of packaged water was sold in glass. Cans also account for a tiny percentage of the packaged water market and usage has declined in majority of the sectors. Beer, though, has provided some cause for optimism with market share of cans increasing slightly, whilst the growing popularity of multi-serve cans has been very promising. Beer cans appear to be making a recovery from the downturn in 2003, when volumes were not helped by the introduction of Germany’s controversial deposit scheme. Iced/RTD coffee and energy drinks have both delivered welcome growth.

The major advantage of PET is the strength of the material. Carbonated soft drinks can generate pressure inside the bottle reaching upto 6 bar. Such high pressure, however, thanks to the alignment of macro molecules (crystallization) occurring both during the resin spinning process and the blow-moulding process, is not capable of deforming the bottle nor can it make the bottle explode.
Another striking feature of PET is that it is fully recyclable. PET bottle recycling rates have continually increased, with the number of European PET bales offered to the recycling markets jumping from 449,000 tons in 2002 to 612,000 tons in 2003.