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Although not growing at a blistering pace, the blister packaging market is progressing at a vigorous 6.4% CAGR rate between 2022 and 2031, according to a report from Future Market Insights.

Led by carded blister packs, the report values the global market at $13.1 billion in 2022 and is forecast to reach $22.9 billion in 2031.

Demand for blister packaging was forecast to reach 5,180 tonnes/5,710 tons in 2021, according to a new study by European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR) -certified market research.

The biggest driver in the market is the preference for blister packaging over cartons or boxes in pharmaceuticals. Blister packaging sales are also supported by growing demand from food, consumer goods, and veterinary industries.

While the steady growth of pharmaceutical industry is pushing the demand-supply curve upward, various guidelines for pharmaceutical packaging are further catalyzing the growth of blister packaging manufacturers.

For instance, per FDA guidelines, pharmaceutical packaging must have features that prevent mix-ups and cross-contamination, specify procedures for examining packaging for suitability before packaging operations, a criterion met by blister packaging.

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India is the largest provider of generic drugs globally, while Indian pharmaceutical sector supplies over 50% of global demand for various vaccines, 40% of generic demand in the U.S. and 25% of all medicine in the UK Although pharmaceutical sector holds major pie of value share in the global market, consistently increasing demand for blister packaging is also attributed to its cost-effectiveness.

Image courtesy of Future Market Insights

Says the FMI analyst, “leading manufacturers operating in the global blister packaging market are consistently enhancing blister packaging format by incorporating advanced packaging technologies such as thermoforming and cold forming. Also, the rise in demand for blister packaging with high barrier film for excellent air, moisture, and light resistance is expected to further propel the growth of the blister packaging manufacturers in the future.”

Blister packaging is predominantly used for air-tight packaging, sealing, and storing of unit-dose medicines such as tablets and capsules. This market is largely pharmaceutical. While consumer preference for single-serve medicines is raising the need for blister packaging, the exponential growth of the pharmaceutical industry is further supporting the market.

The US is the world leader in biopharmaceutical R&D and largest market for biopharmaceuticals, accounting for around one-third of the global market. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA), US firms conduct over half the world’s R&D pharmaceuticals ($75 billion) and hold the intellectual property rights on newer medicines. These figures represent high demand for blister packaging in pharmaceutical industry which in turn is fueling the sales of the manufacturers.

To leverage new opportunities, key market players are focusing on launching better quality products, for example…

Other prominent players in the blister packaging market are Sonoco Products, WestRock, Rohrer, and Winpak. Major players contribute almost 25-30% of the global market while Tier Three companies have 70-75% of the market share.

These findings are based on the report Blister Packaging Market from Future Market Insights.

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