The glass bottle market - France

Glass bottles are elongated, narrow-necked containers of varying sizes designed to hold liquids, particularly beverages such as wine, beer and spirits, but increasingly also soft drinks like soft drinks or milk. Glass is mostly composed of silica-rich sand, but it is extremely common to use cullet, recycled pieces of used glass, in the manufacturing process. The proportion of cullet can range from 10% to 90%, depending on the quality required. Vitrifying agents are also added to give the glass the desired properties. Unlike other packaging methods, glass enjoys a flattering image with the public, symbolizing both quality and low environmental impact. In fact, unlike plastic, glass is infinitely recyclable, and the glass recycling rate in France reached 88% in 2021. The global glass bottle market will be worth $40.2 billion in 2023, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.7% over the next ten years. This market is benefiting from the desire of certain brands to create increasingly high-end products, from global environmental awareness, and also from the rise of craft breweries and distilleries, even if in France the wine market remains predominant. on a global scale, half of all glass bottles produced are destined for the beer sector. In a concentrated market dominated by three international leaders(Verallia, Owens-Illinois and Vidrala), a few French players stand out. Saverglass , in particular, is expanding in the premium segment. However, French manufacturers face many difficulties in the current environment. Glass manufacturing costs fluctuate enormously according to the cost of raw materials, and the industry is extremely energy-intensive, especially in terms of natural gas, the price of which has been soaring for several years now. However, manufacturers can look forward to a gradual phase-out of plastic and the imminent return of the deposit system, which should restore glass to its tarnished glory.