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Summary of our market study
French glass bottle market estimated at €4.8 billion
The global glass bottle market, valued at $40.2 billion in 2023, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2023 to 2033, reflecting increased demand driven by environmental awareness, the rise of craft breweries and distilleries, and brands creating premium products.
In France, the Covid-19 pandemic led to a 12.5% drop in the market, which then recovered to exceed its pre-crisis level with a value of 4.81 billion euros.
Challenges such as volatile raw material costs and energy-intensive production were exacerbated by the energy crisis and soaring natural gas prices.
The wine and beverage industries are the main users of glass bottles. Major production facilities are strategically located close to vineyards to limit transport distances.
Glass bottles are considered superior for health, absence of chemical contamination, preservation of taste, quality and environmental sustainability, with eco-design efforts having reduced packaging weight by 18% in 25 years.
The country's glass recycling rate is remarkable, reaching a high of over 85%. With the reduction of plastic use at the heart of environmental concerns, glass bottles are emerging as a sustainable and viable solution, promising continued market expansion and success in the years to come.
The glass bottle industry comprises between 140 and 150 plants, employing a workforce fluctuating around 18,000 people.
French glass bottle exports have grown significantly ($901.4 million in 2022)
Main competitors in the glass bottle industry
- Verallia, which offers a wide range of standard and made-to-measure glass containers, is one of the main players in this sector.
- Saverglass is positioned in the high-end segment.
- Pochet, a long-established specialist in luxury bottles for perfumes and spirits
- Owens-Illinois, a world leader
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of study
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.
1.2 Global market
The global glass bottle market, estimated at $**.* billion in ****, is expected to register a CAGR of *.*% over the period **** - ****, reaching $** billion in ** years' time.
Sales projections for the global glass bottle market World, **** - ****, in $ billions Source: ****
Glass bottles are safer for your health, as there is no risk of ...
1.3 Domestic market
We offer an estimate of the size of the hollow glass industry in France, based on INSEE data. The activity is referenced under NAF code"**.** - Manufacture of hollow glass". Hollow glass refers to all glass containers: bottles, flasks and jars. The proposed estimate therefore represents a high end of the ...
1.4 Balance of trade
International trade in glass containers, including bottles, is tracked under code ****** "Glass carboys, bottles, flasks, jars, pots, tubular containers and other glass containers for transport or commercial packing, and glass preserving jars (***)". We'll be looking at imports and exports of these products, as well as our main trading partners, to identify ...
1.5 A resilient sector despite repeated crises: Covid-19, war in Ukraine, inflation
During the health crisis, as alcohol consumers drank more at home, they preferred larger containers such as wine cubes. In fact, the wine industry has seen a sharp rise in sales of wine in BIBs. But this in no way detracts from wine lovers' structural loyalty to glass bottles as a ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Demand stimulated by environmental and health concerns
"Glass packaging will be the container of the future", says Jacques Bordat, President of the French Federation of Glass Industries. Indeed, it is both safe for human health and less polluting than other materials such as plastic, and it perfectly preserves the tastes and smells of the food and beverages it ...
2.2 The wine sector, the driving force behind the glass industry
The main consumer of glass bottles is the wine and spirits industry. Artisanal fruit juices and water can also frequently be found in this form, as can certain soft drinks, in small format, replacing cans. The market is therefore primarily B*B.
Grape wine market size in France France, **** - ****, in ...
2.3 The French demand greater transparency in food packaging
In recent years, consumer demand for transparency has continued to grow. The French want to know everything about the products they consume, whether to protect their health or the planet. An LSA study provides an indication of this new expectation: while **% of those surveyed want more data on product origin, **% say ...
3 Market structure
3.1 A local industry
The glass bottle industry is spread across the whole of France, with most plants located close to major vineyards to reduce distances traveled. There are some forty dedicated furnaces in France. The logistics chain is relatively short, with glass plants located on average *** km from their customers[***].
The stages in the ...
3.2 Production concentrated in the north
The number of establishments operating in the hollow glass manufacturing sector is increasing slightly, but has remained between *** and *** since ****. It is therefore a relatively closed market.
Number of establishments working in hollow glass manufacturing France, **** - ****, in units Source: ****
The number of employees fell during the health crisis, but has ...
3.3 Sand, the main constituent of glass
In April ****, the United Nations Environment Programme(***) warned of a potential sand crisis in a report. The document highlights the risk of a shortage of sand, a widely exploited resource only surpassed by water. The report highlights unregulated and growing exploitation due to increased demand, with sand consumption tripling over the ...
3.4 The challenges of recycling
Since ****, it has been possible to recycle glass in France, and private individuals are strongly encouraged to do so. The average French person consumes ** kg of glass packaging every year, which represents **% of the weight of our household waste. Glass is the only packaging material that can be recycled indefinitely, and ...
3.5 Towards automation
The industry saw its first wave of automation in the early XXᵉ century, at a time when the glassblowing tradition was still alive and well. Since then, furnaces have become ever more sophisticated, and today there is a trend towards the robotization of hollow glass manufacturing.
This is particularly true of ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Eco-design
Over the past ** years, the weight of glass packaging has been steadily reduced, in order to offer a product that protects and preserves its contents just as well as ever, but which is also more resource-efficient. For example, the weight of wine bottles has been reduced by **%.
Weight reduction of glass ...
4.2 Product typology
Verallia offers a wide range of standard glass bottles:
Source: ****
Producers also offer new shapes in line with trends, as well as customized bottles. The purchase price depends on the customer's request and the quotation issued by the producer. Premium bottles focus on exclusivity: it is possible to play with textures, ...
4.3 Increasingly high production costs
For a number of reasons,players in the industry are faced with increasingly high production prices. First of all, inflation is responsible for the rise in raw material prices, which inevitably has an impact on production costs. But it is above all the rise in the price of energy, and especially ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Regulations
The regulation of glass containers is managed at three levels:
at international level, ISO (***) coordinates the national bodies of *** countries; at European level, the CEN (***) works with the national bodies of ** countries, both members and non-members of the European Union; at national level, bodies such as AFNOR (***) in France, appoint experts ...
5.2 Plastic ban
The gradual ban on plastic containers should encourage the re-emergence of the glass bottle and container market, with the possible advent of a deposit and reuse system.
This movement was started by Law no. ****-*** of August **, **** on energy transition for green growth, and the government's objective is now to move ...
6 Positioning the players
6. Segmentation
- Verallia
- Novaxion
- Owens-Illinois
- Vidrala
- Saint-Gobain Groupe
- Pochet Groupe
- Verescense
- Berlin Packaging
- SGD Pharma
- VetroElite (TricorBraun Group)
- Zignagovetro
- Bormioli Rocco
- Estal
- Pont Europe Packaging
- Saverglass
- VOA Verrerie d'Albi
- Rondot Glass
- O-I Glass
List of charts presented in this market study
- Sales projections for the global glass bottle market
- Energy needs of the glass industry
- Sales trends in the hollow glass industry
- Number of chemical substances in contact with food by packaging
- Evaluation of French perceptions of the durability of glass bottles
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Latest news
Saint-Gobain ready to set up in Australia for 2.5 billion euros - 22/02/2024
- Saint-Gobain proposes to acquire the entire capital of CSR
- The CSR Group has some 40 production sites worldwide, around 130 sales outlets and 2,800 employees.
- CSR's total revenues for the 2022-2023 financial year amounted to A$2.6 billion.
- By 2022, North America and emerging markets already accounted for 62% of Saint-Gobain's operating income, compared with 40% in 2018.
Rondot, supplier to glassmakers - 21/07/2023
- SME based in Champagne-au-Mont-D'Or, near Lyon, which supplies handling equipment, cutting tools and inspection equipment to the bottle and flask industry
- 300 employees , sales of 63 million euros
- Supplier to glassmakers such as Italy's Bormioli, France's Verralia, Spain's Vidrala and American giant O-I
- Acquisition of American company Ramsay, $13 million in sales, two plants and around one hundred employees
- North America accounts for 20% of group sales following this acquisition
- Rondot also acquired another smaller American equipment manufacturer, Quantum, in 2021, and French company Novaxion in 2019, which has 18 employees.
Pochet, from glass bottles to multi-materials | Glass bottles and multi-materials - 12/07/2023
- A million bottles leave the Pochet du Courval factory every day.
- The company has been involved in glassmaking for over two centuries.
- In the 1990s, Pochet diversified and became a "multi-materials group", making a series of acquisitions in plastics, metal, accessories and decoration.
- The Pochet Group has 3,500 employees.
- Sales total 534 million euros.
Verescence expands in Orne - 04/07/2023
- Verescence is the world leader in luxury bottles.
- Verescence's Écouché-les-Vallées site employs 350 people, most of them women.
- Sales at the Normandy site grew by 50% between 2016 and 2022.
- The company forecasts annual growth of 5% over the coming years.
- The group plans to invest 7 million euros over the next three years to increase production capacity and automate certain tasks.
Saint-Gobain expands into Canada - 13/06/2023
- Acquisition of Kaycan by Saint-Gobain one year ago
- Saint-Gobain to acquire Building Products of Canada in 2023 for C$1.3 billion (approx. €925 million)
- Building Products of Canada has a 25-30% market share in roofing products
- Building Products of Canada total sales: C$435 million
- Saint-Gobain's pro forma 2022 sales in Canada: C$1.8 billion
- Saint-Gobain in Canada grows from 11 to 24 plants in eighteen months
SGD Pharma prepares its transition. - 02/06/2023
- SGD Pharma has specialized in pharmaceutical glass packaging since its foundation in 1917.
- The Sucy-en-Brie site is the company's largest, with a presence on five continents.
- More than 3 million containers leave the Sucy-en-Brie plant every day.
- 60% of production at the Sucy-en-Brie plant is destined for Europe.
- SGD Pharma employs 400 people at its Sucy-en-Brie site.
- SGD Pharma invests in recycling to contain rising energy and raw material costs.
- The plant's furnace 3 has undergone two plating operations after twelve years of service, and heats up to 1,600°C.
- SGD Pharma had already purchased 80% of its annual stock of gas before the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
- Dependence on lower production costs in Asia remains strong, although pharmaceutical control companies prefer European production.
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the glass bottle market | France
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