United Kingdom (UK) Glass Bottles and Containers Market Size (2024 - 2029)

UK Glass Bottles And Containers Market Analysis

The UK Glass Bottles And Containers Market size is estimated at 2.28 Million tonnes in 2024, and is expected to reach 2.63 Million tonnes by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 2.94% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

Plastic packaging technologies have come a long way in recent years. Still, glass continues to dominate upscale alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage packaging. Glass is among the most preferred packaging materials for alcoholic beverages, such as spirits. The ability of glass bottles to preserve the aroma and flavor of the product is driving the demand.

• Increasing customer needs for safe and healthier packaging supports glass packaging growth in different categories. Also, innovative technologies for embossing, shaping, and adding artistic finishes to glass make glass packaging more desirable among end users. Furthermore, factors such as the demand for eco-friendly products and the rising need from the food and beverage market are boosting the market's growth. 
• Besides, consumers increasingly prefer beer and wine, and glass packaging manufacturers have adjusted their production. Premium food and beverage brands prefer glass (container glass) over other packaging options, such as plastic, as glass is chemically inert, non-porous, and impermeable.
• The growing adoption of alternative forms of packaging, such as plastic and metal, is among the prominent factors affecting the market's growth over the forecast period. In addition, the increase in recycled plastic (rPET) bottles encouraged by the government also leads to challenging conditions for the adoption of glass packaging.
• According to Argus Media, in May 2022, many companies and brands in the UK's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector aim to increase recycled content in plastic packaging. The British Plastics Federation (BPF) estimates the current average level of recycled content in the United Kingdom PET bottle market is 15%-20%.
• According to Glass Alliance Europe, production with 39.5 million tonnes were produced two years back. This indicates that the glass manufacturers suffered from energy concerns on top of high competition from third countries. Compared with 2021, 2022 extra EU-27 exports decreased by 4.6% in volume at 4.3 million tonnes but increased by 14.9%. The EU-27's four significant clients in volume are the rest of Europe (59.5%), including the UK (20%), and more countries.
• The growing adoption of alternative forms of packaging, such as paper, plastic, and metal, in different parts of the country is among the prominent factors affecting the market's growth over the forecast period. The advancement in plastic manufacturing technologies and the emergence of highly recyclable plastics, such as bio-plastics, are further expected to drive the growth of plastic packaging, as plastic packaging offers a significant cost advantage compared to glass packaging.

UK Glass Bottles And Containers Industry Segmentation

Glass has been one of the primary packaging materials used for multiple packaging drug and biological formulations. The unique combination of hermeticity, transparency, strength, and chemical durability makes glass the optimal material for such purposes.

The United Kingdom glass bottles and containers market is segmented by end-user industry (beverages (alcoholic (beer and cider, wine and spirits), non-alcoholic (carbonated soft drinks, milk, water)), food, cosmetics), color (amber, flint, green). The market sizes and forecasts are provided in terms of consumption volume (Tonnes) for all the above segments.